MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Re-re-election rattling: “Cristina Fernandez needs a third term in office”

Vice President Amado Boudou confirmed rumors about possible constitutional amendments

President Cristina Fernandez would need a third term in office to complete her transformation of Argentina, her vice president said Thursday, feeding her opponents’ fears that the newly re-elected leader will try to change the constitution and stay in power beyond 2015.

Asked repeatedly during a radio interview if reports that Fernandez’s inner circle is floating the idea of eliminating term limits are true, Boudou declined to dismiss them. Instead, he said that “without a doubt, without a doubt” the country needs more than four more years with Fernandez as president.

“Argentina has found a leader who is much more than just someone who governs, and that doesn’t happen very often,” Boudou told Radio de la Red.

Cristina Fernandez’s opponents have worried openly that she’ll use her restored majority in Congress to eliminate the constitution’s limit to two consecutive four-year terms for Argentine presidents.

Dr. Hermes Binner, a distant second-place finisher in the October election Fernandez won with 54% of the vote, called it “ethically unhealthy.” Ricardo Alfonsin, who finished third, said “Society doesn’t look kindly on efforts to stay longer in power, trying to change the law. Later, the leader will be punished”.

CFK was re-elected in October to a term that ends in 2015. Her popularity has only increased with the latest economic indicators, which she announced in detail in a national address Wednesday night. Average salaries in Argentina rose 29.5% last year, while revenues kept pace at 30%, she announced.

Private sector salaries rose even more sharply, by 36 percent. That’s more than triple the official annual inflation rate of 9.5 percent, but more closely matches what private analysts say is the true pace of price increases.

Meanwhile, Argentina’s central bank predicted economic growth of 6% in 2012, citing efforts to reduce exposure to global financial contagion, increase jobs and keep the economy growing.