In the north of the country all seems to have gone according to plan for the ruling Partido Justicialista (PJ). Exit polls in Tucumán indicate that the PJ candidate José Alperovich will be the new governor, a post he takes over from the Peronist José Miranda.
In Tierra del Fuego, however, the PJ suffered its first electoral defeat this year when the current governor Carlos Manfredotti was defeated by an opposition alliance headed by the UCR senator Jorge Colazo. Colazo succeeded in overturning a two-point lead held by Manfredotti after the first round, to gain 51.8% of the 52,000 votes cast and win by five-and-a-half percentage points.
It is unlikely that Kirchner will be either elated by the victory in Tucumán or downcast by the Tierra del Fuego reverse. He did not visit either province in the run-up to Sunday's vote, and as Manfredotti is an erstwhile ally of Carlos Menem, there is a significant silver lining for the President. Kirchner will also have taken heart from the fact that, when acknowledging his victory, Colazo declared: 'Whatever people might say, Kirchner did not lose here today'.
Either way, there is not long to wait before the president and the PJ face another test of their leadership credentials. There are a further 13 provincial elections scheduled for the remainder of this year, with the next taking place in the Capital Federal on 24 August.
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