MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Cristina Fernandez establishes several records in Argentine electoral history

The first woman president re-elected in Latin America almost beat Juan Domingo’s Peron record

The extraordinary showing of President Cristina Fernandez established a new set of records in Argentine electoral history. The difference over her runner up Hermes Binner was just below that of Juan Domingo Peron (Argentina’s icon political leader of the XXth century) when he returned triumphantly after 17 years in exile in Spain to the presidency.

CFK with 54% also obtained the best vote performance since the restoration of democracy in 1983. The record belonged to Raul Alfonsin with 51.75% of the vote. However this is not the whole picture since in some provinces and some districts Cristina Fernandez garnered 70% and 80% with peaks of 90%.

The re-elected president was only defeated in one province, eight counties and four districts in Buenos Aires City.

The northern province of Santiago del Estero registered her best performance with eleven districts above 90% and the rest of the province above 80%. Other similar readings belong to the provinces of Formosa, 78% and Santa Cruz (where the Kirchners started active politics) with 74.7%.

Other provinces where CFK managed over 60% include, Salta, Jujuy, Catamarca, Corrientes, Chaco, Misiones, Neuquén, Rio Negro, San Juan, Tucuman and Tierra del Fuego.

Buenos Aires province, Chubut, Entre Rios, La Pampa, La Rioja and Mendoza voted over 50% in support of re-election. This group includes Chubut where Governor Mario Das Neves was a Vice-president hopeful in one of the several tickets than competed last Sunday.

The so called more ‘rebel’ territories such as Cordoba, Santa Fe and the City of Buenos Aires, (also top districts in the number of registered voters) CFK was rewarded with victory although at much lower percentages, 37.34%, 41.97% and 35% respectively. This in important because CFK beat Governor Binner in his territory Santa Fe and also swept with Macri’s Buenos Aires City.

The only province not to succumb was San Luis where Alberto Rodriguez Saá won with 51.46% of the vote against 31.41%. Nevertheless San Luis is a political family success since the Rodriguez Saá (Alberto and Adolfo) have been on control of the province for over four decades.

But the Cristina tsunami was also defeated in eight municipalities and four Buenos Aires counties. In Santa Fe Governor Binner managed to resist in five municipalities from his Santa Fe province and also in four Buenos Aires city counties, upper class and high middle class.

Binner also spoiled the party in the Buenos Aires province county of Rivadavia, where the president had won in the 14 August primaries. This was the merit of the local mayor a very strong political figure. Summing up of the 135 districts in the province of Buenos Aires, 134 went for CFK.

As a mere curiosity former caretaker president Eduardo Duhalde and presidential candidate with Das Neves in the ticket managed two strange victories: one in a rural municipality in the province of Chubut where he defeated CFK, 43% to 40.5% and in the Argentine Antarctica bases where he collected 37% of votes cast.