MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Mrs. Kirchner praises current Argentine economic model

“We?ve generated 3.7 million jobs but we need more”

Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner vowed on Saturday to sustain the current economic model which has spurred the greatest growth in a century and if this year confirms the current expansion rate, in Argentina's history.

In her first annual address to Congress, Mrs. Kirchner praised five straight years of more than eight percent economic growth and promised to maintain budget surpluses and stockpile foreign currency reserves, which now top 49 billion dollars, as a cushion against external economic shocks. "Since 1900, this country has lived through recession every three years. What we have been able to achieve lately is the greatest growth period in Argentina in the last 100 years." Since 1900, this country has lived through recession every three years. What we have been able to achieve lately is the greatest growth period in Argentina in the last 100 years." In opening the 126th ordinary session of Congress, she vowed to trim the country's 7.5% jobless rate, the lowest in 13 years, to five percent, although she gave no deadline or specific proposal. Unemployment rose to 22 percent during Argentina's 2002 economic crisis, a rate that the President said had "dishonored" the nation. "We've generated 3.7 million jobs but we need more, our goal is 19.5 million jobs to ensure work for all Argentines". Addressing the energy issue Mrs. Kirchner said that in the coming months Argentina would incorporate a further 11% electricity power, "plus an 8% increase in gas compared to last winter" when the country's industry was exposed to recurrent shortages of power and gas. She said the energy problem is a world and a regional problem, but with integration it can be overcome, thus the recent agreement reached with Brazil and Bolivia and the need to incorporate Venezuela to Mercosur, which "is vital to ensure the country's energy equation". Mrs. Kirchner admitted an energy problem but underlined that contrary to the past, blackouts and brownouts are caused because of the strong economic growth and not because of a "contracting economy". She promised an infrastructure overhaul as a tool for economic development and questioned those who criticized her for investing in high speed or bullet trains. "We will always have problems to solve that linger from the past, but this should not impede us to address modernity". On one of her favorite issues, education, she pointed out to the improved salaries of teachers (168% in real terms in four years), the agreement reached with the unions to have at least 180 full days of schooling and criticized the proliferation of strikes (1.025 days in four years). However, "I'm not invalidating the right for education workers to defend their rights but we must find better instruments". On security issues she called for more commitment from the law enforcement bodies to help rebuild people's confidence in them but also admitted that security forces sometimes are discouraged because of a painfully slow justice system, lenient judges and sometimes "too smart" solicitors who take advantage of loopholes and "who knows what else". From the Justices Mrs. Kirchner requested more action and making use of all the jurisdictional instruments available, which exist, to improve the court system. She also called for a quick resolution to all pending cases of crimes against humanity (human rights violations) dating back to the last dictatorship and announced a bill to be sent to Congress to put an end to all delaying legal tactics. "With justice and impunity there's no possible agreement, there can only be abiding the law and justice", she emphasized. Mrs. Kirchner also linked the current "insecurity" in Argentina to the legacy of the dictatorship which contributed to the "deterioration of law enforcement and security institutions" that were geared for political motives outside the rule of the law. Towards the end of her hour long speech she told her, until last December, fellow legislators of her confidence not only in the future of Argentina but of the current Argentina, "I feel society is changing, Congress has a role to play in this new model we are building". Finally she called on all Argentines to think about Argentina's coming 200 years of existence as a nation and an independent country in 2010. "We need the bicentennial spirit to reach a great understanding, a national accord". The Argentine press points out that Mrs. Kirchner, following on her Congressional background, (contrary to her husbands' governor experience) did not read the speech, just had a couple of pages with some short notes which helped along her one hour and twenty minutes address.