Landslide vote puts Fernandez back in charge of Argentina
Source: Agencies |
October 25, 2011, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
President Cristina Fernandez has been re-elected in a landslide, winning with the widest victory margin in Argentina's history.
Fernandez had nearly 54 percent of the vote after 98 percent of polling stations reported nationwide. Her nearest challenger had just 17 percent.
The ruling party and its allies also regained control of Congress, which it lost in 2009, and won all but one of nine elections for governor.
"Count on me to continue pursuing the project," Fernandez vowed in her victory speech. "All I want is to keep collaborating … to keep Argentina growing. I want to keep changing history."
Fernandez is Latin America's first woman to be re-elected as president, but the victory was personally bitter-sweet - the first without her husband and predecessor, Nestor Kirchner, who died of a heart attack last October.
"This is a strange night for me," she said. "This man who transformed Argentina led us all and gave everything he had and more. Without him, without his valor and courage, it would have been impossible to get to this point."
Thousands of jubilant people crowded into the capital's Plaza de Mayo to watch on a huge TV screen as she said: "The worst that people can be is small. In history, you always must be bigger still - more generous, more thoughtful, more thankful."
She vowed to protect Argentina from outside threats or special interests. She said: "This woman is not moved by any interest. The only thing that moves her is profound love for the country."
Later she appeared in the plaza, giving a second victory speech as she called on Argentina's youth to dedicate themselves to social projects nationwide.
Fernandez was on track to win a larger share of votes than any president since Argentina's democracy was restored in 1983, when Raul Alfonsin was elected with 52 percent. Her margin over other candidates was wider even than the 1973 victory margin of her strongman hero, Juan Domingo Peron.
Fernandez suffered high negative ratings early in her presidency, but soared in popularity by softening her usually combative tone and proving her ability to command loyalty or respect from an unruly political elite.
Most voters said they wanted government stability to keep their financial situations improving in what has been one of Argentina's longest spells of economic growth.
Fernandez, 58, chose her youthful, guitar-playing economy minister, Amado Boudou, as her running mate. Together, they championed Argentina's approach to the global financial crisis - nationalize private pensions, use central bank reserves to increase government spending rather than impose austerity measures.
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