Brazil & Southern Cone - October 2008 (ISSN 1741-4431)

Argentina's traditionally weak and divided opposition is seeking to unite. Brought together by the recent farming crisis, the Unión Cí­vica Radical (UCR), the Partido Socialista (PS) and the Coalición Cí­vica (CC) have mooted an alliance to contest next year's mid-term elections. They have formed a parliamentary coalition, alongside Mauricio Macri's Propuesta Republicana (Pro), to present a united front against the government in congress. Meanwhile, at a conference in early October, the UCR invited rebels who have left the party to return in a bid to defeat Kichnerismo.
 
The opposition's failure to unite in the past five years has allowed Néstor Kirchner and his wife, President Cristina Fernández, to exercise a tight grip on Argentine politics. The ruling couple's authority has, however, weakened considerably since Fernández took office in January 2008, especially since the crippling defeat they suffered in July, when the government's supposed allies in congress voted against Fernández's rural tax reforms. Despite something of a political resurgence by the president in recent weeks, the government could well lose its congressional majority in next year's mid-terms if the opposition manages to present a united front against the ruling Partido Justicialista.

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