Brazil & Southern Cone - April 2009 (ISSN 1741-4431)

The Kirchners gamble on early elections

Faced with the very real possibility of defeat in mid-term congressional elections in October, President Cristina Fernández has brought the ballot forward by four months to 28 June. Fernández argued that the move would spare Argentina a lengthy electoral cycle at a time of global economic crisis. In truth, she is calculating, shrewdly, that earlier elections will work to the government’s advantage and wrong-foot its opposition. The vote is now set to become a referendum on Fernández’s administration, with her husband, predecessor and political strategist, Néstor Kirchner (2003-2007), poised to head the government’s offensive in the crucial province of Buenos Aires.