Néstor Kirchner, the former president who was running as a deputy in Buenos Aires Province suffered a damning defeat in the mid-term elections. He lost out to political rival Francisco de Narváez of the Unión-PRO. This signifies a huge loss of power for the Kirchner party, who only won 30% of the votes in the province of Buenos Aires and lost 22 seats in Congress.
The main areas where the government witnessed faltering support were in Buenos Aires capital, Santa Fe, Córdoba, Mendoza and Entre Ríos. The defeat in the Santa Fe province is said to be particularly damaging as it was formerly known as the Kirchner stronghold. But the government’s inability to tame high prices and to tackle growing crime rates has made them unpopular.
The key race is in the province of Buenos Aires, home to 38% of Argentines. It is also the battle ground where politicians have been fighting for one of the 35 seats in Congress that are up for grabs.
However, support for President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner remains unshaken in poor neighbourhoods around the capital, where government welfare programs are popular. Having said this, she has suffered run-ins with farmers regarding plans to increase tax on soy, Argentina’s top crop.
De Narváez celebrated his victory whilst hundreds of supporters chanted songs and waved yellow flags. “One day we would change history, and that day is today,” he said, who could not hide his confidence. He claims his party will tackle crime and productivity, which are among Argentina’s biggest concerns according to recent polls.
Kirchner said of the defeat: “We accept the results. We have lost only by a little bit. We have fought with dignity.” He played down De Narváez’s claims of “changing history” saying that “there were no great winners” and that Unión PRO had gained a poor amount of votes. “If we were so bad, why didn’t they beat us by more?” he asked. His agitation was apparent however when he punched a wall on hearing the results.
In a bid to win back voters Kirchner promised “to improve the government” and proposed to be “different in 2011″ when the presidential elections are drawn, although he did not specify how. The midterm elections are regarded as the launch pad for the 2011 elections, so the Kirchner government will need to work on ways to win back the 70% of Argentina that voted against them.
Fernando Pinos Solares came out in second place in the capital, having tuned into the needs of centre-left-wing voters who were previously lacking a representative. He has taken everyone by surprise, winning 25% of the votes. The filmmaker said: “We are good because the rest are bad.” He commented that “social conflict is very serious. You have to be very stupid to think that manipulating statistics on INDEC is a good way to rule. The government has committed monumental errors; INDEC is a public service.” He was referring to the accusation that President Kirchner has been fiddling the figures regarding productivity with data from the National Institute of Statistics and Census (INDEC).
