MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Cristina Fernandez is back on stage and preparing for her presidential bid next October
Argentine ex-president and Senator Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner is back on stage and looking to run in next October's presidential election, hopefully with a united opposition. Mandatory primaries in Argentina are only eight months away and several of her acolytes over the weekend and with her blessing announced she is prepared to run for the presidency. Read full article
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Disclaimer & comment rulesI cant' imagine the Argentine people being dumb enough to elect her and watch the country go down hill fast...
Dec 17th, 2018 - 09:29 am - Link - Report abuse +1Unfortunately, Macri has done terribly with his economic proposals and his popularity has fallen dramatically. (His economic problems were an inheritance from CFK, so I sympathize with him) He faces a difficult re-election.
Dec 17th, 2018 - 11:16 am - Link - Report abuse +4Do legal means exist to take away her legislator privilege ? Is there an established process ? That is clearly the answer if it can be done legally.
Dec 17th, 2018 - 03:47 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Well...at the end of 12 years of Nestor and Cristina, Argentine electors were ready to try something new--and Mauricio Macri promised them to let in place all that was good and improve what wasn't.
Dec 17th, 2018 - 06:02 pm - Link - Report abuse -1A large part of Macri's campaign was fought by large media groups such as Clarin, which fed the public a continued series of fake stories (such as prosecutor Alberto Nisman's alleged murder, Maximo Kirchner secret offshore bank accounts, Axel Kicilloff high salary as part of YPF, etc.) gave the public the impression that the government of Cristina Fernandez hadn't done anything but steal public funds.
And so, Argentines went on to try, and boy they weren't disappointed! Three years later, the economy has noticeably declined, with all indicators showing worse than 2015 numbers, and the government had to go hat in hand to the IMF once private lenders estimated Argentina had borrowed too much already.
Of course, Macri and his team still have some resources before the 2019 election campaign kicks in. In 2017 they demonstrated they know exactly what kind of actions must be taken to stimulate the economy; they did it just in time for the partial election in October of that year, but by December that brief spring had vanished.
For the Argentines, the situation is no longer a matter of saving the poor or the workers. The rot is now impacting most sectors, including large firms that can't cope with interest rates starting at 60 per cent, and the double whammy of festering recession and inflation.
So, come October, the Argentines will be able to measure this government 'achievements,' the opposition proposals, and make a decision.
They will.
Cristina x Macri can exchange a few Tricks of the Trade with Bolso:
Dec 18th, 2018 - 02:24 pm - Link - Report abuse +1https://i2.wp.com/www.humorpolitico.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/adnael-7.jpg?resize=498%2C420&ssl=1
AND THIS IS EVEN BEFORE TAKING THE OFFICIAL CHARGE AS THE PRESIDENT - NO DOUBT, BRAZIL IS IN GREAT HANDS; AS THE MASSES DEMANDED!
A dog returning to its puke?
Dec 18th, 2018 - 02:57 pm - Link - Report abuse -1Macri's only chance of re-election probably. He would struggle against any alternative non-lunatic candidate. The electorate has a very serious issue to resolve......institutionalise corruption or continue with the right of centre policies that will not deliver for the poor in the short term.
Dec 18th, 2018 - 04:55 pm - Link - Report abuse +2Reekio,
Dec 19th, 2018 - 07:02 pm - Link - Report abuse +1“Three years later, the economy has noticeably declined, with all indicators showing worse than 2015 numbers”
All? I've fact-checked your previous claims such as this and proved you wrong. Try saying “most” instead of “all”.
“So, come October, the Argentines will be able to measure this government 'achievements,' the opposition proposals, and make a decision. They will.”
Yes, they will. What is your prediction? You were a bit off with your mid-term prediction...
@Zaphi
Dec 20th, 2018 - 08:12 pm - Link - Report abuse 0I stand to be corrected. Not all numbers in the Argentine economy have declined. Banks and financial institutions are doing well thanks to the “timba financiera” that is emptying the country of U.S. currency.
Large landowners and the agri-export business are also doing well thanks to the reduction of export taxes.
The rest of the figures, i.e. inflation, consumption, GDP, purchase power, debt-to-GDP ratio etc. are alarming.
The discussion among economists now is whether Argentina will be able to face debt service payments in 2020, as the possibility of another default begins to raise in the horizon.
Again, you are correct. Not all economic indicators are doing worse than 2015. Most do.
“Again, you are correct.”
Dec 21st, 2018 - 07:25 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Thank you.
@EM
Dec 21st, 2018 - 08:28 pm - Link - Report abuse -1”A large part of Macri's campaign was fought by large media groups such as Clarin, which fed the public a continued series of fake stories (such as prosecutor Alberto Nisman's alleged murder, Maximo Kirchner secret offshore bank accounts, Axel Kicilloff high salary as part of YPF, etc.) gave the public the impression that the government of Cristina Fernandez hadn't done anything but steal public funds“............
”...continued series of fake stories.....“Nisman's alleged murder.”....so you believe the improbable suicide theory ? by a man who was on the verge of blowing open wide one of Argentina's largest corruption scandals ?.......Yeah Reekie, maybe you're right, after all, the K clan had no reason whatsoever to want to see him dead. Just an unfortunate coincidence.
But tell us, how can you, sitting in Canada, be so well-informed and absolutely sure these “stories” are fake ? unless of course it's just what you want to believe.
“.......the impression that the government of Cristina Fernandez hadn't done anything but steal public funds”....
Well let's be fair.....“steal public funds” is not ALL she did....while she obviously did some good, she ALSO stole public funds.....there, that's better isn't it ?
PS: Reekie, don't bother replying - which is no novelty - as I already know what you would say, if you do...
@JB
Dec 23rd, 2018 - 06:02 pm - Link - Report abuse +1Nisman was involved with the Argentine intelligence agency and the CIA, it wouldn't be too hard to feed him fake information then 'persuade' him to commit suicide in order to implicate the then-current government (and divert attention from the investigation yet again).
And the police have been free to investigate members of the former government for the last three years, yet don't seem to have found anything remotely conclusive on CFK or her family. What's taking so long?
@ZB
Congrats, you successfully quibbled over 'all economic indicators'. Meanwhile, Argentina has plunged into recession, is in hock to the IMF and people are starting to talk about the next default. Isn't it time to admit EM is right about Macri?
@DT
Dec 24th, 2018 - 06:51 pm - Link - Report abuse -1“...it wouldn't be too hard to feed him fake information then 'persuade' him to commit suicide...”
What exactly do you mean by “persuade” ? that he had no choice but to kill himself, because if he didn't, someone would do it for him, OR that he could literally be persuaded in order to incriminate CFK ? Afaic, there are lots of theories, no conclusive evidence, and when people are assassinated by governments, it's usually very well planned and well covered up.....but on principle, I'm more inclined to believe he was murdered, as part of a cover up, first because to kill yourself is a pretty extreme act, and second, because what was supposedly going to be revealed would blow the lid off CFK's government....there was strong motive, and that alone makes it suspicious. IMO.
That the police have “failed” to come with anything conclusive, makes you wonder if they are incompetent, or if they are hampering the investigation / dragging their feet deliberately...you never know who (in government, or in the police) might be involved, so it's natural they'd do all they could to protect themselves.
Anyway, enough of conspiracies, so wish you a merry Christmas and great 2019 !
They could have threatened Nisman himself, or his daughters, or killed him and made it look like a suicide. He took the very bold step of accusing a sitting president, but the report he submitted was decidedly thin on evidence. If he had something better he was a damn fool to keep it quiet, but perhaps his contacts in the CIA or SIDE were feeding him info and promised they had something conclusive for him.
Dec 24th, 2018 - 11:27 pm - Link - Report abuse +2I guess I think if the government did arrange it they would have done a better job of diverting suspicion from themselves, because what happened made them look guilty as hell. It probably helped Macri win the election over the candidate CFK supported, and that's something the CIA and likely some of the top people in SIDE wanted.
As for the police, I think it unlikely there is any hampering or foot dragging now that CFK is out of power. Macri would obviously be delighted if she was locked up, and IIRC she's been charged in 4 separate cases and all by the same judge, so someone's trying pretty hard. If she wins the next election then likely this would change.
Happy Christmas to you too! Do you have a Christmas barbecue like in Australia since it's the middle of summer there? I'm not sure I'd want a big roast dinner in tropical heat, and I definitely wouldn't want the oven on for 3 hours.
I've gone to see my family; niece one is walking and niece two is crawling around now so we have double trouble! They're very cute. It's strange to think that this time last year they were both just bumps.
@DT
Dec 25th, 2018 - 08:26 pm - Link - Report abuse 0IMO Nisman's death will never be clarified. Even if new theories appear, if “evidence” is presented to support one or the other, it's very unllikely a smoking gun will be found. Governments have a way of confounding the public, so people will always have their doubts.
Regarding the police, if any of the top brass participated in any way, and are still in power, they will continue to hamper investigations. It's hard to know who is honest, or if any of them are, as it's not impossible to imagine that they were coerced - and well rewarded - to get rid of him, and now have to make sure that they keep their tracks covered.
No, Christmas here is more along traditional lines, families getting together on the 24th at night, having a big roast turkey - or a small, roasted tender-made with cooked fruit (as in our case) - and accompanied by a whole lot of other things..and of course, champagne and good wine...and exchanging presents. I usually try to eat lightly, as the idea of sleeping on a very full stomach is not my idea of fun....Until Sunday, the weather was hot, but seems we were hit by a cold front last night so sleeping was easy.
Yeah, I think the same about Nisman. When the authorities themselves are suspect how can you ever have confidence in what they find? As for the police, I was thinking about the other investigations into corruption etc. There's no particular reason to think the police where involved in that, so I would have expected them to find something by now - if there is anything to find.
Dec 25th, 2018 - 11:08 pm - Link - Report abuse +2We have our Christmas dinner at midday so there's plenty of time for it to go down, and we don't usually eat much if anything for tea. I don't sleep well when it's too hot either, but it's not a problem here right now! Surely you have air conditioning in your condo?
I can't give you a present, so here's a link to The Snowman - we used to watch it on Christmas day every year as children, don't know whether you would have seen it or not.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5A3THighARU
“The Macri team is divided on strategy: having her legislative privileges lifted and make her stand before the several court cases she faces, or let her remain in the Senate, confident that her appeals for a united opposition won't crystallize since she still remains a divisive figure.”
Dec 26th, 2018 - 12:43 pm - Link - Report abuse 0They're openly debating the pros and (tactical) cons of arranging a witch hunt. Of course if she was no threat to them it wouldn't even be a debate. Kinda throws suspicion on the cases themselves, no? And the fact that even in this atmosphere they haven't found anything linking her to Nisman, not for want of trying for the last 4 years, is eloquent testimony to her innocence. Great contributions btw EM & DT
Gallamosa: “Macri's only chance of re-election probably. He would struggle against any alternative non-lunatic candidate.”
Non-lunatic like Trump and Bolsonaro you mean? Or like AMLO and Corbyn? Or do you mean someone who wouldn't really change much from what Macri is doing now, in which case why bother with the pale imitation when you can keep the real thing? Cristina and the politics she stands for gives Argentina a real alternative to austerity and recession, an attractive one, and if the Macri gang weren't worried about that themselves they wouldn't be wasting their time debating how far to take their witch hunt.
Anyway hope everyone here had a nice Christmas, nice to see the seasonal good cheer peaking through the debate on here and civilising it =) I hope the brave woman we're discussing also had a lovely and restful day ahead of a busy and productive year, and her next Christmas is in the Casa Rosada with the stress of Macri's witch hunt behind her forever
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