MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Balloon tests for indefinite re-election of President Cristina Fernandez

Lawmaker Diana Conti: “Cristina for life”

The possibility of a constitutional amendment to allow Argentine President Cristina Fernandez a third consecutive mandate is being seriously considered and publicly hailed and tested by her most ultra-orthodox followers although no projects have been presented to Congress.

“Constitutional reforms have to do with a question of political determination, a people that acknowledges a natural leadership, and a natural leadership consists of a direct bond between the people and the leader, with no middle persons. We see Cristina with that direct bond, no need of middle persons”, said lawmaker Diana Conti, who happens to be chairman of the Constitutional Committee in the Lower House of the Argentine congress.

Lawmaker Conti became famous for her phrase a year ago “Cristina for life” and the fact a few days later she formally proposed to debate constitutional reform. On that occasion Cristina Fernandez on the opening of the last legislature of her first mandate rejected the initiative before the full house.

“Marcelo Fuentes who is chairman of the Senate Constitutional Affairs committee and me are well known ‘kirchnerites’. If any project on the issue had been presented, we would obviously be the first to know about it”, said Ms Conti in a Sunday interview with Tiempo Argentino, a newspaper fully financed by the Argentine government.

“I repeat in none of the two chambers there is a project to amend the constitution” insisted Conti who nevertheless said this not impeded her or her colleagues from promoting the idea.

However another kirchnerite lawmaker Jose Maria Diaz Bancalari admitted that there are many people working on a constitutional amendment that would open the way for the indefinite presidential re-election, “but first we need to know what Cristina Fernandez thinks about it”.

“There are quite a few things to change in the constitution, but that does not mean we are all the time with a ballot in our heads, and probably it is not the correct time, but reform has been in the air since the 1994 constitution was approved”, said Diaz Bancalari.

He added that very recently Eugenio Zaffaroni, a member of Argentina’s Supreme Court suggested that the country should advance towards a parliamentary system, “and nobody was horrified about the idea”.

Last week during a political rally in Mar del Plata, Argentina’s main seaside resort which is packed in summer, several political leaders proposed the ‘indefinite re-election’ amendment to ensure President Cristina Fernandez can continue her ‘undisputed’ leadership.

The meeting was organized by Vice-president Amado Boudou who said the meeting was entirely of militants so he “would not advance on the issue”. 

At the meeting Boudou was quoted stating that “constitutional issues must be addressed now and not in three years time”. However hours later he said “it was not time for electoral engineering but what is unequivocal is that Argentina has found a leader, which is far more than a ruler or a government official”

Finally lawmaker Conti said that “evidently the constitution reform is an issue that must be in the agenda: whether it is the parliamentary system, redefining presidentialism, defending the current national and popular development inclusive model which should be incorporated”.

She added, it’s not only re-re-election of the president: “we also have for example the issue of international tribunals such as the World Bank’s investments’ court and if Argentina should admit their jurisdiction and abide by its rulings”.

In Latin America only three countries admit presidents to be elected as such once in their life time: Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and Paraguay.

Another group allows re-election but not immediately: Peru, Uruguay, Chile, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Panama and Nicaragua, although in this last case it was violated by Daniel Ortega who this month took office for a second consecutive mandate based on a court ruling by judges named by his government.

A third group tolerates one immediate re-election: Brazil, Colombia, Bolivia, Ecuador, Dominican Republic and Argentina. Only one country has indefinite re-election and that is the Venezuela of Hugo Chavez.