MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Opposition begins to organize to prevent the re-re-election of Cristina Fernandez

Barletta ‘really convinced’ there is no going back in the government’s review plan

Argentine Radical party chairman Mario Barletta said on Sunday that “he is really convinced” that the government of President Cristina Fernandez will advance with a constitutional reform bill and highlighted the petition campaign that the party is carrying out in order to express its discontent.

The Radical initiative, which forms part of a series of similar actions, carried out other opposition parties and dissident unions, received the support of farming leader Alfredo de Angeli, who warned about the need for farm groupings to adopt the same course.

De Angeli called to work for the oncoming 2013 mid term elections in order to have “more opposition lawmakers” in Congress, which would prevent the ruling party from obtaining the necessary number of seats to progress in a constitutional reform.

Barletta said that the opposition actions being taken to prevent President Cristina Fernández from being again re-elected to a third term are not “functional” to the national government’s plans, and added that if the ruling party “sees that there is an opportunity,” it will advance with the reform.

The Radical party sent a letter to the opposition caucus leaders to join forces against a possible reform and held meetings with different social and trade union organizations to debate their plan seeking to prevent any third term.

“Better safe than sorry,” said Barletta in reference to the Radical party actions, and recalled that in Santa Cruz province “the President together with (former president) Néstor Kirchner proposed and put through indefinite re-election, thus we are convinced that they adhere to this idea”

Former Economy minister Roberto Lavagna who worked closely with the Kirchner couple during the first presidency and helped Argentina climb out of recession and most of the defaulted sovereign debt regularly comments that he won’t be satisfied even if they reassure him that re-re-election is dead.

“On the fourth day I’ll check to see it didn’t resuscitate on the third day”, says Lavagna who now spends most of his political time talking with the dissident Peronists and Radicals about the need to impede the constitutional reform.