Argentina’s glamorous new president

last updated 8 January 2015

Argentines this week elected their glamorous first lady, Cristina FernÃ¡ndez de Kirchner, to succeed her husband as president. President NestÃ³r Kirchner, who decided not to run for re-election after just one term, will hand over power to his wife in December. FernÃ¡ndez will not be Argentina’s first female president— but she is the first to be elected by the people rather than inheriting the office, as Isabelita PerÃ³n did in 1974.

FernÃ¡ndez, a senator from the Peronist party who served as her husband’s top advisor, trounced her opponents, taking 45 percent of the vote. That was nearly twice the share of her closest rival, center-left congresswoman Elisa Carrio. Allow me to specifically address my sisters in gender, FernÃ¡ndez, 54, said in her victory speech. I know we can all do great work.

So is FernÃ¡ndez the next Evita or Argentina’s Hillary ? asked Robert Mur in Chile’s La NaciÃ³n. FernÃ¡ndez is already sick of being compared to both women, but the similarities are hard to ignore. PerÃ³n was, like FernÃ¡ndez, a populist first lady who had a taste for luxury and fashion yet managed to endear herself to the common folk. Clinton is, like FernÃ¡ndez, a senator as well as former first lady. But FernÃ¡ndez takes care to point out that she had a thriving political career long before her husband became Argentina’s president, while Clinton did not run for office until her husband left the White House.

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There’s a more obvious comparison for FernÃ¡ndez, said Mary Anastasia O’Grady in The Wall Street Journal. Politically, she’s a lot like her husband—and that’s not good news. Kirchner made a mess of the economy through a deadly combination of excessive government spending and price controls. The policy gave Argentina short-term prosperity, but the hangover is now coming in the form of inflation. Unfortunately, it’s unlikely the new government will break with the past.

That remains to be seen, said The Washington Post in an editorial. FernÃ¡ndez is a seasoned politician with more interest in the outside world than her predecessor. Moreover, the Kirchners are riding a wave of popularity. FernÃ¡ndez has a resounding mandate. Could she actually use it to deliver the tough medicine the economy needs?

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