Brazil & Southern Cone - 26 October 2004

Relations between Argentina and Chile never remain smooth for long, and they took a customary downturn in the last month following the appointment of Ignacio Walker as Chile's new foreign minister on 28 September. At the same time, Argentina has placed all its money on Tabaré Vázquez winning the Uruguayan presidential election on 31 October.

The Argentine government's animosity towards Walker stems from an article he wrote in the conservative Chilean newspaper El Mercurio in May after Argentina had cut its gas exports to Chile in response to its own energy crisis. Walker directly criticised Argentina's President Néstor Kirchner on this point, asking: 'Does he respect treaties and contracts? Not if they endanger his popularity.'

However, his criticism went further than the case in hand. Walker's piece accused the ruling Partido Justialista (PJ, or Peronists) 'and its perverse logic' of being 'what really divides Chile and Argentina'. Walker derided the Peronists for their 'authoritarian, corporate, and fascistic traits' and alleged that 'since Perón came to power in 1945 Peronism and militarism have taken it upon themselves systematically to destroy Argentina'. 'One of the legacies of Peronist doctrine,' wrote Walker, 'seems to be its ignorance and disdain, not only for the most elementary norms of economics but also of the law.'

The Argentine government was not prepared to let such slurs pass, especially after the Buenos Aires daily Clarí­n reprinted Walker's piece in full. The foreign ministry demanded that 'Walker clarify the attitude he will adopt henceforth as a statesman and a representative of his country'. Walker did apologise, but the stand-off dragged on longer than was necessary, with Kirchner at one point threatening to cancel a visit to Chile planned for the end of November.