¡Pólitica!

I’ll get back to writing about glaciers soon, but first: politics! This Sunday is the presidential election, and it’s just starting to get exciting.

Cristina, the incumbent, is the wife of Néstor Kirchner who was president before her. I’ve seen a good deal of signs reading “vuELve” (“he returns”) or the slogan “Nésto viva” and Néstor’s face next to Cristina’s running mate. (The background you should know is that during Cristina’s first term, Néstor died). I find theses adds odd, and insulting to quite a variety of people.  On the one hand, they seem to imply that Cristina’s not a valid candidate, or at least not good enough, without her husband, and imply that he was always the power behind the throne/democratically selected chair. According to my creative writing teacher, Néstor’s death did the opposite of this: her smooth continuation with her presidency definitively proved that Cristina governed in her own right. The signs also seem disrespectful to the dead, as they march around Néstor’s face as an advertising tool. Still, the seem to work.

If no one wins the majority vote this Sunday, there will be a new vote held between the top two contenders .Unlike the U.S., there are a plethora of candidates, and it’s impossible to vote on party lines because the Peronist party alone has 3 candidates. (Of course, Peronism is such an ambiguous force,  they could well be very different. Think of Peronism as a authoritative social welfare party. Instead of the revolution of Socialism, Peronism believes in a strong state, and Juan Domingo Perón, for which the party is named, brooked no strikes, but did create worker protections, retirement rights, and more days off. Both the extreme right and the extreme left loved Perón, something that ultimately blew up violently and jump started the descent into a decade of appalling murder and torture   . . . . but that’s for another day, or another paragraph).

I'm pretty certain Cristina will win. In her favor she has support programs for the poor, workers, and students (although many complain about her passing out cash instead of creating societal structures that would make a more permanent change. As the unemployed told their provinces in the 90's, "create jobs not soup kitchens"). My new door guard also believes she has a lot going for her in relations to human rights. It was her husband who re-opened the trials of those responsible for desaparecidos (the institutionalized violence in which the military government kidnapped, tortured, and secretly murdered anyone seen to be potential opposed to them or to be neutral). As for the other candidates, I can't say I know much. I know a socialist, Binner, and Duhalde (I believe he's a type of Peronist, from the "Popular Front") are rumored to be doing well.

The plaza by my house was crowded with flag waving youths playing drums, cymbals, trumpets, and whistling. Most flags were of the Argentinean flag with references to Juan Domingo and Eva Perón, or to Cristina, and some rainbow flags represented the diversity of Cristina’s supporters. My favorite flag displayed the “Nésternaut” Néstor Kirchner’s face on El Eternauta, a comic book time traveler. (I just began reading that book today.

Until the 90s, presidents served an unrestricted number of 6 year terms, but could not serve two terms consecutively. Menem changed that, and now Argentina is on a 4 year term system, without the break term limits. (I’m not sure if they have a max number of terms set).