Cristina Fernández de Kirchner
Encyclopedia
Cristina Elisabet Fernández de Kirchner (kɾisˈtina eˈlisaβet ferˈnandes ðe ˈkiɾʃneɾ; born 19 February 1953), commonly known as Cristina Fernández or Cristina Kirchner is the 55th and current President of Argentina
and the widow of former President Néstor Kirchner
. She is Argentina's first elected female president, and the second female president ever to serve (after Isabel Martínez de Perón
, 1974–1976). A Justicialist
, Fernández served one term as National Deputy
and three terms as National Senator
for both Santa Cruz
and Buenos Aires Province
s.
A native of La Plata
, Buenos Aires
, Fernández is a graduate of the National University of La Plata. She met her husband during her studies, and they moved to Santa Cruz
to work as lawyers. In May 1991, she was elected to the provincial legislature. Between 1995 and 2007, she was repeatedly elected to the Argentine National Congress
, both as a National Deputy and National Senator. During Kirchner's presidency (2003–2007) she acted as First Lady
. Fernández was chosen as the Front for Victory
presidential candidate in 2007. In the October 2007 general election
she obtained 45.3% of the vote and a 22% lead over her nearest rival, avoiding the need for a runoff. She was inaugurated on 10 December 2007, and was reelected to a second term in the first round of the October 2011 general election
. As a First Lady, and later President
, she has become a fashion icon for women and a notable advocate for human rights
, poverty awareness and health improvement
.
, Province of Buenos Aires, daughter of Eduardo Fernández (of Spanish heritage) and Ofelia Esther Wilhelm (of German heritage). She studied law at the National University of La Plata during the 1970s and became active in the Peronist Youth. During her studies there, she met her future spouse, Néstor Kirchner
. They were married on 9 March 1975, and had two children: Máximo and Florencia. Néstor died on 27 October 2010 after suffering a heart attack.
in the 1970s. During the period of authoritarian rule in the country
, she and Néstor dropped out of politics and practiced law in Río Gallegos. She picked up politics again in the late 1980s, and was elected to the Santa Cruz
Provincial Legislature in 1989, a position to which she was re-elected in 1993.
In 1995, Fernández was elected to represent Santa Cruz in the Senate
. She was elected to the Chamber of Deputies
in 1997, and in 2001, returned to the Senate. Fernández helped with her husband's successful campaign for the presidency in 2003, but without making joint public appearances. In the 27 April 2003, presidential election
first round, former president Carlos Saúl Menem won the greatest number of votes (25%), but failed to get the votes necessary to win an overall majority. A second-round run-off vote between Menem and runner-up Néstor Kirchner
was scheduled for 18 May. Feeling certain that he was about to face a sound electoral defeat, Menem decided to withdraw his candidacy, thus automatically making Kirchner the new president, with 22% of the votes. This was the lowest number in the history of the country.
During her husband's term, Fernández became the First Lady
of the country. In that role, she worked as an itinerant ambassador for his government. Her highly combative speech style polarized Argentine politics, recalling the style of Eva Perón
. Although she repeatedly rejected the comparison later, Cristina Fernández once said in an interview that she identified herself "with the Evita of the hair in a bun and the clenched fist before a microphone" (the typical image of Eva Perón during public speeches) more than with the "miraculous Eva" of her mother's time, who had come "to bring work and the right to vote for women".
At the October 2005 legislative elections, Fernández was her party
's main candidate for Senator
in the Province of Buenos Aires district. She ran a heated campaign against Hilda González de Duhalde
, the wife of former president Eduardo Duhalde
. Fernández won the elections by 45.77%, followed by González de Duhalde with 20.43%.
With Fernández leading all the pre-election polls by a wide margin, her challengers were trying to force her into a run-off
. She needed either more than 45% of the vote, or 40% of the vote and a lead of more than 10% over her nearest rival, to win outright. Fernández won the election in the first round with 45.3% of the vote, followed by 22% for Elisa Carrió
(candidate for the Civic Coalition
) and 16% for former Economy Minister Roberto Lavagna
. Eleven others split the remaining 15%. Kirchner was popular among the suburban working class and the rural poor, while Carrió received more support from the urban middle class, as did Lavagna. Of note, Kirchner lost the election in the three largest cities (Buenos Aires
, Córdoba
and Rosario), although she won in most other places elsewhere, including the large provincial capitals such as Mendoza
and Tucumán.
On 14 November, the president-elect publicly announced the names of her new cabinet, which was sworn in on 10 December. Of the 12 ministers appointed, seven were already ministers in Néstor Kirchner
's government, while the other five took office for the first time. Three other ministries were created afterwards.
The president elect began a four-year term on 10 December 2007, facing challenges including inflation, union demands for higher salaries, private investment in key areas, lack of institutional credibility (exemplified by the controversy surrounding the national statistics bureau
, INDEC), utility companies demanding authorization to raise their fees, low availability of cheap credit to the private sector, and the upcoming negotiation of the defaulted foreign debt with the Paris Club
. Kirchner was the second female president of Argentina, after Isabel Martínez de Perón
, but unlike Perón, Kirchner was the head of the ballot, whereas Isabel Perón was elected as vice president of Juan Domingo Perón and became president after his death. The transition from Néstor Kirchner to Cristina Kirchner was also the first time when a democratic head of state was replaced by his spouse, without involving the death of any of them. Néstor Kirchner stayed active in politics despite not being the president, and worked alongside Cristina Kirchner. The press developed the term "presidential marriage" to make reference to both of them at once. Some political analysts as Pablo Mendelevich compared this type of government with a diarchy
.
(suitcase scandal). According to these allegations, Venezuelan agents tried to pressure a Venezuelan American
citizen (Guido Antonini Wilson) to lie about the origin of $790,550 in cash found in his suitcase on 4 August 2007 at a Buenos Aires airport. US prosecutors allege the money was sent to help Kirchner's presidential campaign. Some of the allegations were proven and several individuals received a prison sentence after a widely reported trial.
Fernández and Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez
called the allegations "a trashing operation" and part of a conspiracy orchestrated by the US to divide Latin American nations. On 19 December 2007, she restricted the US ambassador's activities and limited his meetings to Foreign Ministry officials; a treatment reserved for hostile countries, in the opinion of a former US Assistant Secretary of State.
However, on 31 January, in a special meeting with Kirchner, the US Ambassador to Argentina, Earl Anthony Wayne
, clarified that the allegations "were never made by the United States government," and the dispute cooled down. Having said that the prosecutors making the charges are part of the independent judicial branch of the US government.
Elisa Carrió
and María Estenssoro, both high ranking members of the main opposition parties, have claimed that the Argentine government's response to the allegations and its criticism of the US are a "smokescreen", that the US involvement in the affair was merely symptomatic, and the root cause of the scandal is corruption in the Argentine
and Venezuelan
governments.
Riding a wave of approval during a dramatic economic recovery from a 2001–2002 crisis, the Kirchners' FPV had prevailed enjoyed increasingly large majorities in Congress, reaching their peak following the 2007 general elections
(with 153 Congressmen and 44 Senators, at the time). In March 2008, Kirchner introduced a new sliding-scale taxation system for agricultural exports, effectively raising levies on soybean
exports from 35% to 44% at the time of the announcement. This led to a nationwide lockout by farming associations
, starting on 12 March, with the aim of forcing the government to back down on the new taxation scheme. They were joined on 25 March by thousands of pot-banging demonstrators
massed around the Buenos Aires Obelisk
and in front of the presidential palace
.
Protests extended across the country. In Buenos Aires, hours after Kirchner attacked farmers for their two-week strike and "abundant" profits, there were violent incidents between government supporters and opponents, to which the police was accused of wilfully turning a blind eye. The media was harshly critical of Luis D'Elía, a former government official who took part in the incidents, with some media sources and members of the opposition (notably Elisa Carrió
), claiming that he and his followers had disrupted the protest pursuant to the government's orders. On 1 April, the government organised a rally during which thousands of pro-government protesters marched through downtown Buenos Aires in support of the bill increasing Argentina's export taxes on the basis of a sliding scale; at the event, Kirchner called on farmers to act "as part of a country, not as owners of a country."
In April 2008, on the 26th anniversary of the Falklands War
, Kirchner stepped up Argentine claims to the Falkland Islands
. She called Argentina's rights to the islands "inalienable".
The large majorities in the Argentine Congress enjoyed by the Front for Victory
(FPV) could not ultimately guarantee a legislative blank check: on 16 July 2008, the presidentially sponsored bill met with deadlock, and was ultimately defeated by the tie-breaking "no" vote of Vice President Julio Cobos
. The controversy cost the FPV 16 Congressmen and 4 Senators by way of defections. This put an end to the 2008 Argentine government conflict with the agricultural sector
, though it cost Cobos access to the executive branch of the government. He was reportedly considered "a traitor" by the followers of Kirchner's administration. Cobos denied that he would resign, although the relationship between the President and the Vice President has an uncertain future.
A poll result published in El País, Spain's most widely circulated daily newspaper, revealed that following the protests, Fernández's approval rating had "plummeted" from 57.8% at the start of her administration to an unprecedented 23%. Once recovered from the conflict with agrarian interests, Cristina Kirchner's public approval improved; her job approval ratings rose by 30% (Poliarquía, August 22, 2008). Her inflexible handling of the protests and reluctance to review the policies that sparked the protest have led to speculation that it is her husband, predecessor in office and current leader of the Justicialist Party
, Néstor Kirchner
, who controls her administration. The British weekly newspaper The Economist
has described this situation as Kirchner "paying the price for her husband's pig-headedness", and as of February 2009, her job approval rating was 28%.
On 20 October 2008, Fernández proposed the transfer of nearly US$30 billion in private pension holdings to the social security system, a law that was passed by Congress in late November.
President Cristina Kirchner is a member of the Council of Women World Leaders
, an international network of current and former women presidents and prime ministers whose mission is to mobilize the highest-level women leaders globally for collective action on issues of critical importance to women and equitable development.
Fernández was invited to the prestigious Summit on Financial Markets and the World Economy in Washington, D.C., on 15 November 2008, by President George W. Bush
. During her stay in Washington, she held meetings with Brazil
ian leader Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
(at the Four Seasons Hotel in Georgetown
), Madeleine Albright
(representing US President-elect Barack Obama
), Senator Christopher Dodd
and Australia's Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd
at the Park Hyatt Hotel. She then attended the G20 meeting in London 2 April 2009 and was given a seat of honour at the dinner held the night before at 10 Downing Street, when she was seated across from President Obama.
Also in the year 2008, Cristina Kirchner vetoed the "Law of protection of the glaciers" ( ), which had been approved almost unanimously in Congress (only 3 senators opposed the law). Critics have stated that the President's attitude would threaten over 75% of the country's water reserves.
Cristina Kirchner has travelled extensively as president, visiting Algeria, Brazil, Cuba, Egypt, France, Libya, Mexico, Qatar, Russia, Spain, the UK, the US and Venezuela, among other nations.
, the ruling FPV's party list lost its absolute majority in both houses of Congress, shedding a further 24 seats in the Lower House (including allies) and 4 in the Senate. They lost in the four most important electoral districts (home to 60% of Argentines), and among these, the loss was narrow only in the Province of Buenos Aires. The FPV obtained a very narrow victory, overall, as a percentage of the national vote, and retained their plurality in Congress. This will be reflected in strengthened opposition alliances, notably the center-right Unión Pro
, the centrist Civic Coalition
and the left-wing Proyecto Sur, when elected candidates in both chambers take office on 11 December 2009.
Allegations of impropriety have contributed increasingly to the Kirchners' decline in approval, as well. The couple's own, latest federal financial disclosure in July 2009 revealed an increase in their personal assets by 7 times, since Néstor Kirchner's 2003 inaugural. The increase was partly the product of land deals in El Calafate
, a scenic, Santa Cruz Province
town where the couple has long vacationed and own property (including 450 acres (1.8 km²) of land and two hotels).
On 17 October 2009, President Cristina Fernández proposed the compulsory submission of DNA
samples in cases related to crimes against humanity, in a move lauded by the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo
, but excoriated by opposition figures as a political move against Clarín Media Group
Chairperson Ernestina Herrera de Noble
, who is in litigation over her suspected adoption of two children of the "disappeared," and whose hitherto cordial relations with Kirchnerism
had recently soured. Similar motives are alleged by the opposition against the president's Media Law, which would restrict the number of media licences per proprietor and allocate a greater share of these to state and NGOs, thereby limiting the influence of Clarín and the conservative La Nación. The president's proposed enactment of mandatory primary elections for all of Argentina's myriad political parties, and for every elected post, was likewise rejected by opposition figures, who charged that these reforms could stymy minor parties and the formation of new ones.
Following charges of embezzlement filed by a local attorney, Enrique Piragini, on 29 October, Federal Judge Norberto Oyarbide ordered an accounting expert to investigate the origin of the Kirchners’ wealth. Public records show that since their arrival to power in 2003, the declared assets of Cristina and Néstor Kirchner have increased by 572%. A preliminary report on the investigation by the Argentine Anti Corruption Office (OA) established that the official figures provided by the Kirchners "don't stack up". The investigation was suspended by Judge Oyarbide on 30 December, though a week later, Piragini appealed the ruling.
On 29 October 2009 she launched a universal child benefit plan as a way to fight poverty with the goal to reach approximately five million children and youths. Since its creation, the program has been lauded for having boosted school attendance rates and reduced poverty amongst families.
, who refused to implement it, and following an impasse, he was dismissed by presidential decree on 7 January 2010.
Redrado refused to abide by the initial decree removing him from the presidency of the Central Bank, however, and petitioned for a judicial power to keep him in office. Accordingly, the president enacted another decree for his dismissal, citing "mis-conduct" on Redrado's part. The legitimacy of this new decree was questioned as well, as his dismissal would deny Redrado due process
. Congress was in recess period at the time, but most of its opposition members considered returning to override the decrees through an extraordinary session. The session became a source of controversy as well: Kirchner considered that, according to the 63rd article of the Constitution, only the President may call for an extraordinary session while the Congress is in recess. Cobos replied instead that all regulations concerning decrees require the immediate advise and consent of Congress, that the body's by-laws (56 and 57) allow extraordinary sessions called by any member, and that the commission formed for that purpose functions all at all times, even during recess.
The planned use of foreign exchange reserves through a Necessity and Urgency Decree
was itself questioned by several opposition figures, who argued that such a decree may not meet a threshold of "necessity" and "urgency" required by the Constitution of Argentina
for its enactment. Judge María José Sarmiento
handed down a ruling preventing said use of reserves, and the Government reacted by appealing the ruling. President Kirchner defended the policy as a cost saving maneuver, whereby government bond
s paying out 15 percent interest would be retired from the market. The move, however, also provided numerous vulture fund
s (holdout
s from the 2005 debt restructuring who had resorted to the courts in a bid for higher returns on their defaulted bonds) a legal argument against the central bank's autarky, and thus facilitated a judgement lien on 12 January against a central bank account in New York.
Judge Sarmiento also annulled the decree that removed Redrado and reinstated him as President of the Central Bank the following day. The ruling also refuted claims of mis-conduct cited by President Cristina Kirchner to justify his removal. International media described the attempted removal of Redrado as authoritarian, while criticizing the planned use of reserves for debt retirement, as well as accelerating spending growth, as fiscally irresponsible. Opposition Congresswoman Elisa Carrió
, a likely candidate in the upcoming 2011 presidential campaign, has raised the possibility of impeachment
procedures against Mrs. Kirchner.
At the start of the month of February 2010, one of Cristina Fernández's private asessors resigned his post due to the claims of "illicit gain". Just two weeks afterwards, another of her private asessors, Julio Daniel Álvarez, resigned for the same reason.
On 22 February 2010, British oil explorer Desire Petroleum
, started drilling exploration wells some 60 miles (96.6 km) north of the disputed Falkland/Malvinas Islands, despite strong opposition from Argentina which took the issue to the Latin America and Caribbean Presidents summit where it received unanimous support. According to geological surveys carried out in 1998, there could be 60 Goilbbl of oil in the area around the islands but the 2010 drill carried out poor results.
As a result Desire's share price plummeted and the company announced further work could begin later this year (2010).
In March 2010 Fernández made an historic amends trip to Peru
a country with whom relations had been adversely affected following the Carlos Menem
administration's illegal sale of weapons to Ecuador
in the 1990s. In the same month Fernández received the visit of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Buenos Aires, where she received great support for the way her administration was managing the foreign debt issue and emphasized the positive relationship between the two countries something which was not reported by local major news media.
In April 2010, Chile's new president Sebastián Piñera
was received in Buenos Aires on his first foreign tour abroad and reaffirmed the current strong ties between the two countries. following which Cristina Fernández attended the Nuclear Security Summit
in Washington DC, after which President Barack Obama
thanked Argentina for its role in international stabilization and earthquake relief efforts
in Haiti. Back in Buenos Aires, she received the President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev
the first such visit in Argentina's history. Two days later, the Prime Minister of Vietnam Nguyễn Tấn Dũng arrived. On 19 April, she was invited to the bicentennary of the independence celebrations in Venezuela, where she was the main speaker in front of the National Assembly. She signed 25 trade agreements with Venezuela relating to food, technology and energy.
In May 2010, the President traveled to Spain for the European Union
-Latin America and the Caribbean
summit, where she was asked to compare the 2010 European sovereign debt crisis
and the 2001 Argentine's default. Back in Buenos Aires, during the Argentina Bicentennial
celebrations, Cristina Fernández did not participate in the military parade of 5,000 troops (which included delegations of Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, Bolivia, etc.) on the 9 de Julio Avenue
, which was considered a gest of contempt towards the Argentine Armed Forces.
In June 2010, her administration completed the debt swap (which was started by former president Néstor Kirchner
in 2005) clearing 92% of the bad debt left from its sovereign default
in 2001. Argentina external debt now represents 30% of the country's GDP, whilst the Central Bank foreign reserves reached $49 billion {USD}, more than the amount that was available when the decision to pay foreign debt earlier in the year was taken.
Also in June 2010, she gave a speech at the International Trade Union Confederation
(CSI) Global Summit, being held in Vancouver
, Canada where she asserted that "many Euro-zone countries today have applied the same policies that led Argentina to disaster (in 2001)," stating, also, that "it's an inescapable responsibility of the government to intervene in the financial system.". Later, she traveled to Toronto to attend the G20 Summit
and spoke against the EU fiscal austerity plans fearing this would lead to a slow down in the global economy. French President Nicolas Sarkozy
responded by saying that the Latin American representatives who reject the Eurozone adjustments do not know the "harrassment" to the Euro, to which Cristina Fernández responded that he shouldn't "question somebody" just because he doesn't "agree" with what they say and also clarified that Argentina is interested in the euro because parts of its reserves are held in euros and that she's "sure that Sarkozy does not have even one cent in Argentine pesos in his Central Bank.". Later addressing the press she added, "In Latin America we can give cathedra about harassment and seizure." She also had a chance to speak with new British PM David Cameron
.
In July 2010, she traveled to the People's Republic of China with the goal of, according the Chinese embassy at Buenos Aires, strengthening the strategic partnership between the two countries On her return, she signed a bill legalizing same-sex marriage in Argentina. This strained the government's already strained relationship with the Catholic Church
. She also reaffirmed her policy of debt reduction in announcing to continue to pay foreign debt with Central Bank foreign reserves which reached a country historic record of $51 billion USD in July.
In August 2010, Cristina Fernández began to use her Twitter account. She also preceded the 39th Mercosur
summit at San Juan
where the trade bloc agrees to reduce customs fees and signs a free-trade deal with Egypt
.
On September 2010, it was announced that Argentina was elected president of the Group of 77
+China and prepared to act as a ‘bridge” with G-20 major economies
to which it also belongs Cristina Fernández visited Chile during their Bicentenary celebrations where she also assisted at the baptism of a Chilean baby, Anaís Escobar Maldonado, born in the Argentine Hospital
deployed at Curico
after the earthquake. The visit had a high profile in the media mainly because of the possible extradition to Chile of Sergio Apablaza
. She met with president Sebastian Piñera
and participated in the festivities at the national stadium. She also confirmed the celebration of the III bi-national cabinet meeting for next October. Fernández then departed for New York to give her United Nations General Assembly
speech where she once again criticized Britain over the Falklands (Malvinas) issue, and Iran for the 1994 AMIA bombing whilst giving her support for an Israeli-Palestinian dialogue and an eventual Palestinian state. On 30 September she hosted the UNASUR presidents' emergency summit at Buenos Aires due the Ecuador crisis
and started an official visit to Germany the following day in order to participate as a Guest of Honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair
and meet with Chancellor Angela Merkel
. In October she inaugurates the III News Agencies World Congress to be held in Bariloche. This same month, and as part of the 2006 civilian nuclear-power reactivation program
, Fernández reopened the Pilcaniyeu uranium enrichment plant, put on ice in the 1990s, amid worsening shortages of natural gas. Following the death of her spouse (see below), Cristina Fernández resumed activities and flew to Asia for the G20 Seoul summit
. After her return she announces that the Paris Club
agrees to debt talks without the International Monetary Fund
intervention as proposed by Argentina since 2008. These negotiations will result in the settlement of the last portion of the sovereign debt defaulted in the 2001 crisis after the successful restructuring debts of 2005 and 2009. On November she also participated on the UNASUR Summit
at Guyana
after which will host the XX Ibero-American Summit
at Mar del Plata
.
On the morning of 27 October 2010, her husband, former President
Néstor Kirchner
, died of a heart failure at the Hospital Jose Formenti in El Calafate
, Santa Cruz Province
. He had been subject to two coronary interventions earlier in the year (2010). On 7 February 2010, he developed problems with the common carotid artery and needed surgery. On 11 September, he was intervened because of coronary artery blockage and needed an angioplasty. Néstor Kirchner had a massive state funeral
at the Casa Rosada.
that took place in October. The youth organization Cámpora
increased its influence within the government, disputing offices and candidacies with the traditional hierarchies of the Justicialist Party
and of the CGT
. Cristina Fernández chose Daniel Filmus as her candidate for the office of mayor of Buenos Aires. On June 21, 2011, she announced that she would run for a second term as president. A few days later, she announced that Amado Boudou
would run for the vice-presidency on her ticket. She personally chose most candidates for deputy in the Congress, favoring members of the Cámpora.
Cristina Fernández had highly visible disagreements with Brazil, particularly regarding the trade quotas between the two countries. She also had disputes with the United States, after seizing an American military airplane.
On September 22, President Fernández addressed the United Nations. She supported the Palestinian
request to be seated in the General Assembly of United Nations, blamed Iran for the 1994 AMIA bombing, and threatened to cancel flights from Chile to the Falkland Islands in order to advance Argentine claims of sovereignty over the Islands.
Cristina Fernandez is a ardent advocate of social equality and earnings distribution. She also believes that the current global crisis can only be overcome by investing in production, creating jobs and stimulating consumption. She spoke at the 2011 G-20 meeting, and her initiatives were supported by global leaders and included in the final resolution of the meeting.
On 14 November 2007, the president-elect publicly announced the names of her new cabinet, which was sworn in on 10 December. Of the 12 ministers appointed, seven were already ministers in Néstor Kirchner
's government, while the other five took office for the first time. Three other ministries were created afterwards.
corporation which is owner of video cable networks, multiple TV Channels, radios, the main newspaper and through most of a decade before 2010 the monopoly of the Argentine football, a so-called opinion-former.
In April 2008, Kirchner received a stern public rebuke from the Argentine media owners
Association (Spanish: Asociación de Entidades Periodísticas Argentinas, or ADEPA) for having publicly accused the popular cartoonist Hermenegildo Sábat
of behaving like a "quasi mafioso". In addition, a government proposal to create a watchdog to monitor racism and discrimination was received with suspicion by ADEPA, who called it a "covert attempt to control the media". Néstor Kirchner, Cristina's husband and predecessor in office, received a similar rebuke for publicly and falsely denouncing Joaquín Morales Solá
, a journalist critical of the government, for having produced an inflammatory text published in 1978.
On 11 September 2009, she advanced the decriminalization of injurious calumny against public officials, a charge which had, in 2000, resulted in a prison term of one year for Eduardo Kimel, a journalist investigating the San Patricio Church massacre
of 1976. She drew fire from a highly controversial Audiovisual Media Law proposed shortly afterwards, however. Defended by the government as a reform intended to fragment ownership of media companies as to encourage plurality of opinion, the bill was criticised by part of the opposition as a means to silence voices critical of the government, especially those in the Clarín media group (the country's largest). However, a significant amount of opposing congressmen voted in favor of the law, as they considered it was clearly an improvement on the existing one, and that the government had been willing to negotiate and modify parts of the proposed new law to improve it.
The law has aroused further controversy, given that in its passing through the chambers of the legislature, the mandatory 7 day period between debate and assent of the new legislation was ignored. The view among the part of the opposition that opposed the bill is that Kirchner’s government tried to rush the law through parliament before December 2009, when the government could have lost its absolute majorities in Congress.
Dr. Lauro Laíño, the president of ADEPA (media owners), in a speech given on 24 September 2009, opposed the proposed law, and added that in Latin America, especially in Venezuela and Argentina, “press freedom was being undermined under the suspicious pretext of plurality” Others, notably press freedom advocacy group Reporters Sans Frontières, have expressed some support for the measure, citing the need to repeal the Radio Broadcast Law of 1980 enacted by the National Reorganization Process
, Argentina's last military government.
The acrimony between Cristina Kirchner's government and the national media was exacerbated by a series of lock-ins carried out by the truck drivers' union led by Pablo Moyano, son of Hugo Moyano
, a close ally of the Kirchner government. During the lock in, the country's most widely circulated newspapers (Clarín and La Nación) were prevented by force and threats of violence from distributing papers to newsstands. On 7 November 2009, the Association of Newspaper Editors of Buenos Aires (AEDBA) issued a statement in which it claimed that the truck drivers' unions' actions had been the fiercest attack on the free circulation of newspapers the country had seen since its return to democratic rule in 1983.
On 2010 the Supreme Court of Argentina
ruled that the judicial movement made by an opposition deputy who tried to suspend the new Media Law, which was approved by the National Congress
, was illegal.
as thirteenth in the list of the 100 most powerful women in the world
, being the second female head of government in the list below Angela Merkel
. In 2009 she rose to eleventh, but in 2010 she fell to sixty-eighth. In 2010, she was ranked by the magazine Time as second in the list of the Top 10 Female Leaders of the World.
Her public image decreased during the conflict with the agricultural sector
, leading to a defeat of the party in 2009. The death and state funeral of Néstor Kirchner
increased her public image again.
, "Cristina has deployed her glamour and sexuality as potent weapons on her way to a goal that not even the legendary Eva Perón
was able to achieve.". She likes the mixture of textures, colors and prints, and has some favorite designers from Argentina
. She always wears makeup and high heels.
Cristina Fernández de Kirchner is often criticized by observers—in both the media and the world of politics—for her excessive spending on clothes, jewelry and shoes. She rarely wears the same attire twice, and in many cases has been criticized for arriving late to meetings with international leaders because she was getting dressed.
Since Néstor's death
, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner has decided to wear only black attire. So far, she has worn more than 200 different black outfits.
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President of Argentina
The President of the Argentine Nation , usually known as the President of Argentina, is the head of state of Argentina. Under the national Constitution, the President is also the chief executive of the federal government and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces.Through Argentine history, the...
and the widow of former President Néstor Kirchner
Néstor Kirchner
Néstor Carlos Kirchner was an Argentine politician who served as the 54th President of Argentina from 25 May 2003 until 10 December 2007. Previously, he was Governor of Santa Cruz Province since 10 December 1991. He briefly served as Secretary General of the Union of South American Nations ...
. She is Argentina's first elected female president, and the second female president ever to serve (after Isabel Martínez de Perón
Isabel Martínez de Perón
María Estela Martínez Cartas de Perón , better known as Isabel Martínez de Perón or Isabel Perón, is a former President of Argentina. She was also the third wife of another former President, Juan Perón...
, 1974–1976). A Justicialist
Justicialist Party
The Justicialist Party , or PJ, is a Peronist political party in Argentina, and the largest component of the Peronist movement.The party was led by Néstor Kirchner, President of Argentina from 2003 to 2007, until his death on October 27, 2010. The current Argentine president, Cristina Fernández de...
, Fernández served one term as National Deputy
Argentine Chamber of Deputies
The Chamber of Deputies is the lower house of the Argentine National Congress. This Chamber holds exclusive rights to create taxes, to draft troops, and to accuse the President, the ministers and the members of the Supreme Court before the Senate....
and three terms as National Senator
Argentine Senate
The Argentine Senate is the upper house of the Argentine National Congress. It has 72 senators: three for each province and three for the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires...
for both Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz Province (Argentina)
Santa Cruz is a province of Argentina, located in the southern part of the country, in Patagonia. It borders Chubut province to the north, and Chile to the west and south. To the east is the Atlantic Ocean...
and Buenos Aires Province
Buenos Aires Province
The Province of Buenos Aires is the largest and most populous province of Argentina. It takes the name from the city of Buenos Aires, which used to be the provincial capital until it was federalized in 1880...
s.
A native of La Plata
La Plata
La Plata is the capital city of the Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and of La Plata partido. According to the , the city proper has a population of 574,369 and its metropolitan area has 694,253 inhabitants....
, Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires Province
The Province of Buenos Aires is the largest and most populous province of Argentina. It takes the name from the city of Buenos Aires, which used to be the provincial capital until it was federalized in 1880...
, Fernández is a graduate of the National University of La Plata. She met her husband during her studies, and they moved to Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz Province
Santa Cruz Province may refer to*Santa Cruz Province, Argentina*Santa Cruz Province, Peru*Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain...
to work as lawyers. In May 1991, she was elected to the provincial legislature. Between 1995 and 2007, she was repeatedly elected to the Argentine National Congress
Argentine National Congress
The Congress of the Argentine Nation is the legislative branch of the government of Argentina. Its composition is bicameral, constituted by a 72-seat Senate and a 257-seat Chamber of Deputies....
, both as a National Deputy and National Senator. During Kirchner's presidency (2003–2007) she acted as First Lady
First Lady
First Lady or First Gentlemanis the unofficial title used in some countries for the spouse of an elected head of state.It is not normally used to refer to the spouse or partner of a prime minister; the husband or wife of the British Prime Minister is usually informally referred to as prime...
. Fernández was chosen as the Front for Victory
Front for Victory
The Front for Victory is a Peronist political party and electoral alliance in Argentina, although it is formally a faction of the Justicialist Party. Both the former President Néstor Kirchner and the current President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner belong to this party, located on the left-wing...
presidential candidate in 2007. In the October 2007 general election
Argentine general election, 2007
Argentina held national presidential and legislative elections on October 28, 2007, and elections for provincial governors took place on staggered dates throughout the year. For the national elections, each of the 23 provinces and the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires are considered electoral districts...
she obtained 45.3% of the vote and a 22% lead over her nearest rival, avoiding the need for a runoff. She was inaugurated on 10 December 2007, and was reelected to a second term in the first round of the October 2011 general election
Argentine general election, 2011
Argentina held national presidential and legislative elections on 23 October 2011. Incumbent president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner secured a second term in office after the Front for Victory won just over half of the seats in the National Congress....
. As a First Lady, and later President
President of Argentina
The President of the Argentine Nation , usually known as the President of Argentina, is the head of state of Argentina. Under the national Constitution, the President is also the chief executive of the federal government and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces.Through Argentine history, the...
, she has become a fashion icon for women and a notable advocate for human rights
Human rights in Argentina
The Dirty War, a state-sponsored violence against Argentine citizenry from roughly 1976 to 1983, was carried out primarily by Jorge Rafael Videla's military government, ended years ago, and the human rights situation in Argentina has improved since.-History:...
, poverty awareness and health improvement
Health care in Argentina
Argentina’s health care system is composed of three sectors: the public sector, financed through taxes; the private sector, financed through voluntary insurance schemes; and the social security sector, financed through obligatory insurance schemes...
.
Personal life
Fernández was born in Ringuelet, a suburb west of La PlataLa Plata
La Plata is the capital city of the Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and of La Plata partido. According to the , the city proper has a population of 574,369 and its metropolitan area has 694,253 inhabitants....
, Province of Buenos Aires, daughter of Eduardo Fernández (of Spanish heritage) and Ofelia Esther Wilhelm (of German heritage). She studied law at the National University of La Plata during the 1970s and became active in the Peronist Youth. During her studies there, she met her future spouse, Néstor Kirchner
Néstor Kirchner
Néstor Carlos Kirchner was an Argentine politician who served as the 54th President of Argentina from 25 May 2003 until 10 December 2007. Previously, he was Governor of Santa Cruz Province since 10 December 1991. He briefly served as Secretary General of the Union of South American Nations ...
. They were married on 9 March 1975, and had two children: Máximo and Florencia. Néstor died on 27 October 2010 after suffering a heart attack.
Political career
Fernández started her political career in the Peronist Youth movement of the Justicialist PartyJusticialist Party
The Justicialist Party , or PJ, is a Peronist political party in Argentina, and the largest component of the Peronist movement.The party was led by Néstor Kirchner, President of Argentina from 2003 to 2007, until his death on October 27, 2010. The current Argentine president, Cristina Fernández de...
in the 1970s. During the period of authoritarian rule in the country
National Reorganization Process
The National Reorganization Process was the name used by its leaders for the military government that ruled Argentina from 1976 to 1983. In Argentina it is often known simply as la última junta militar or la última dictadura , because several of them existed throughout its history.The Argentine...
, she and Néstor dropped out of politics and practiced law in Río Gallegos. She picked up politics again in the late 1980s, and was elected to the Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz Province (Argentina)
Santa Cruz is a province of Argentina, located in the southern part of the country, in Patagonia. It borders Chubut province to the north, and Chile to the west and south. To the east is the Atlantic Ocean...
Provincial Legislature in 1989, a position to which she was re-elected in 1993.
In 1995, Fernández was elected to represent Santa Cruz in the Senate
Argentine Senate
The Argentine Senate is the upper house of the Argentine National Congress. It has 72 senators: three for each province and three for the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires...
. She was elected to the Chamber of Deputies
Argentine Chamber of Deputies
The Chamber of Deputies is the lower house of the Argentine National Congress. This Chamber holds exclusive rights to create taxes, to draft troops, and to accuse the President, the ministers and the members of the Supreme Court before the Senate....
in 1997, and in 2001, returned to the Senate. Fernández helped with her husband's successful campaign for the presidency in 2003, but without making joint public appearances. In the 27 April 2003, presidential election
Argentine general election, 2003
Argentina held presidential and parliamentary elections on Sunday, April 27, 2003. Turnout was 78.2% and the results were as follows:-Argentine Congress:-Background:...
first round, former president Carlos Saúl Menem won the greatest number of votes (25%), but failed to get the votes necessary to win an overall majority. A second-round run-off vote between Menem and runner-up Néstor Kirchner
Néstor Kirchner
Néstor Carlos Kirchner was an Argentine politician who served as the 54th President of Argentina from 25 May 2003 until 10 December 2007. Previously, he was Governor of Santa Cruz Province since 10 December 1991. He briefly served as Secretary General of the Union of South American Nations ...
was scheduled for 18 May. Feeling certain that he was about to face a sound electoral defeat, Menem decided to withdraw his candidacy, thus automatically making Kirchner the new president, with 22% of the votes. This was the lowest number in the history of the country.
During her husband's term, Fernández became the First Lady
First Lady
First Lady or First Gentlemanis the unofficial title used in some countries for the spouse of an elected head of state.It is not normally used to refer to the spouse or partner of a prime minister; the husband or wife of the British Prime Minister is usually informally referred to as prime...
of the country. In that role, she worked as an itinerant ambassador for his government. Her highly combative speech style polarized Argentine politics, recalling the style of Eva Perón
Eva Perón
María Eva Duarte de Perón was the second wife of President Juan Perón and served as the First Lady of Argentina from 1946 until her death in 1952. She is often referred to as simply Eva Perón, or by the affectionate Spanish language diminutive Evita.She was born in the village of Los Toldos in...
. Although she repeatedly rejected the comparison later, Cristina Fernández once said in an interview that she identified herself "with the Evita of the hair in a bun and the clenched fist before a microphone" (the typical image of Eva Perón during public speeches) more than with the "miraculous Eva" of her mother's time, who had come "to bring work and the right to vote for women".
At the October 2005 legislative elections, Fernández was her party
Front for Victory
The Front for Victory is a Peronist political party and electoral alliance in Argentina, although it is formally a faction of the Justicialist Party. Both the former President Néstor Kirchner and the current President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner belong to this party, located on the left-wing...
's main candidate for Senator
Argentine Senate
The Argentine Senate is the upper house of the Argentine National Congress. It has 72 senators: three for each province and three for the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires...
in the Province of Buenos Aires district. She ran a heated campaign against Hilda González de Duhalde
Hilda de Duhalde
Hilda Beatriz 'Chiche' González de Duhalde is a politician in Argentina. She is a Senator for Buenos Aires Province and the wife of former President Eduardo Duhalde....
, the wife of former president Eduardo Duhalde
Eduardo Duhalde
-External links:...
. Fernández won the elections by 45.77%, followed by González de Duhalde with 20.43%.
Election to presidency of Argentina
Two-round system
The two-round system is a voting system used to elect a single winner where the voter casts a single vote for their chosen candidate...
. She needed either more than 45% of the vote, or 40% of the vote and a lead of more than 10% over her nearest rival, to win outright. Fernández won the election in the first round with 45.3% of the vote, followed by 22% for Elisa Carrió
Elisa Carrió
Elisa María Avelina Carrió is an Argentine politician, founder of the party initially known as Alternative for a Republic of Equals , now Civic Coalition ARI ....
(candidate for the Civic Coalition
Civic Coalition
The Civic Coalition is a political coalition in Argentina. It was founded by Elisa Carrió, as an association supported by the ARI party , as well as a number of other political groups and individual political leaders, notably Union for All of Patricia Bullrich and GEN - Generation for a National...
) and 16% for former Economy Minister Roberto Lavagna
Roberto Lavagna
Roberto Lavagna is an Argentine economist and politician, and was the former Minister of Economy and Production of Argentina from April 27, 2002, to November 28, 2005.-Career:...
. Eleven others split the remaining 15%. Kirchner was popular among the suburban working class and the rural poor, while Carrió received more support from the urban middle class, as did Lavagna. Of note, Kirchner lost the election in the three largest cities (Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, Córdoba
Córdoba, Argentina
Córdoba is a city located near the geographical center of Argentina, in the foothills of the Sierras Chicas on the Suquía River, about northwest of Buenos Aires. It is the capital of Córdoba Province. Córdoba is the second-largest city in Argentina after the federal capital Buenos Aires, with...
and Rosario), although she won in most other places elsewhere, including the large provincial capitals such as Mendoza
Mendoza, Argentina
Mendoza is the capital city of Mendoza Province, in Argentina. It is located in the northern-central part of the province, in a region of foothills and high plains, on the eastern side of the Andes. As of the , Mendoza's population was 110,993...
and Tucumán.
On 14 November, the president-elect publicly announced the names of her new cabinet, which was sworn in on 10 December. Of the 12 ministers appointed, seven were already ministers in Néstor Kirchner
Néstor Kirchner
Néstor Carlos Kirchner was an Argentine politician who served as the 54th President of Argentina from 25 May 2003 until 10 December 2007. Previously, he was Governor of Santa Cruz Province since 10 December 1991. He briefly served as Secretary General of the Union of South American Nations ...
's government, while the other five took office for the first time. Three other ministries were created afterwards.
The president elect began a four-year term on 10 December 2007, facing challenges including inflation, union demands for higher salaries, private investment in key areas, lack of institutional credibility (exemplified by the controversy surrounding the national statistics bureau
National Institute of Statistics and Census of Argentina
National Statistics and Censuses Institute is the Argentine government agency responsible for the collection and processing of statistical data...
, INDEC), utility companies demanding authorization to raise their fees, low availability of cheap credit to the private sector, and the upcoming negotiation of the defaulted foreign debt with the Paris Club
Paris Club
The Paris Club is an informal group of financial officials from 19 of some of the world's biggest economies, which provides financial services such as war funding, debt restructuring, debt relief, and debt cancellation to indebted countries and their creditors...
. Kirchner was the second female president of Argentina, after Isabel Martínez de Perón
Isabel Martínez de Perón
María Estela Martínez Cartas de Perón , better known as Isabel Martínez de Perón or Isabel Perón, is a former President of Argentina. She was also the third wife of another former President, Juan Perón...
, but unlike Perón, Kirchner was the head of the ballot, whereas Isabel Perón was elected as vice president of Juan Domingo Perón and became president after his death. The transition from Néstor Kirchner to Cristina Kirchner was also the first time when a democratic head of state was replaced by his spouse, without involving the death of any of them. Néstor Kirchner stayed active in politics despite not being the president, and worked alongside Cristina Kirchner. The press developed the term "presidential marriage" to make reference to both of them at once. Some political analysts as Pablo Mendelevich compared this type of government with a diarchy
Diarchy
Diarchy , from the Greek δι- "twice" and αρχια, "rule", is a form of government in which two individuals, the diarchs, are the heads of state. In most diarchies, the diarchs hold their position for life and pass the responsibilities and power of the position to their children or family when they...
.
2007
During the first days of Fernández's presidency, Argentina's relations with the United States deteriorated as a result of allegations made by a United States assistant attorney of illegal campaign contributions, case known as the maletinazoMaletinazo
The maletinazo, valijagate, or "suitcase scandal" was a 2007 scandal involving Venezuela and Argentina, souring friendship between the countries. The word comes from maletín and the suffix -azo which implies intensity or magnitude...
(suitcase scandal). According to these allegations, Venezuelan agents tried to pressure a Venezuelan American
Venezuelan American
Venezuelan Americans are citizens and residents of the United States who trace their heritage to the South American nation of Venezuela.Venezuelan Americans are one of 20 Hispanic or Latino groups in the U.S. While other U.S...
citizen (Guido Antonini Wilson) to lie about the origin of $790,550 in cash found in his suitcase on 4 August 2007 at a Buenos Aires airport. US prosecutors allege the money was sent to help Kirchner's presidential campaign. Some of the allegations were proven and several individuals received a prison sentence after a widely reported trial.
Fernández and Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez
Hugo Chávez
Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías is the 56th and current President of Venezuela, having held that position since 1999. He was formerly the leader of the Fifth Republic Movement political party from its foundation in 1997 until 2007, when he became the leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela...
called the allegations "a trashing operation" and part of a conspiracy orchestrated by the US to divide Latin American nations. On 19 December 2007, she restricted the US ambassador's activities and limited his meetings to Foreign Ministry officials; a treatment reserved for hostile countries, in the opinion of a former US Assistant Secretary of State.
However, on 31 January, in a special meeting with Kirchner, the US Ambassador to Argentina, Earl Anthony Wayne
Earl Anthony Wayne
Earl Anthony Wayne is a United States international policy maker and diplomat. In June, 2011, Wayne was nominated by President Barack Obama to be ambassador to Mexico.-Life and education:...
, clarified that the allegations "were never made by the United States government," and the dispute cooled down. Having said that the prosecutors making the charges are part of the independent judicial branch of the US government.
Elisa Carrió
Elisa Carrió
Elisa María Avelina Carrió is an Argentine politician, founder of the party initially known as Alternative for a Republic of Equals , now Civic Coalition ARI ....
and María Estenssoro, both high ranking members of the main opposition parties, have claimed that the Argentine government's response to the allegations and its criticism of the US are a "smokescreen", that the US involvement in the affair was merely symptomatic, and the root cause of the scandal is corruption in the Argentine
Government of Argentina
The government of Argentina, functioning within the framework of a federal system, is a presidential representative democratic republic. The President of Argentina is both head of state and head of government. Executive power is exercised by the President. Legislative power is vested in both the...
and Venezuelan
Politics of Venezuela
|The politics of Venezuela occurs in a framework explained in Government of Venezuela.There are currently two major blocs of political parties in Venezuela: the incumbent leftist bloc United Socialist Party of Venezuela , its major allies Fatherland for All and the Communist Party of Venezuela ,...
governments.
2008
Argentine general election, 2007
Argentina held national presidential and legislative elections on October 28, 2007, and elections for provincial governors took place on staggered dates throughout the year. For the national elections, each of the 23 provinces and the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires are considered electoral districts...
(with 153 Congressmen and 44 Senators, at the time). In March 2008, Kirchner introduced a new sliding-scale taxation system for agricultural exports, effectively raising levies on soybean
Soybean
The soybean or soya bean is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean which has numerous uses...
exports from 35% to 44% at the time of the announcement. This led to a nationwide lockout by farming associations
2008 Argentine government conflict with the agricultural sector
The 2008 Argentine government conflict with the agricultural sector started in March 2008, which then extended into a prolonged period of turbulent politics...
, starting on 12 March, with the aim of forcing the government to back down on the new taxation scheme. They were joined on 25 March by thousands of pot-banging demonstrators
Cacerolazo
A cacerolazo or cacerolada is a form of popular protest practised in certain Spanish-speaking countries – in particular Argentina and Chile – which consists in a group of people creating noise by banging pots, pans, and other utensils in order to call for attention...
massed around the Buenos Aires Obelisk
Plaza de la República (Buenos Aires)
Plaza de la República is a vast city square in Buenos Aires, capital of Argentina. It is located in the San Nicolás quarter, at the intersection of the city's three main arteries : Ninth of July Avenue, Corrientes Avenue, and Diagonal Norte...
and in front of the presidential palace
Casa Rosada
La Casa Rosada is the official seat of the executive branch of the government of Argentina, and of the offices of the President. The President normally lives at the Quinta de Olivos, a compound in Olivos, Buenos Aires Province. Its characteristic color is pink, and is considered one of the most...
.
Protests extended across the country. In Buenos Aires, hours after Kirchner attacked farmers for their two-week strike and "abundant" profits, there were violent incidents between government supporters and opponents, to which the police was accused of wilfully turning a blind eye. The media was harshly critical of Luis D'Elía, a former government official who took part in the incidents, with some media sources and members of the opposition (notably Elisa Carrió
Elisa Carrió
Elisa María Avelina Carrió is an Argentine politician, founder of the party initially known as Alternative for a Republic of Equals , now Civic Coalition ARI ....
), claiming that he and his followers had disrupted the protest pursuant to the government's orders. On 1 April, the government organised a rally during which thousands of pro-government protesters marched through downtown Buenos Aires in support of the bill increasing Argentina's export taxes on the basis of a sliding scale; at the event, Kirchner called on farmers to act "as part of a country, not as owners of a country."
Falklands War
The Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...
, Kirchner stepped up Argentine claims to the Falkland Islands
Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, located about from the coast of mainland South America. The archipelago consists of East Falkland, West Falkland and 776 lesser islands. The capital, Stanley, is on East Falkland...
. She called Argentina's rights to the islands "inalienable".
The large majorities in the Argentine Congress enjoyed by the Front for Victory
Front for Victory
The Front for Victory is a Peronist political party and electoral alliance in Argentina, although it is formally a faction of the Justicialist Party. Both the former President Néstor Kirchner and the current President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner belong to this party, located on the left-wing...
(FPV) could not ultimately guarantee a legislative blank check: on 16 July 2008, the presidentially sponsored bill met with deadlock, and was ultimately defeated by the tie-breaking "no" vote of Vice President Julio Cobos
Julio Cobos
Julio César Cleto Cobos is an Argentine politician, currently serving as the Vice President of Argentina alongside President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. He started his political career as member of the Radical Civic Union , becoming Governor of Mendoza in 2003...
. The controversy cost the FPV 16 Congressmen and 4 Senators by way of defections. This put an end to the 2008 Argentine government conflict with the agricultural sector
2008 Argentine government conflict with the agricultural sector
The 2008 Argentine government conflict with the agricultural sector started in March 2008, which then extended into a prolonged period of turbulent politics...
, though it cost Cobos access to the executive branch of the government. He was reportedly considered "a traitor" by the followers of Kirchner's administration. Cobos denied that he would resign, although the relationship between the President and the Vice President has an uncertain future.
A poll result published in El País, Spain's most widely circulated daily newspaper, revealed that following the protests, Fernández's approval rating had "plummeted" from 57.8% at the start of her administration to an unprecedented 23%. Once recovered from the conflict with agrarian interests, Cristina Kirchner's public approval improved; her job approval ratings rose by 30% (Poliarquía, August 22, 2008). Her inflexible handling of the protests and reluctance to review the policies that sparked the protest have led to speculation that it is her husband, predecessor in office and current leader of the Justicialist Party
Justicialist Party
The Justicialist Party , or PJ, is a Peronist political party in Argentina, and the largest component of the Peronist movement.The party was led by Néstor Kirchner, President of Argentina from 2003 to 2007, until his death on October 27, 2010. The current Argentine president, Cristina Fernández de...
, Néstor Kirchner
Néstor Kirchner
Néstor Carlos Kirchner was an Argentine politician who served as the 54th President of Argentina from 25 May 2003 until 10 December 2007. Previously, he was Governor of Santa Cruz Province since 10 December 1991. He briefly served as Secretary General of the Union of South American Nations ...
, who controls her administration. The British weekly newspaper The Economist
The Economist
The Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...
has described this situation as Kirchner "paying the price for her husband's pig-headedness", and as of February 2009, her job approval rating was 28%.
On 20 October 2008, Fernández proposed the transfer of nearly US$30 billion in private pension holdings to the social security system, a law that was passed by Congress in late November.
President Cristina Kirchner is a member of the Council of Women World Leaders
Council of Women World Leaders
The Council of Women World Leaders is a network of current and former women prime ministers and presidents established in 1996 by Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, President of Iceland and first woman in the world to be democratically elected president, and Laura Liswood, Secretary General...
, an international network of current and former women presidents and prime ministers whose mission is to mobilize the highest-level women leaders globally for collective action on issues of critical importance to women and equitable development.
Fernández was invited to the prestigious Summit on Financial Markets and the World Economy in Washington, D.C., on 15 November 2008, by President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
. During her stay in Washington, she held meetings with Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian leader Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva , known popularly as Lula, served as the 35th President of Brazil from 2003 to 2010.A founding member of the Workers' Party , he ran for President three times unsuccessfully, first in the 1989 election. Lula achieved victory in the 2002 election, and was inaugurated as...
(at the Four Seasons Hotel in Georgetown
Georgetown, Washington, D.C.
Georgetown is a neighborhood located in northwest Washington, D.C., situated along the Potomac River. Founded in 1751, the port of Georgetown predated the establishment of the federal district and the City of Washington by 40 years...
), Madeleine Albright
Madeleine Albright
Madeleine Korbelová Albright is the first woman to become a United States Secretary of State. She was appointed by U.S. President Bill Clinton on December 5, 1996, and was unanimously confirmed by a U.S. Senate vote of 99–0...
(representing US President-elect Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
), Senator Christopher Dodd
Christopher Dodd
Christopher John "Chris" Dodd is an American lawyer, lobbyist, and Democratic Party politician who served as a United States Senator from Connecticut for a thirty-year period ending with the 111th United States Congress....
and Australia's Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd
Kevin Rudd
Kevin Michael Rudd is an Australian politician who was the 26th Prime Minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010. He has been Minister for Foreign Affairs since 2010...
at the Park Hyatt Hotel. She then attended the G20 meeting in London 2 April 2009 and was given a seat of honour at the dinner held the night before at 10 Downing Street, when she was seated across from President Obama.
Also in the year 2008, Cristina Kirchner vetoed the "Law of protection of the glaciers" ( ), which had been approved almost unanimously in Congress (only 3 senators opposed the law). Critics have stated that the President's attitude would threaten over 75% of the country's water reserves.
Cristina Kirchner has travelled extensively as president, visiting Algeria, Brazil, Cuba, Egypt, France, Libya, Mexico, Qatar, Russia, Spain, the UK, the US and Venezuela, among other nations.
2009
Following the 28 June 2009, mid-term electionsArgentine legislative election, 2009
Legislative elections were held in Argentina for half the seats in the Chamber of Deputies and a third of the seats in the Senate on 28 June 2009, as well as for the legislature of the City of Buenos Aires and other municipalities.-Background:...
, the ruling FPV's party list lost its absolute majority in both houses of Congress, shedding a further 24 seats in the Lower House (including allies) and 4 in the Senate. They lost in the four most important electoral districts (home to 60% of Argentines), and among these, the loss was narrow only in the Province of Buenos Aires. The FPV obtained a very narrow victory, overall, as a percentage of the national vote, and retained their plurality in Congress. This will be reflected in strengthened opposition alliances, notably the center-right Unión Pro
Republican Proposal
Republican Proposal is a right-wing political party in Argentina. It is usually referred to as PRO. PRO was formed as an electoral alliance in 2005, but was transformed into a unitary party on 3 June 2010....
, the centrist Civic Coalition
Civic Coalition
The Civic Coalition is a political coalition in Argentina. It was founded by Elisa Carrió, as an association supported by the ARI party , as well as a number of other political groups and individual political leaders, notably Union for All of Patricia Bullrich and GEN - Generation for a National...
and the left-wing Proyecto Sur, when elected candidates in both chambers take office on 11 December 2009.
Allegations of impropriety have contributed increasingly to the Kirchners' decline in approval, as well. The couple's own, latest federal financial disclosure in July 2009 revealed an increase in their personal assets by 7 times, since Néstor Kirchner's 2003 inaugural. The increase was partly the product of land deals in El Calafate
El Calafate
- Population :In the last census 6,143 permanent residents were counted . This represents a 20.1% increase compared with the 1991 census. However, due to the expansion of tourism, the population was estimated at 8,000 people in 2005.- Wildlife :...
, a scenic, Santa Cruz Province
Santa Cruz Province (Argentina)
Santa Cruz is a province of Argentina, located in the southern part of the country, in Patagonia. It borders Chubut province to the north, and Chile to the west and south. To the east is the Atlantic Ocean...
town where the couple has long vacationed and own property (including 450 acres (1.8 km²) of land and two hotels).
On 17 October 2009, President Cristina Fernández proposed the compulsory submission of DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
samples in cases related to crimes against humanity, in a move lauded by the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo
Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo
The Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo is a human rights organisation with the aim of finding the babies stolen during the era of the Argentine dictatorship known as the "Dirty War" . Its president is Estela Barnes de Carlotto....
, but excoriated by opposition figures as a political move against Clarín Media Group
Clarín (newspaper)
Clarín is the largest newspaper in Argentina, published by the Grupo Clarín media group. It was founded by Roberto Noble on 28 August 1945. It is politically centrist but popularly understood to oppose the Kirchner government...
Chairperson Ernestina Herrera de Noble
Ernestina Herrera de Noble
Ernestina Herrera de Noble is a prominent Argentine publisher and executive. She is the largest shareholder of the Grupo Clarín media conglomerate and director of the flagship Clarín newspaper.-Life and times:...
, who is in litigation over her suspected adoption of two children of the "disappeared," and whose hitherto cordial relations with Kirchnerism
Kirchnerism
Kirchnerism is a term used to refer to the political philosophy and supporters of Néstor Kirchner, president of Argentina from 2003 to 2007, and of his wife Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, President from 2007...
had recently soured. Similar motives are alleged by the opposition against the president's Media Law, which would restrict the number of media licences per proprietor and allocate a greater share of these to state and NGOs, thereby limiting the influence of Clarín and the conservative La Nación. The president's proposed enactment of mandatory primary elections for all of Argentina's myriad political parties, and for every elected post, was likewise rejected by opposition figures, who charged that these reforms could stymy minor parties and the formation of new ones.
Following charges of embezzlement filed by a local attorney, Enrique Piragini, on 29 October, Federal Judge Norberto Oyarbide ordered an accounting expert to investigate the origin of the Kirchners’ wealth. Public records show that since their arrival to power in 2003, the declared assets of Cristina and Néstor Kirchner have increased by 572%. A preliminary report on the investigation by the Argentine Anti Corruption Office (OA) established that the official figures provided by the Kirchners "don't stack up". The investigation was suspended by Judge Oyarbide on 30 December, though a week later, Piragini appealed the ruling.
On 29 October 2009 she launched a universal child benefit plan as a way to fight poverty with the goal to reach approximately five million children and youths. Since its creation, the program has been lauded for having boosted school attendance rates and reduced poverty amongst families.
2010
The year began with controversy surrounding the president's order that a US$6.7 billion escrow account be opened at the Central Bank for the purpose of retiring high-interest bonds, whose principal is tied to inflation. The move met with the opposition of Central Bank President Martín RedradoMartín Redrado
Hernán Martín Pérez Redrado is an Argentine economist and policy-maker. He served as President of the Central Bank of Argentina between September 2004 and January 2010.-Early life and career:...
, who refused to implement it, and following an impasse, he was dismissed by presidential decree on 7 January 2010.
Redrado refused to abide by the initial decree removing him from the presidency of the Central Bank, however, and petitioned for a judicial power to keep him in office. Accordingly, the president enacted another decree for his dismissal, citing "mis-conduct" on Redrado's part. The legitimacy of this new decree was questioned as well, as his dismissal would deny Redrado due process
Due process
Due process is the legal code that the state must venerate all of the legal rights that are owed to a person under the principle. Due process balances the power of the state law of the land and thus protects individual persons from it...
. Congress was in recess period at the time, but most of its opposition members considered returning to override the decrees through an extraordinary session. The session became a source of controversy as well: Kirchner considered that, according to the 63rd article of the Constitution, only the President may call for an extraordinary session while the Congress is in recess. Cobos replied instead that all regulations concerning decrees require the immediate advise and consent of Congress, that the body's by-laws (56 and 57) allow extraordinary sessions called by any member, and that the commission formed for that purpose functions all at all times, even during recess.
The planned use of foreign exchange reserves through a Necessity and Urgency Decree
Necessity and Urgency Decree
A Necessity and Urgency Decree is a special kind of order issued by the President of Argentina. Unlike regular decrees, which are used in Argentina for rulemaking, a DNU has the force of law...
was itself questioned by several opposition figures, who argued that such a decree may not meet a threshold of "necessity" and "urgency" required by the Constitution of Argentina
Constitution of Argentina
The constitution of Argentina is one of the primary sources of existing law in Argentina. Its first version was written in 1853 by a Constitutional Assembly gathered in Santa Fe, and the doctrinal basis was taken in part from the United States Constitution...
for its enactment. Judge María José Sarmiento
María José Sarmiento
María José Sarmiento is an Argentine judge, with a record of taking part in many known trials.In 1997, during the government of Carlos Menem, she ruled against a raise of taxes for telephones. Other judges made similar rulings, which were ratified afterwards....
handed down a ruling preventing said use of reserves, and the Government reacted by appealing the ruling. President Kirchner defended the policy as a cost saving maneuver, whereby government bond
Government bond
A government bond is a bond issued by a national government denominated in the country's own currency. Bonds are debt investments whereby an investor loans a certain amount of money, for a certain amount of time, with a certain interest rate, to a company or country...
s paying out 15 percent interest would be retired from the market. The move, however, also provided numerous vulture fund
Vulture fund
A vulture fund is a private equity or hedge fund that invests in debt issued by an entity that is considered to be very weak or dying, or whose debt is in imminent default. The name is a metaphor comparing these investors to vultures patiently circling, waiting to pick over the remains of a rapidly...
s (holdout
Holdout problem
In finance, a holdout problem occurs when a bond issuer is in default or nears default, and launches an exchange offer in an attempt to restructure debt held by existing bond holders...
s from the 2005 debt restructuring who had resorted to the courts in a bid for higher returns on their defaulted bonds) a legal argument against the central bank's autarky, and thus facilitated a judgement lien on 12 January against a central bank account in New York.
Judge Sarmiento also annulled the decree that removed Redrado and reinstated him as President of the Central Bank the following day. The ruling also refuted claims of mis-conduct cited by President Cristina Kirchner to justify his removal. International media described the attempted removal of Redrado as authoritarian, while criticizing the planned use of reserves for debt retirement, as well as accelerating spending growth, as fiscally irresponsible. Opposition Congresswoman Elisa Carrió
Elisa Carrió
Elisa María Avelina Carrió is an Argentine politician, founder of the party initially known as Alternative for a Republic of Equals , now Civic Coalition ARI ....
, a likely candidate in the upcoming 2011 presidential campaign, has raised the possibility of impeachment
Impeachment
Impeachment is a formal process in which an official is accused of unlawful activity, the outcome of which, depending on the country, may include the removal of that official from office as well as other punishment....
procedures against Mrs. Kirchner.
At the start of the month of February 2010, one of Cristina Fernández's private asessors resigned his post due to the claims of "illicit gain". Just two weeks afterwards, another of her private asessors, Julio Daniel Álvarez, resigned for the same reason.
On 22 February 2010, British oil explorer Desire Petroleum
Desire Petroleum
Desire Petroleum plc is an oil and gas exploration company headquartered in Malvern, United Kingdom. It owns offshore exploration and production licences in the North Falkland Basin in the waters north of the Falkland Islands...
, started drilling exploration wells some 60 miles (96.6 km) north of the disputed Falkland/Malvinas Islands, despite strong opposition from Argentina which took the issue to the Latin America and Caribbean Presidents summit where it received unanimous support. According to geological surveys carried out in 1998, there could be 60 Goilbbl of oil in the area around the islands but the 2010 drill carried out poor results.
As a result Desire's share price plummeted and the company announced further work could begin later this year (2010).
In March 2010 Fernández made an historic amends trip to Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
a country with whom relations had been adversely affected following the Carlos Menem
Carlos Menem
Carlos Saúl Menem is an Argentine politician who was President of Argentina from 1989 to 1999. He is currently an Argentine National Senator for La Rioja Province.-Early life:...
administration's illegal sale of weapons to Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
in the 1990s. In the same month Fernández received the visit of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Buenos Aires, where she received great support for the way her administration was managing the foreign debt issue and emphasized the positive relationship between the two countries something which was not reported by local major news media.
In April 2010, Chile's new president Sebastián Piñera
Sebastián Piñera
Miguel Juan Sebastián Piñera Echenique is a Chilean businessman and politician. He was elected President of Chile in January 2010, taking office in March 2010.- Education :...
was received in Buenos Aires on his first foreign tour abroad and reaffirmed the current strong ties between the two countries. following which Cristina Fernández attended the Nuclear Security Summit
Nuclear Security Summit
Nuclear Security Summit may refer to:* 2010 Nuclear Security Summit* 2012 Nuclear Security Summit...
in Washington DC, after which President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
thanked Argentina for its role in international stabilization and earthquake relief efforts
Argentine Air Force Mobile Field Hospital
The Argentine Air Force Mobile Field Hospital is a field hospital operated by the Argentine Air Force. It is one of three health centers of its kind worldwide .- Description :...
in Haiti. Back in Buenos Aires, she received the President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev is the third President of the Russian Federation.Born to a family of academics, Medvedev graduated from the Law Department of Leningrad State University in 1987. He defended his dissertation in 1990 and worked as a docent at his alma mater, now renamed to Saint...
the first such visit in Argentina's history. Two days later, the Prime Minister of Vietnam Nguyễn Tấn Dũng arrived. On 19 April, she was invited to the bicentennary of the independence celebrations in Venezuela, where she was the main speaker in front of the National Assembly. She signed 25 trade agreements with Venezuela relating to food, technology and energy.
In May 2010, the President traveled to Spain for the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
-Latin America and the Caribbean
Community of Latin American and Caribbean States
thumb|300px|Community of Latin American and Caribbean States.Total population: 591.662 million Total area: 20.438 million sq kmDensity: 28.95/sq km...
summit, where she was asked to compare the 2010 European sovereign debt crisis
2010 European sovereign debt crisis
From late 2009, fears of a sovereign debt crisis developed among investors concerning some European states, intensifying in early 2010 and thereafter.....
and the 2001 Argentine's default. Back in Buenos Aires, during the Argentina Bicentennial
Argentina Bicentennial
The Argentina Bicentennial is a series of celebrations and observances celebrated on May 25, 2010, and throughout the year. They commemorated the 200th anniversary of the May Revolution, a sequence of historical events that led to the Viceroy Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros' being ousted from office...
celebrations, Cristina Fernández did not participate in the military parade of 5,000 troops (which included delegations of Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, Bolivia, etc.) on the 9 de Julio Avenue
9 de Julio Avenue
Avenida 9 de Julio is a wide avenue in the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Its name honors Argentina's Independence Day, July 9, 1816.The avenue runs roughly one kilometer to the west of the Río de la Plata waterfront, from the Retiro district in the north to Constitución station in the south...
, which was considered a gest of contempt towards the Argentine Armed Forces.
In June 2010, her administration completed the debt swap (which was started by former president Néstor Kirchner
Néstor Kirchner
Néstor Carlos Kirchner was an Argentine politician who served as the 54th President of Argentina from 25 May 2003 until 10 December 2007. Previously, he was Governor of Santa Cruz Province since 10 December 1991. He briefly served as Secretary General of the Union of South American Nations ...
in 2005) clearing 92% of the bad debt left from its sovereign default
Sovereign default
A sovereign default is the failure or refusal of the government of a sovereign state to pay back its debt in full. It may be accompanied by a formal declaration of a government not to pay or only partially pay its debts , or the de facto cessation of due payments...
in 2001. Argentina external debt now represents 30% of the country's GDP, whilst the Central Bank foreign reserves reached $49 billion {USD}, more than the amount that was available when the decision to pay foreign debt earlier in the year was taken.
Also in June 2010, she gave a speech at the International Trade Union Confederation
International Trade Union Confederation
The International Trade Union Confederation is the world's largest trade union federation. It was formed on November 1, 2006 out of the merger of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions and the World Confederation of Labour...
(CSI) Global Summit, being held in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, Canada where she asserted that "many Euro-zone countries today have applied the same policies that led Argentina to disaster (in 2001)," stating, also, that "it's an inescapable responsibility of the government to intervene in the financial system.". Later, she traveled to Toronto to attend the G20 Summit
2010 G-20 Toronto summit
The 2010 G-20 Toronto summit was the fourth meeting of the G-20 heads of government, in discussion of the global financial system and the world economy, which took place at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, during June 26–27, 2010...
and spoke against the EU fiscal austerity plans fearing this would lead to a slow down in the global economy. French President Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy is the 23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. He assumed the office on 16 May 2007 after defeating the Socialist Party candidate Ségolène Royal 10 days earlier....
responded by saying that the Latin American representatives who reject the Eurozone adjustments do not know the "harrassment" to the Euro, to which Cristina Fernández responded that he shouldn't "question somebody" just because he doesn't "agree" with what they say and also clarified that Argentina is interested in the euro because parts of its reserves are held in euros and that she's "sure that Sarkozy does not have even one cent in Argentine pesos in his Central Bank.". Later addressing the press she added, "In Latin America we can give cathedra about harassment and seizure." She also had a chance to speak with new British PM David Cameron
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
.
Roman Catholicism in Argentina
The Catholic Church in Argentina is part of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope, the Curia in Rome, and the Argentine Episcopal Conference....
. She also reaffirmed her policy of debt reduction in announcing to continue to pay foreign debt with Central Bank foreign reserves which reached a country historic record of $51 billion USD in July.
In August 2010, Cristina Fernández began to use her Twitter account. She also preceded the 39th Mercosur
Mercosur
Mercosur or Mercosul is an economic and political agreement among Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. Founded in 1991 by the Treaty of Asunción, which was later amended and updated by the 1994 Treaty of Ouro Preto. Its purpose is to promote free trade and the fluid movement of goods, people,...
summit at San Juan
San Juan, Argentina
San Juan is the capital city of the Argentine province of San Juan in the Cuyo region, located in the Tulúm Valley, west of the San Juan River, at above mean sea level, with a population of around 112,000 as per the ....
where the trade bloc agrees to reduce customs fees and signs a free-trade deal with Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
.
On September 2010, it was announced that Argentina was elected president of the Group of 77
Group of 77
The Group of 77 at the United Nations is a loose coalition of developing nations, designed to promote its members' collective economic interests and create an enhanced joint negotiating capacity in the United Nations. There were 77 founding members of the organization, but the organization has...
+China and prepared to act as a ‘bridge” with G-20 major economies
G-20 major economies
The Group of Twenty Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors is a group of finance ministers and central bank governors from 20 major economies: 19 countries plus the European Union, which is represented by the President of the European Council and by the European Central Bank...
to which it also belongs Cristina Fernández visited Chile during their Bicentenary celebrations where she also assisted at the baptism of a Chilean baby, Anaís Escobar Maldonado, born in the Argentine Hospital
Argentine Air Force Mobile Field Hospital
The Argentine Air Force Mobile Field Hospital is a field hospital operated by the Argentine Air Force. It is one of three health centers of its kind worldwide .- Description :...
deployed at Curico
Curicó
Curicó , meaning "Black Waters" in Mapudungun , is the capital city of the Curicó Province, part of the Maule Region in Chile's central valley....
after the earthquake. The visit had a high profile in the media mainly because of the possible extradition to Chile of Sergio Apablaza
Sergio Apablaza
Galvarino Sergio Apablaza Guerra , nicknamed "Comandante Salvador", is a Chilean Marxist guerilla and former member of the Manuel Rodríguez Patriotic Front , which opposed the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet...
. She met with president Sebastian Piñera
Sebastián Piñera
Miguel Juan Sebastián Piñera Echenique is a Chilean businessman and politician. He was elected President of Chile in January 2010, taking office in March 2010.- Education :...
and participated in the festivities at the national stadium. She also confirmed the celebration of the III bi-national cabinet meeting for next October. Fernández then departed for New York to give her United Nations General Assembly
United Nations General Assembly
For two articles dealing with membership in the General Assembly, see:* General Assembly members* General Assembly observersThe United Nations General Assembly is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations and the only one in which all member nations have equal representation...
speech where she once again criticized Britain over the Falklands (Malvinas) issue, and Iran for the 1994 AMIA bombing whilst giving her support for an Israeli-Palestinian dialogue and an eventual Palestinian state. On 30 September she hosted the UNASUR presidents' emergency summit at Buenos Aires due the Ecuador crisis
2010 Ecuador crisis
The 2010 Ecuador crisis took place on September 30, 2010, when elements of the National Police and military forces of Ecuador blockaded highways, occupied the National Parliament, blocked the Mariscal Sucre International Airport in Quito and the José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport in...
and started an official visit to Germany the following day in order to participate as a Guest of Honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair
Frankfurt Book Fair
The Frankfurt Book Fair is the world's largest trade fair for books, based on the number of publishing companies represented. As to the number of visitors, the Turin Book Fair attracts about as many visitors, viz. some 300,000....
and meet with Chancellor Angela Merkel
Angela Merkel
Angela Dorothea Merkel is the current Chancellor of Germany . Merkel, elected to the Bundestag from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, has been the chairwoman of the Christian Democratic Union since 2000, and chairwoman of the CDU-CSU parliamentary coalition from 2002 to 2005.From 2005 to 2009 she led a...
. In October she inaugurates the III News Agencies World Congress to be held in Bariloche. This same month, and as part of the 2006 civilian nuclear-power reactivation program
2006 Argentine nuclear reactivation plan
The 2006 Argentine nuclear reactivation plan is a project to renew and reactivate the development of nuclear power in Argentina.The main points of the plan were announced by the Argentine government through Planning Minister Julio de Vido during a press conference on 23 August 2006...
, Fernández reopened the Pilcaniyeu uranium enrichment plant, put on ice in the 1990s, amid worsening shortages of natural gas. Following the death of her spouse (see below), Cristina Fernández resumed activities and flew to Asia for the G20 Seoul summit
2010 G-20 Seoul summit
The 2010 G20 Seoul Summit was the fifth meeting of the G-20 heads of government, to discuss the global financial system and the world economy, which took place in Seoul, South Korea on November 11–12, 2010...
. After her return she announces that the Paris Club
Paris Club
The Paris Club is an informal group of financial officials from 19 of some of the world's biggest economies, which provides financial services such as war funding, debt restructuring, debt relief, and debt cancellation to indebted countries and their creditors...
agrees to debt talks without the International Monetary Fund
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
intervention as proposed by Argentina since 2008. These negotiations will result in the settlement of the last portion of the sovereign debt defaulted in the 2001 crisis after the successful restructuring debts of 2005 and 2009. On November she also participated on the UNASUR Summit
2010 South American Summit
The 2010 South American summit , took place in Georgetown, Guyana on November 26, 2010. Eight heads of state and four foreign ministers of the Union of South American Nations attended the summit...
at Guyana
Guyana
Guyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...
after which will host the XX Ibero-American Summit
Ibero-American Summit
The Ibero-American Summit , is a yearly meeting of the heads of government and state of the Spanish-...
at Mar del Plata
Mar del Plata
Mar del Plata is an Argentine city located on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, south of Buenos Aires. Mar del Plata is the second largest city of Buenos Aires Province. The name "Mar del Plata" had apparently the sense of "sea of the Río de la Plata region" or "adjoining sea to the Río de la Plata"...
.
On the morning of 27 October 2010, her husband, former President
President of Argentina
The President of the Argentine Nation , usually known as the President of Argentina, is the head of state of Argentina. Under the national Constitution, the President is also the chief executive of the federal government and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces.Through Argentine history, the...
Néstor Kirchner
Néstor Kirchner
Néstor Carlos Kirchner was an Argentine politician who served as the 54th President of Argentina from 25 May 2003 until 10 December 2007. Previously, he was Governor of Santa Cruz Province since 10 December 1991. He briefly served as Secretary General of the Union of South American Nations ...
, died of a heart failure at the Hospital Jose Formenti in El Calafate
El Calafate
- Population :In the last census 6,143 permanent residents were counted . This represents a 20.1% increase compared with the 1991 census. However, due to the expansion of tourism, the population was estimated at 8,000 people in 2005.- Wildlife :...
, Santa Cruz Province
Santa Cruz Province
Santa Cruz Province may refer to*Santa Cruz Province, Argentina*Santa Cruz Province, Peru*Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain...
. He had been subject to two coronary interventions earlier in the year (2010). On 7 February 2010, he developed problems with the common carotid artery and needed surgery. On 11 September, he was intervened because of coronary artery blockage and needed an angioplasty. Néstor Kirchner had a massive state funeral
Death and state funeral of Néstor Kirchner
Argentina's former President and Secretary General of UNASUR, Néstor Kirchner, died of heart failure on the morning of 27 October 2010 at the Jose Formenti hospital in El Calafate, Santa Cruz Province at the age of 60. At 9:15, first aid procedures that were used to keep him alive proved...
at the Casa Rosada.
2011
This year has been influenced by the general electionArgentine general election, 2011
Argentina held national presidential and legislative elections on 23 October 2011. Incumbent president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner secured a second term in office after the Front for Victory won just over half of the seats in the National Congress....
that took place in October. The youth organization Cámpora
The Cámpora
La Cámpora is an Argentine political youth organization supporting the governments of Néstor Kirchner and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. It is named after former peronist president Héctor José Cámpora...
increased its influence within the government, disputing offices and candidacies with the traditional hierarchies of the Justicialist Party
Justicialist Party
The Justicialist Party , or PJ, is a Peronist political party in Argentina, and the largest component of the Peronist movement.The party was led by Néstor Kirchner, President of Argentina from 2003 to 2007, until his death on October 27, 2010. The current Argentine president, Cristina Fernández de...
and of the CGT
General Confederation of Labour (Argentina)
The General Confederation of Labour of the Argentine Republic is a national trade union centre of Argentina founded on September 27, 1930, as the result of the merge of the USA and the COA trade union centres...
. Cristina Fernández chose Daniel Filmus as her candidate for the office of mayor of Buenos Aires. On June 21, 2011, she announced that she would run for a second term as president. A few days later, she announced that Amado Boudou
Amado Boudou
Amado Boudou is an Argentine businessman and government policy maker who serves as Minister of the Economy since 2009. He was elected Vice President of Argentina as running mate of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner in the 2011 general election.-Early life and career:Amado Boudou was born in Mar del...
would run for the vice-presidency on her ticket. She personally chose most candidates for deputy in the Congress, favoring members of the Cámpora.
Cristina Fernández had highly visible disagreements with Brazil, particularly regarding the trade quotas between the two countries. She also had disputes with the United States, after seizing an American military airplane.
On September 22, President Fernández addressed the United Nations. She supported the Palestinian
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
request to be seated in the General Assembly of United Nations, blamed Iran for the 1994 AMIA bombing, and threatened to cancel flights from Chile to the Falkland Islands in order to advance Argentine claims of sovereignty over the Islands.
Cristina Fernandez is a ardent advocate of social equality and earnings distribution. She also believes that the current global crisis can only be overcome by investing in production, creating jobs and stimulating consumption. She spoke at the 2011 G-20 meeting, and her initiatives were supported by global leaders and included in the final resolution of the meeting.
Cabinet
Néstor Kirchner
Néstor Carlos Kirchner was an Argentine politician who served as the 54th President of Argentina from 25 May 2003 until 10 December 2007. Previously, he was Governor of Santa Cruz Province since 10 December 1991. He briefly served as Secretary General of the Union of South American Nations ...
's government, while the other five took office for the first time. Three other ministries were created afterwards.
| Chief of Cabinet and Ministers of Cristina Kirchner's Government |
||
|---|---|---|
| Office | Name | Term |
| Chief of the Cabinet of Ministers Chief of the Cabinet of Ministers The Chief of the Cabinet of Ministers is a political office of Argentina, created by the 1994 amendment of the Argentine Constitution. The current office holder is Aníbal Fernández.-Attributions:... |
Alberto Fernández Alberto Fernández Alberto Ángel Fernández is an Argentine politician. He was the Chief of Cabinet of Argentina during Néstor Kirchner presidency, and part of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner's. He resigned on July 23, 2008.... Sergio Massa Sergio Massa Sergio Tomás Massa is an Argentine Justicialist Party politician and was the President's Cabinet Chief from July 2008 to July 2009.... Aníbal Fernández Aníbal Fernández Aníbal Domingo Fernández is an Argentine Justicialist Party politician, who served as Interior Minister for President Néstor Kirchner, Minister of Justice for President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and is currently the President's Cabinet Chief.-Biography:Born in Quilmes, Buenos Aires Province,... |
10 Dec. 2007 – 23 Jul. 2008 24 Jul. 2008 – 7 Jul. 2009 8 Jul. 2009 – incumbent |
| Ministry of Interior | Florencio Randazzo Florencio Randazzo Florencio Randazzo in an Argentine Justicialist Party politician, currently the President's Interior Minister. The Interior Ministry in Argentina serves as the President's chief political office.-Life and times:... |
10 Dec. 2007 – incumbent |
| Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship is the Argentine government ministry which oversees the foreign relations of Argentina.The current Chancellor is Héctor Timerman.-External links:... (Chancellor) |
Jorge Taiana Jorge Taiana Jorge Enrique Taiana is an Argentine Justicialist Party politician, formerly Foreign Minister in the government of President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, after occupying the same post during the previous government of Néstor Kirchner... Héctor Timerman Héctor Timerman Héctor Marcos Timerman is an Argentine journalist, sociologist, political and human rights activist, diplomat, and current Argentine Minister of Foreign Relations.-Life and times:... |
10 Dec. 2007 – 18 Jun. 2010 18 Jun. 2010 – incumbent |
| Ministry of Defense Ministry of Defense (Argentina) The Ministry of Defense of Argentina is a ministry of the national executive power that deals with everything related to the country national defense... |
Nilda Garré Nilda Garré Nilda Garré , a former leftist militant, is the current Minister of Security of Argentina, and the former Minister of Defense since 2005. She was the first woman to hold each office in the country.- Career :... Arturo Puricelli Arturo Puricelli Arturo Puricelli is an Argentine lawmaker, currently the country's Minister of Defense.-Life and times:Arturo Antonio Puricelli was born in Santa Cruz Province, Argentina, in 1948. He enrolled at the National University of the Littoral, and became affiliated with the populist Justicialist Party... |
10 Dec. 2007 – 15 Dec. 2010 15 Dec. 2010 – incumbent |
| Ministry of Economy Minister of Economy of Argentina The Minister of Economy is the head of the Ministry of Economy and Production of Argentina, concerned with finance and monetary matters. The position within the Government of Argentina is analogous to the finance ministers of some countries and the United States Treasury Secretary... |
Martín Lousteau Martín Lousteau Martín Lousteau was the Minister of Economy and Production of Argentina under the administration of President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, from December 10, 2007, until April 24, 2008... Carlos Fernández Carlos Rafael Fernández Carlos Rafael Fernández is an Argentine economist and was, from April 2008 to July 2009, the President's Minister of the Economy.... Amado Boudou Amado Boudou Amado Boudou is an Argentine businessman and government policy maker who serves as Minister of the Economy since 2009. He was elected Vice President of Argentina as running mate of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner in the 2011 general election.-Early life and career:Amado Boudou was born in Mar del... |
10 Dec. 2007 – 24 Apr. 2008 25 Apr. 2008 – 7 Jul. 2009 8 Jul. 2009 – incumbent |
| Ministry of Federal Planning, Public Investment and Services |
Julio de Vido Julio de Vido Julio Miguel de Vido is an Argentine policy maker, currently the President's Minister of Planning and Public Works.-Biography:... |
10 Dec. 2007 – incumbent |
| Ministry of Justice, (Security) and Human Rights |
Aníbal Fernández Aníbal Fernández Aníbal Domingo Fernández is an Argentine Justicialist Party politician, who served as Interior Minister for President Néstor Kirchner, Minister of Justice for President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and is currently the President's Cabinet Chief.-Biography:Born in Quilmes, Buenos Aires Province,... Julio Alak Julio Alak Julio César Alak is an Argentine politician, the former mayor of provincial capital La Plata, and currently the President's Attorney General.-Political career:Alak was born in Benito Juárez, a pampas town in Buenos Aires Province... |
10 Dec. 2007 – 7 Jul. 2009 8 Jul. 2009 – incumbent |
| Ministry of Security | Nilda Garré Nilda Garré Nilda Garré , a former leftist militant, is the current Minister of Security of Argentina, and the former Minister of Defense since 2005. She was the first woman to hold each office in the country.- Career :... |
15 Dec. 2010 – incumbent |
| Ministry of Work, Labour and Social Security |
Carlos Tomada Carlos Tomada Carlos Alfonso Tomada is an Argentine Peronist politician who serves as the Minister of Labour, Employment and Social Security. Tomada was appointed by former President Néstor Kirchner, and reappointed by President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.-Biography:Tomada was born in the Palermo... |
10 Dec. 2007 – incumbent |
| Ministry of Health and Environment | Graciela Ocaña Graciela Ocaña Graciela Ocaña is an Argentine politician.-Life and times:Ocaña was born and raised in the western Buenos Aires suburb of San Justo in 1960. Raised without her father, she lost her mother to an accident at age five and was taken in by her maternal grandparents, both immigrants from Spain... Juan Luis Manzur Juan Luis Manzur Juan Luis Manzur is an Argentine surgeon and politician, currently Minister of Health and Environment to the President.-Biography:... |
10 Dec. 2007 – 30 Jun. 2009 1 Jul. 2009 – incumbent |
| Ministry of Social Development | Alicia Kirchner de Mercado | 10 Dec. 2007 – incumbent |
| Ministry of Education | Juan Carlos Tedesco Juan Carlos Tedesco Juan Carlos Tedesco is an Argentine academic and policy maker who was the President's Education Minister, from December 2007 to July 2009.... Alberto Sileoni Alberto Sileoni Alberto Sileoni is an Argentine academic and policy maker, currently the President's Minister of Education.Alberto Sileoni enrolled in the University of Buenos Aires and earned a degree in History, in 1975. He later taught the discipline at his alma mater, and in 1993, was named Director of Adult... |
10 Dec. 2007 – 20 Jul. 2009 20 Jul. 2009 – incumbent |
| Ministry of Science, Technology and Productive Innovation |
Lino Barañao Lino Barañao Lino Barañao is an Argentine chemist and politician, currently Minister of Science, Technology and Innovative Production under President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.-Biography:... |
10 Dec. 2007 – incumbent |
| Ministry of Industry | Débora Giorgi Débora Giorgi Débora Giorgi is an Argentine economist, currently the nation's Minister of Industry.-Career:Giorgi was born in Balvanera, Buenos Aires in 1959 and graduated with honors from the Argentine Catholic University with a degree in Economics, later publishing numerous academic articles in her specialty... |
26 Nov. 2008 – incumbent |
| Ministry of Agriculture | Julián Domínguez Julián Domínguez Julián Andrés Domínguez is an Argentine politician, and currently the President's Minister of Agriculture.-Life and times:Domínguez was born in the Buenos Aires Province town of Chacabuco, located in the heart of the Pampas and the Argentine maize belt... |
1 Oct. 2009 – incumbent |
| Ministry of Tourism | Carlos Enrique Meyer | 28 Jun 2010 – incumbent |
Relationship with the media
Fernández and her husband have always had a tempestuous relationship with the national media, particularly from 2007 onwards (despite previous excellent rapport) with Grupo ClarínGrupo Clarín
Grupo Clarín is the largest media conglomerate of Argentina.-Overview:Established as such in 1999, it includes the Clarín newspaper , Papel Prensa , the Artear media company, and numerous other media outlets.Rooted in the successful, 1945 launch of the centrist daily,...
corporation which is owner of video cable networks, multiple TV Channels, radios, the main newspaper and through most of a decade before 2010 the monopoly of the Argentine football, a so-called opinion-former.
In April 2008, Kirchner received a stern public rebuke from the Argentine media owners
Association (Spanish: Asociación de Entidades Periodísticas Argentinas, or ADEPA) for having publicly accused the popular cartoonist Hermenegildo Sábat
Hermenegildo Sábat
-Early career in journalism:Hermenegildo Sábat was born in the oceanfront Pocitos section of Montevideo, Uruguay, in 1933. Named after a grandparent who had been a noted local artist in his day, Hermenegildo was known as "Menchi," from early childhood...
of behaving like a "quasi mafioso". In addition, a government proposal to create a watchdog to monitor racism and discrimination was received with suspicion by ADEPA, who called it a "covert attempt to control the media". Néstor Kirchner, Cristina's husband and predecessor in office, received a similar rebuke for publicly and falsely denouncing Joaquín Morales Solá
Joaquín Morales Solá
Joaquín Morales Solá is an Argentine political journalist.Morales Solá was born in Tucumán. He began his career in journalism at age 18, working for a prominent local newspaper, La Gaceta de Tucumán, and at 20 he became a correspondent at the Buenos Aires-based daily Clarín.He studied at the...
, a journalist critical of the government, for having produced an inflammatory text published in 1978.
On 11 September 2009, she advanced the decriminalization of injurious calumny against public officials, a charge which had, in 2000, resulted in a prison term of one year for Eduardo Kimel, a journalist investigating the San Patricio Church massacre
San Patricio Church massacre
The St. Patrick’s Church massacre was the murder of three priests and two seminarians of the Pallottine order on July 4, 1976, during the Argentine military junta’s “Dirty War”, at St...
of 1976. She drew fire from a highly controversial Audiovisual Media Law proposed shortly afterwards, however. Defended by the government as a reform intended to fragment ownership of media companies as to encourage plurality of opinion, the bill was criticised by part of the opposition as a means to silence voices critical of the government, especially those in the Clarín media group (the country's largest). However, a significant amount of opposing congressmen voted in favor of the law, as they considered it was clearly an improvement on the existing one, and that the government had been willing to negotiate and modify parts of the proposed new law to improve it.
The law has aroused further controversy, given that in its passing through the chambers of the legislature, the mandatory 7 day period between debate and assent of the new legislation was ignored. The view among the part of the opposition that opposed the bill is that Kirchner’s government tried to rush the law through parliament before December 2009, when the government could have lost its absolute majorities in Congress.
Dr. Lauro Laíño, the president of ADEPA (media owners), in a speech given on 24 September 2009, opposed the proposed law, and added that in Latin America, especially in Venezuela and Argentina, “press freedom was being undermined under the suspicious pretext of plurality” Others, notably press freedom advocacy group Reporters Sans Frontières, have expressed some support for the measure, citing the need to repeal the Radio Broadcast Law of 1980 enacted by the National Reorganization Process
National Reorganization Process
The National Reorganization Process was the name used by its leaders for the military government that ruled Argentina from 1976 to 1983. In Argentina it is often known simply as la última junta militar or la última dictadura , because several of them existed throughout its history.The Argentine...
, Argentina's last military government.
The acrimony between Cristina Kirchner's government and the national media was exacerbated by a series of lock-ins carried out by the truck drivers' union led by Pablo Moyano, son of Hugo Moyano
Hugo Moyano
Hugo Moyano is an Argentine labor leader and Secretary General of the CGT, the nation's largest trade union.-Early life and career:...
, a close ally of the Kirchner government. During the lock in, the country's most widely circulated newspapers (Clarín and La Nación) were prevented by force and threats of violence from distributing papers to newsstands. On 7 November 2009, the Association of Newspaper Editors of Buenos Aires (AEDBA) issued a statement in which it claimed that the truck drivers' unions' actions had been the fiercest attack on the free circulation of newspapers the country had seen since its return to democratic rule in 1983.
On 2010 the Supreme Court of Argentina
Supreme Court of Argentina
The Supreme Court of Argentina is the highest court of law of the Argentine Republic. It was inaugurated on 15 January 1863. However, during much of the 20th century, the Court and, in general, the Argentine judicial system, has lacked autonomy from the executive power...
ruled that the judicial movement made by an opposition deputy who tried to suspend the new Media Law, which was approved by the National Congress
Argentine National Congress
The Congress of the Argentine Nation is the legislative branch of the government of Argentina. Its composition is bicameral, constituted by a 72-seat Senate and a 257-seat Chamber of Deputies....
, was illegal.
Public image
In 2008, she was ranked by the magazine ForbesForbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
as thirteenth in the list of the 100 most powerful women in the world
Forbes Magazine's List of The World's 100 Most Powerful Women
Starting in 2004, Forbes magazine has made a list of the 100 most powerful women in the world. It is edited by editor Mary Ellen Egan, and based on visibility and economic impact...
, being the second female head of government in the list below Angela Merkel
Angela Merkel
Angela Dorothea Merkel is the current Chancellor of Germany . Merkel, elected to the Bundestag from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, has been the chairwoman of the Christian Democratic Union since 2000, and chairwoman of the CDU-CSU parliamentary coalition from 2002 to 2005.From 2005 to 2009 she led a...
. In 2009 she rose to eleventh, but in 2010 she fell to sixty-eighth. In 2010, she was ranked by the magazine Time as second in the list of the Top 10 Female Leaders of the World.
Her public image decreased during the conflict with the agricultural sector
2008 Argentine government conflict with the agricultural sector
The 2008 Argentine government conflict with the agricultural sector started in March 2008, which then extended into a prolonged period of turbulent politics...
, leading to a defeat of the party in 2009. The death and state funeral of Néstor Kirchner
Death and state funeral of Néstor Kirchner
Argentina's former President and Secretary General of UNASUR, Néstor Kirchner, died of heart failure on the morning of 27 October 2010 at the Jose Formenti hospital in El Calafate, Santa Cruz Province at the age of 60. At 9:15, first aid procedures that were used to keep him alive proved...
increased her public image again.
Style
Cristina is known for being passionate about clothes. According to The TimesThe Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, "Cristina has deployed her glamour and sexuality as potent weapons on her way to a goal that not even the legendary Eva Perón
Eva Perón
María Eva Duarte de Perón was the second wife of President Juan Perón and served as the First Lady of Argentina from 1946 until her death in 1952. She is often referred to as simply Eva Perón, or by the affectionate Spanish language diminutive Evita.She was born in the village of Los Toldos in...
was able to achieve.". She likes the mixture of textures, colors and prints, and has some favorite designers from Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
. She always wears makeup and high heels.
Cristina Fernández de Kirchner is often criticized by observers—in both the media and the world of politics—for her excessive spending on clothes, jewelry and shoes. She rarely wears the same attire twice, and in many cases has been criticized for arriving late to meetings with international leaders because she was getting dressed.
Since Néstor's death
Death and state funeral of Néstor Kirchner
Argentina's former President and Secretary General of UNASUR, Néstor Kirchner, died of heart failure on the morning of 27 October 2010 at the Jose Formenti hospital in El Calafate, Santa Cruz Province at the age of 60. At 9:15, first aid procedures that were used to keep him alive proved...
, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner has decided to wear only black attire. So far, she has worn more than 200 different black outfits.
External links
Cristina Fernandez on Honduras Coup Office of the President Official site of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner Senate of the Argentine Republic website Extensive biography by CIDOB Foundation|-