2011 Election
In Argentina's 2011 presidential election, Cristina Fernandez Kirchner was re-elected for a second term with a substantial majority in the first round of voting. It is not immediately obvious how it happened, considering that two years ago her approval ratings were at an unprecedented low, while domestic inflation is currently between twenty and thirty percent a year, and, anecdotally at least, it's hard to find people who speak well of her. Her resounding victory can perhaps best be attributed to three factors: the absence of an organised, united opposition; the fact that the Argentine economy has been growing strongly for several years now (thanks to strong soya exports to Brazil and China); and a wealth of voter-bribing government handouts, including (unsustainable, in the medium and long term) energy and transport subsidies, and the gift to every child attending a state school of a free laptop earlier this year.
The Kirchners
The Kirchners (before Cristina, her late husband Nestor was president) were initially considered to be a positive force in politics. Perhaps their most significant achievement was the continuation of the relative economic stability established by Eduardo Duhalde in the aftermath of the Argentine currency collapse and economic crisis of 2001. It is perhaps the case for all governments that are in power for more than just a few years though that the world moves on, their original platform of ideas becomes out-dated, and they must either adapt or become obsolete. Since the Kirchners took power, Argentina's neighbours Chile and Brazil have become rising economic stars on the world stage, while the US and Europe have become engulfed by a debt crisis, and the Kirchner administration is perhaps a little stuck in the past, thinking in terms of protectionism and high taxes and spending. It also remains intent on maintaining the façade of there being a low rate of domestic inflation, and pressurises the official statistics agency to include some data but to exclude other that makes up the official figures. The resulting statistics are thus skewed to support their point of view. The whole country (along with economic spectators abroad) knows that Argentina's inflation is actually among the highest in the world, a situation that if not soon addressed will probably lead to another domestic financial debacle within the decade.
This mild economic incompetence is perhaps an understandably preferable alternative for many Argentines compared to what had become the normal form in Argentine politics during the twentieth century, the dramatic and sometimes violent lurches from right to left and back again.
Constitutional structure
Argentina's constitutional structure is similar to that of many republics, with a president, a senate and a house of representatives. Each province elects one senator, while representatives are elected based on their representing a fixed number of people. Presidents are elected separately, and are often former provincial governors. Elections are held every four years for all of these positions, though not at the same time. Sensibly, with Argentina being so large geographically (a little bigger than India), the twenty-three provinces have a fair amount of autonomy in terms of the policy and priorities of their provincial governments, although they receive the majority of their money directly from the central government, which therefore in practice influences their loyalties through raising or lowering their budgets. In principle, the political structures are well respected; the difficulty in practice is the corruption that is endemic at all levels of government and officialdom nation-wide, which ranges from the petty to the jaw-dropping in scale.
Political parties
In terms of political parties, the landscape is neither clear nor logical. In the nineteenth century the dominant parties were the same as those in Europe, the Conservatives and Liberals, however in the twentieth century the Radicals and the Socialists gained a foothold, before successive dictatorships took over, until a democratic, electoral system was restored following the Falklands War in the early 1980's. The predominant political party today is Peronism, named after the Argentine president of the late 1940's and early 1950's (he also returned for a brief stint in the 1970's), who in a few short years bankrupted the formerly wealthy nation and isolated it from its former European allies, while at the same time successfully spinning his achievements as a nationalist victory over imperialism. Somewhat surprisingly his name still inspires loyalty and pride throughout the nation today. Within the Peronist party there are different factions though, so it is not uncommon for two Peronist groups to contest an election. Aside from the Peronists, the Radicals, Socialists and Republicans continue to argue amongst themselves. There is little public faith in the personal integrity of any politician though, and politicians are more likely to be elected for their perceived competence than for their ideals, party affiliations or policies.
Summary
Argentina is still a nation finding its feet in democracy. The parties today are more façades of the ideals of a former age than the bastions of idealism that they once were. One problem may be that the nation is suffering from a diminished sense of self-esteem following decades of political instability, which results in low expectations in the electorate, and as such it is content to accept a political class that's somewhat less than ideal. In the age of global media and communications though, and with the country's aforementioned neighbour's recent economic success, it's hard to imagine that it will be too long before the Argentine people demand greater transparency and economic competence from its political leaders. Don't hold your breath though - change will take time.
Note - paragraph headings were added at the request of Suite 101.
Hugo Lesser - In 2010, Hugo Lesser moved from Yorkshire to Salta in north west Argentina. In 2011, he co-founded Estados.
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