MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentina mourns Alfonsin more revered in death than in life

Last official appearance of the former President Alfonsin

Thousands of Argentines have marched and thousands more were queuing Wednesday night to render their respects to former Argentine president Raul Alfonsin, who died on Tuesday evening and has been enshrined as the man who following the defeat of the Argentine dictatorship in the Falkland Islands conflict, helped start in 1983 the longest period of electoral democracy in this politically turbulent country.

His open casket with all the symbols of president rests in the Upper House of the Argentine Congress from where at mid day Thursday, previous a mass he will be escorted with full presidential honours to the Recoleta cemetery, until a memorial is built to remember his significance as an unyielding believer in democratic governance and human rights activist.

Alfonsin’s death managed a momentary political truce and the feeling of unity he preached all along his political life. Former president Nestor Kirchner with most of Mrs. Kirchner’s (in London for the G-20 summit) presidential cabinet visited Congress and was back on talking terms with acting president Julio Cobos and members of the opposition.

Uruguayan president Tabare Vazquez flew over from Montevideo to pay his respects and former Brazilian president Jose Sarney, who with Mr. Alfonsín set the ground work for Mercosur will be the main speaker on Thursday’s ceremony.

Neighbouring Paraguay declared three days of mourning, Peru on the day of the funeral and some embassies in Buenos Aires will be flying flags at half mast on Thursday.

Chile is sending a high level delegation to honour the man who sponsored the 1984 plebiscite that ended most border disputes and helped pave the way for a long lasting peace between long time suspicious neighbours.

Condolence messages underlining his commitment to democracy and the return of human rights to Argentina have been received from all over the world and South American leaders have praised his impassionate dedication to regional trade and political integration.

However as things are in Argentina he seems more revered in death than in life in spite of his impressive political record. Certainly not his management of finances (or knowledge of economics) which with roaring inflation brought short his six year mandate with anticipated elections, won by the opposition Carlos Menem.

Nevertheless according to political analyst Rosendo Fraga, Alfonsin’s record is impressive: he was the first to defeat in clean elections the powerful Peronist movement. Until 1983 when he won the presidential election, the movement founded by Juan Doming Peron had proved unbeatable.

He was the first president to have military juntas sent to trial and sentenced for human rights abuses. He imposed the human rights issue in Argentine politics.

But Alfonsín was also the president who had to yield to a mutinous Army thus eroding some of his prestige. “I did it to preserve democracy”, he argued.

He was partner with Menem in reviewing the Argentine constitution with the so called 1994 Olivos Pact which cost dearly to his middle class party support.

Having left government in disgrace in 1989 he was one of the promoters of the Alliance which again defeated Peronism in 1997 and 1999. He was elected Senator in 2001 although with 20% of the vote.

In the following Argentine crisis of 2001, when the melting down of the economy, default and succession of short lived presidents together with Peronist leader Eduardo Duhalde, Alfonsin elaborated a political way out to the situation, which began changing with the election of Nestor Kirchner in 2003.

He was active in politics to the last moment of his life and currently was involved in an alternative to the deteriorated Kirchners.

In foreign policy he paved the way for improving relations with Chile, set the foundations for the strategic relation with Brazil and acted at arm’s length with the United States and Britain.

Although the military defeat in the Falklands of the Argentine military regime was instrumental in opening the way for the return of democracy he never accepted closer links with Britain. It was for his successor Carlos Menem to begin normalizing the situation and re-establishing relations.