MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

US State Department confirms close association with Argentina and whoever wins 27 October election

The Trump administration looking to 10 December and beyond when the new Argentine elected president takes office

United States said on Wednesday it expects to continue with the solid association with Argentina, 'whoever is the candidate that the Argentine people elect as their next president', on 27 October according to a source from US State Department Western Hemisphere Affairs.

“Our mutual commitment to promote security, democracy, economic prosperity and human rights will continue to guide our policy and relation”, explained the source on request for a statement on the Argentine situation by the Buenos Aires media.

The administration of president Donald Trump was decisive in its support for Argentina at the IMF board to approve the US$ 57bn standby loan, but has moved with prudence and silence since the 11 August primary when the president's close friend Mauricio Macri was seriously defeated.

According to Argentine media, the White House and the US Treasury have remained silent, with no comments on Argentina since the primary results. Nevertheless US diplomats and analysts are looking to 10 December and further on, when the new president takes office in Argentina, probably opposition candidate Alberto Fernandez, and recall they have sour memories of the Kirchner years.

Even when the Trump administration apparently marks a difference between Fernandez and classic Peronism with Kirchnerism and its populist policies, suspicions remain given a past with Cristina Fernandez support of the Venezuelan regime, and repeated clashes of her administration with US diplomacy.