Kirchner, “one of the best neighbours Uruguay has ever had”
Former Uruguayan president Jorge Batlle forecasted that Nestor Kirchner is going to be the main looser in next Sunday’s Argentine mid term elections, although he described the former Argentine president as “one of the best neighbours ever, for Uruguay’s interests”.
“I see Kirchner loosing”, said Battle during a television program in Montevideo. And “this is good for Uruguay” but it has also had its benefits, he added.
Next Sunday Argentina will renew half the seats in the Lower House, a third of the Senate and most provincial legislatures. Former president Nestor Kirchner and his wife Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner who is the current Argentine president have turned the election into a referendum on their economic and social policies, and politically, on their style of ruling.
The Kirchners have renationalized several companies, privileged government intervention over private property, have strengthened trade unions’ power, capped food and energy prices and have imposed a “federal goodies for allegiance” policy under economic emergency laws to ensure political and Congressional support.
On foreign affairs they have acted erratically: unnecessarily offending United States and Spain, and even Brazil and aligning with Venezuela and Cuba.
But according to ex president Batlle, “looking in retrospective, undoubtedly there have never been such good presidents for Uruguay as the Kirchners”.
Batlle said that thanks to the Kirchners, “the Finns arrived in Uruguay; all the excellent Argentine farmers came over to transform Uruguay’s agriculture, which has led to a silent technological revolution. And they blocked the bridge with pickets, so nobody could cross to go shopping to Argentina. For Uruguay it has been a dream”.
The Uruguayan president was referring to the Botnia pulp mill, a 1.2 billion US dollar investment which the Finnish corporation decided to establish in Uruguay, instead of Argentina. Furthermore some of the most efficient Argentine farmers, hounded by capped prices and over taxed, crossed over with their technology and know-how to Uruguay and finally Argentine pickets, to protest the Botnia pull mill, supposedly contaminating, blocked international bridges linking the two neighbouring countries.
This helped local business since consumers, usually lured by Argentine more attractive prices, were forced to shop in Uruguay.
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The fact that he was president only serves to reinforce the fact that Uruguay was always ruled but the ol' boys club. Thankfully that is changing. If only the ruling party would get their act together to pave the way to make change last for good. Enough of the old guard, enough stealing. And by the way, Argentina should stop the illegal blockade of the bridge, but then of course that country would have to stop being ruled by mobs - not in our lifetime....
He probably refers to the foolish measures the Kirchnerian administration forced on Argentine agribusiness, especially with regard to soybean and beef production, which went nearly defunct after ever increased export retentions blew out of all imaginary possibilities. The Kirchner people looked as if they wanted to throw our country to the dogs.
Soon thereafter, Argentina was struck by unexpected extra- dry weather whose lack of rains killed scores of thousands cattle, dried milk-cattle up and the drought stopped - so far -wheat reseeding dead.
These errors and natural disasters helped to prop up both the Brazilian and Uruguayan agropecuarian exportations, while Argentinian production was sunk to depths never known before. The likelihood of Argentine agricultural power being revived depends largely on the outcome of the next polls, but we know beforehand that - in certain areas - it will take years. On whose advantage?
You said it. On our neighbours'.
Meanwhile, Little Red Riding Hood dares the wolf.
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