MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Buenos Aires prepares for Kirchners ceremony on Monday

Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner will asume presidential powers from her husband

Hours before the first elected woman president takes office in Argentina, the preparations for the ceremony are underway. The preparations in Buenos Aires Colón Square, where the outdoors ceremony is due to take place, were finished on Thursday and foreign heads of state are currently arriving in Buenos Aires city to participate in Cristina Fernández de Kirchner's inauguration.

Outgoing President Néstor Kirchner re-opened the historical square located behind the presidential palace. Works were accomplished after several months, during which a new amphitheatre was built for government rallies and national celebrations. The list of guests for Monday's ceremony includes nine heads of state, three vice-presidents, two first ministers, two foreign ministers and a first lady, who begun arriving Saturday. Presidents include Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva (Brazil), Rafael Correa (Ecuador), Nicanor Duarte Frutos (Paraguay), Evo Morales (Bolivia), Michelle Bachelet (Chile), Hugo Chávez (Venezuela), Alvaro Uribe (Colombia), Tabaré Vázquez (Uruguay) and José Manuel Zelaya Rosales (Honduras), who will attend a dinner in their honor tomorrow at the Foreign Ministry, hosted by the Kirchners. During the opening ceremony of the Colon Square, the current first lady and president-elect compared the repairing of the Colón Square with the process of political reconstruction her husband had led. "I dream of being able to receive foreign delegations here so that the Presidential Palace, behind me, is the symbol of all Argentines, of the Republic, our common house." Ministers and vice-presidents from United States, France, Israel, India, Peru, South Africa, Canada and Italy will also attend the ceremony, as well as representatives from international organizations, including IMF director-general Dominique Strauss-Khan, Organization of American States (OAS) Secretary-General José Miguel Insulza and World Bank vice-president Pamela Cox. Prince Felipe de Asturias, heir to the Spanish crown, is also invited.