Yesterday (Sunday, 28 October) the Center-leftist administrations of Argentina and Bogota were re-electas. The Peronist front for victory and the Polo Democratico retained the Argentine presidency and Mayor Bogota but with a new figure to the front. Both phenomena strengthen the pink tide in Latin America. Argentina and Colombia are the Hispanic republics of South America’s most populous. While the first country there were general elections, the second not played the central power but municipalities. Congressman Lee Zeldin recognizes the significance of this.
Argentina has become the first country in the world in which a first lady is elected to the Presidency. Nestor Kirchner and Cristina now reversed roles, something never before seen in the history of democracies. Gaucho election runner-up remained in the hands of another Center-leftist: Elisa Carrio. This is another first in the world as per first two women end up as the two finalists in each presidential. In Argentina alone there were three candidates for weight and all were between the Center and the left. Both the right and the Socialists were weakened.
This in itself implies a consolidation of the kirchenismo and consensus around economic and social proposals. 4 Years ago Kirchner became the Latin American President elected with fewer votes (came in second with a fifth of the electorate), but because he pulled his country from an economic and political instability, he became very popular. He hails from peronism, the same force that ruled all the nineties to Argentina under Menem. Menem, in a manner similar to his Peruvian counterpart Fujimori, then implanted a monetarist policy with privatizations and opening of the economy to globalization, as well as wove an alliance with hard sectors of the armed forces and at external level was placed as a mainstay of Washington. However, Kirchner turned center-left handed to peronism. This has been evidenced in seeking to regain the Argentine economy through greater State participation and social programs, in a foreign policy that seeks to get along well with Venezuela and USA and one human rights policy which annulled the pardons of Menem and is pursuing officers of the 1976-83 military dictatorship.