Buenos Aires’ children will finish school this week after a restless couple of months, which saw hard confrontations between the City government and the teachers’ unions. After five days of teacher’s strikes in October and November, Buenos Aires Education Minister Esteban Bullrich announced that the school year, which was originally supposed to end on 16th December, would be extended until the 23rd to make up for the lost days. The main bone of contention this year revolved around the proposed changes to the teachers’ designation process, but it was one more dispute to add to a long list of controversial educational government policies.

The Boards’ Debate

Public school teachers and the City government have never had the best of relationships, but the situation reached a peak of tension between October and December this year as 15 out of the 17 teachers’ unions (including Sadop, the private teachers’ union) reacted against the government’s proposal to modify the Teacher’s Statute, the law that regulates teachers’ labour relations, rights and obligations.

The current statute goes back to 1986, when it was passed by the City Council (which preceded the current City Legislature) after a series of debates in which the education community was involved. It regulates the designation of teachers of all levels by establishing Classification Boards, whose job it is to organise and oversee the selection process through a system based on competitive examination. The Boards are in charge of examining teachers’ qualifications and experience, giving them a score based on these items, rank them and appoint them to the available positions. Currently, the Classification Boards consist of nine members, six of whom are elected by the teachers and three are appointed by the government. The aim of the system is to have the entire selection process conducted and overseen by peers, and it is a method that, with some variations, is used throughout the country.

The bill put forward by Bullrich proposed to eliminate Classification Boards and instead set up a Unified Office of Teachers Classification, appointed by the Minister of Education and responsible for conducting the selection process. It also created a Teachers Classification and Designation Control Board, whose members would be elected by the teachers, which would only intervene in case of a dispute.

Finally, and after many days of strikes, meetings between the minister and the unions’ representatives and some serious incidents of physical violence outside the Legislature, an alternative project was approved by the City Legislature in the early hours of 2nd December. The new law, put forward by now former Coalición Cívica legislator Sergio Abrevaya, seeks a middle ground by establishing a new Commission for Registering and Evaluating Professional Qualifications, which will be in charge of ranking the applicants. The Boards’ new role will be to approve the score given to each teacher by the Commission and to put forward the designations to the minister. The new Commission will have three members appointed by the executive, while the Boards will be reduced to five members: three elected by the teachers and two appointed by the government (except for the Primary and High School Boards which will have eight members, six elected and two appointed).

The Reasons Behind the Opposition

The unions opposed the original bill introduced by Bullrich for various reasons. On the one hand, they opposed the way the bill was drafted by the Minister without any input from those involved in the day-to-day running of the education system. On the other hand, they feared that leaving their peers out of the selection process could increase the possibility of discretionary behaviour by those in charge of the designations. The government, through Bullrich, claimed that the reforms were aimed at streamlining the selection process and unifying selection criteria, since the current system can be, in practice, fairly inefficient.

It was only last year that, in the context of teachers’ and students’ strikes demanding for better infrastructure conditions, Mauricio Macri’s government was accused of setting up “black lists” of teachers and students who had taken part in the protests. Furthermore, the alleged espionage activities by which Macri himself has been charged, were channelled through the Ministry of Education, as alleged “spy” Ciro James was on its payroll. These precedents also account for the opposition by the unions and the Human Rights Observatory to the proposed installation of security cameras in schools, a measure that was finally canned last August after judicial intervention. Considering the government’s recent record, then, it is not surprising that teachers feared the possibility of abuses under the new law, and reaffirmed the need for their delegates to be involved in the selection process.

Throughout his first term, Macri has been accused by unions and the opposition of showing nothing but contempt towards public education. Like other social services, the budget for education has one of the highest levels of under-execution. That is, the money is assigned in the budget but it is not spent. According to a report by the City Ombudsman from June 2011, the yearly budget execution for schools’ infrastructure has been consistently under 50% between 2007 and 2010. The latest publicly available data shows that, as at July 2011, only 28.5% of the school’s infrastructure budget for this year had been spent. Even though it is to be expected that a great part of the expenditure will take place towards the end of the year, the execution level remains low.

On the positive side, this year the government rolled out Plan S@rmiento BA, a policy which consists in the handing out of netbooks to all primary school students. However this measure, widely considered as a step forward towards student integration, was also surrounded by controversy. Legislators from different opposition parties denounced that the government had paid an excessive amount of money for the netbooks to the only bidder to take part in the public tender, Grupo Clarín-owned Prima SA. In comparison, the netbooks bought by the City cost almost three times as much as those bought by the national government for its own netbook-delivery plan for high school students. The issue even made it to the judiciary as telecommunications expert Ariel Garbarz (professor and researcher at UBA and UTN universities) pressed charges against the government.

What’s next?

Everything seems to indicate that the relationship between government and teachers’ unions will remain as rocky on Macri’s second term as it has been on his first.

Although it is expected that the changes to the Teachers’ Statute will not come into effect until 2013, it remains to be seen whether the unions will accept the changes passively. It is expected that just before the start of classes in early March, the yearly wage negotiations will take place. This is usually a prickly affair and, in 2011, the beginning of classes was at doubt due to the difficulties in reaching an agreement.

Furthermore, the recently approved budget for 2012 has already been the subject of controversy. A report by NGO Civil Association for Equality and Justice (ACIJ after its name in Spanish) shows that even though there is a nominal increase of 26% in next years’ education budget compared to this year’s -barely above unofficial inflation figures- the amount destined to subsidise private education, a portion of the budget that does not suffer from under-execution, will increase by 32%. The report also shows that the money will be spent in an inequitable fashion, favouring students from the northern, richer area of the City. Additionally, and despite the grave infrastructure problems in public schools, the budget for school infrastructure will be reduced in absolute terms, from 513 to 501 million pesos. The budget also fails to include previsions for works that the government had commited to undertaking in order to solve the chronic lack of spaces for kindergarten and pre-school students. The amount that goes towards special education will also be drastically reduced by almost a half.

It is likely that the unions, then, will remain alert and draft their action plan as the next term unfolds. In the words of María Cristina González, deputy headmistress of school no. 9, school district 2 and member of UTE (the largest union representing teachers in the city), they will keep fighting in order to maintain their gains. She feels that the changes to the Teachers’ Statute were a test to see how much the government could push for reform and, even though the original bill was not passed, she believes that they achieved their goal. “They were testing the waters and they won”, she says. “And now they are coming for more”.

Chancellors of the Union of South American Countries (UNASUR) met this Wednesday in Buenos Aires to discuss commercial policies proposed by the South American Economy and Finance Council, in hope of tackling the effects of the international financial crisis on the region.

The council , which is made up of economy ministers and heads of central banks throughout UNASUR member countries, approved the development of a multilateral currency exchange system. They also agreed to create a bank for regional development, as well as creating a reserve fund.

Diplomats finalised plans to create an Electoral Council, which would analyse and keep tabs on different electoral processes in member countries.

Story courtesy of Agencia Púlsar, the AMARC-ALC news agency.

Peru’s economy and finance minister Miguel Castilla has announced government plans to tax mining “windfalls”. The first payments were made by companies throughout the country today.

Cabinet chief Salomón Lerner Ghitis later confirmed that mining corporations would be paying the government a tax equalling over one billion US dollars annually.

He added that the move would not affect investment or competitivety within the sector.

Castilla however admitted that they have yet to work out how exactly they would apply the tax rate, nor did he say whether it would be levied on crude production, or on export value.

The government hope to use the money to finance public services in regions that don’t benefit from mining tax, as well as supporting social projects for the 800 poorest regions in the country. These projects are aimed at the pensionless, mothers with children below the age of three and public schools.

Mining exports from the country equalled 10 billion 327 million US dollars in the first five months of this year, revealing a growth of 26.32 percent in relation to figures from the same period last year.

Between 2011 and 2016, it is predicted that 40 billion US dollars will be invested in the mining sector.

Story courtesy of Agencia Púlsar, the AMARC-ALC news agency.

Representatives of 10 organizations from communities forcibly displaced in Colombia questioned the Law of Victims and Land Restoration that is being debated in Congress.

They warned that have not been consulted on the text of the bill and requested guarantees, participation and security.

They also warned that failure to respect these basic points would result in a lawsuit over the constitutionality of the act.

The representative for the organization Earth, Life and Dignity, Alfonso Castillo, said that a major concern is “the continuous and methodical murder by paramilitary groups of leaders who demand the restitution of land, taken by blood and fire, to their communities”.

He said the government of Santos “talks of reparations to the victims of armed conflict without the minimum guarantees”. He added that “the killings have been proof of this”.

Castillo recalled that in recent years, at least 51 leaders who led land restorations have been killed. The most recent was Verbel Eder Rocha, who was killed on 23rd March of this year in San Onofre, Sucre.

The spokesman for the National Coordination of Displaced Persons, Rigoberto Jiménez said that “the government is improvising, without clarity on what land it is going to restore.”

He also commented that a concern of the displaced people is that the government has no plans to take into account the victims of what they call criminal gangs.

Jiménez said that such gangs “are not anything but the same paramilitaries who now continue murdering, threatening and displacing people in various regions of the country. ”

Since August 2010, when Juan Manuel Santos took office and announced his plan for restitution of land, nine village leaders have been killed, according to official figures. Farmers’ organizations claim there have been 12 murdered.

Story courtesy of Agencia Púlsar, the news agency of AMARC-ALC

Currently, around one of every six couples has pregnancy problems caused by infertility, which some people consider to be an illness. In 40% of the cases the problem is caused by the man, 40% by the woman and the other 20% is caused by the joined interaction between the man and woman. In Argentina infertility is not yet classified as an illness and therefore neither medical insurance nor state cover infertility treatments.

Last December the assisted human reproduction law was passed in the province of Buenos Aires. With this law couples with fertility problems can obtain a maximum of three fertility treatments a year.

Now, debate is underway about the idea to introduce this law on a national level, something that could leave to large amounts of public funding being used, thus indirectly being paid by the Argentine public. The Argentina Independent hit the streets to see how locals feel about infertility and this law.

Maria Eva, 39, unemployed, Buenos Aires Province.

I think this law would be a very good thing. I have nine children by myself and therefore I have been in the hospital a lot to give birth. When I was there, I often saw or met people who were not able to get children and I always felt really sorry for them. If a couple needs help they should get it. Everyone should be able to have children. I do not have any problem paying taxes for this since I would love to give everyone a chance to have children!

Angel, 30, handyman, Buenos Aires Province

For me it seems terrible to have problems conceiving. Therefore I am very willing to help such people in a certain way, by saying yes to this law. The existence of this lay could only make the situation better. Although the operations will be paid out of my wallet, it’s not a problem for me. Many families have trouble creating or maintaining their families and I do not mind to supporting them with taxes.

Fredy, 26, office worker, Buenos Aires

In my opinion it would be good if such a law would pass Congress. People who want to get children and have problems with this should have the chance to get help. They have the right to this and since the treatment is quite expensive the government should help them with this. No problem if that will be paid of our taxes. Everyone should have the chance to have children or create a family. It’s not fair if some people can have children and others cannot. Taxes are getting used for all kinds of things, why not for helping people who have infertility problems?

Roberto, 70, pensioner, Buenos Aires Province

I think people who have infertility problems should get help. In short, I think this law would be perfect, I do not have any problem with it. If so may couples have infertility problems we should help them. There are many other countries where such a law already exists so why not here in Argentina? Although it is a law with expensive consequences, if someone is able to pay their taxes for me it would be good if the government would spend it to people like them, people who have trouble having children. And the government itself too, there are many ways in which I think the government should or could help them.

Paula, 31, cook, Retiro

I think that someone who wants to have children and cannot get pregnant and if there are no other measures then such a law is good, it could be very helpful. I do not have any problems with having to pay by means of taxes, for treatment that infertile people may have to undergo. I would be happy if I could help them in a certain way.

Photos by Beatrice Murch

Currently, around one in every six couple have infertility problems which lead to issues in getting pregnant. In Argentina infertility is not yet classified as an illness and therefore neither medical insurance nor state cover infertility treatments.

Last December the assisted human reproduction law was passed in the province of Buenos Aires, allowing couples with fertility problems can obtain a maximum of three fertility treatments a year. Now, debate is underway about the idea to introduce this law on a national level, with a possible bill being introduced to the national congress this year.

According to the World Health Organization, infertility is “an unmet need in family planning in both the developed and developing world”. Back in 1965, in the 18th World Health Assembly, the right to build a family was recognized to be a decision subject to each individual couple. In 2006 the UN General Assembly recommended achieving universal access to reproductive health as a target under the Millennium Development Goal 5: improve maternal health.

Leuprolide is drug women inject to control ovarian stimulation in In Vitro Fertilization (Photo: Beatrice Murch)

In Argentina, reproductive medicine is characterized by its excellence and cutting edge technologies, attracting couples from all over the world under the so-called “medical tourism”. One in six Argentine couples suffer from infertility, yet less than half of the affected population will be able to access medically assisted reproduction (MAR) treatments. And this situation is explained by the fact that infertility is not considered to be an illness.

With an Assisted Human Reproduction law recently approved in the province of Buenos Aires and with the prospects of a national regulation on the subject being discussed this year in congress, the subject of infertility has finally surfaced after 33 years of neglect and silence.

A medical standpoint

Dr. Sergio Pasqualini is a gynaecologist, obstetrician and a reproductive medicine specialist. He explains infertility as “the failure to achieve pregnancy after a year of sexual intercourse, during ovulation stages”. He adds “Infertile is a couple suffering from spontaneous abortions after getting pregnant. Sterile is a couple that cannot conceive. Today, these terms are often taken as synonyms.”

In respect of the above, it is important to emphasize the concept of couple. Both parties are considered to suffer from infertility, regardless of the actual illness’ origins – which are diverse. Therefore, what matters is to tackle the pathology suitably. And, most importantly, “when a woman comes to us seeking to get pregnant by means of a sperm bank it’s not an infertility case,” clarifies Dr. Pasqualini.

This illness may be caused by different factors and complications in conception can be attributed to both women and men alike. In fact, 40% of the infertility cases are originated in men, 40% in women and the rest, in difficulties from both parties. Hence, to achieve an accurate diagnose is important to analyse couples integrally. However, the most precise diagnosis is obtained by actually analysing gametes behaviour. Thus, many assisted fertilization techniques are therapeutic and diagnostic.

As far as the psychological factor is concerned, Dr. Pasqualini states it “presents itself as a cause or as a consequence of infertility. So it is important to work in parallel between the medical and the emotional management.”

Medically assisted reproduction can be accomplished by different assisted fertilization techniques. Nowadays, these are more commonly practised in women because its effectiveness is greater.

A women injects herself with a drug to control ovarian stimulation for her In Vitro Fertilization procedure (Photo: Beatrice Murch)

There are high complexity procedures and low complexity techniques to treat this illness. The first, imply the fertilization is carried out inside women’s bodies, while the latter imply extracorporeal fertilization such as In vitro fertilization. Both procedures –except for the programmed sexual intercourses- involve the taking of medicines to induce ovarian stimulation.

Finally, cryopreservation –the freezing or vitrification and storage of gametes, zygotes, embryos or gonadal tissue- has become a fundamental aid for patients. This procedure enables fertility preservation in risk population and, even if embryos or zygotes are vitrificated, it must not be related to induced abortions. “Nature is inefficient. It does a lot of discarding; but, the discarding is applied to the malformed or anything that proves incompatible with life. An embryo, if it is not meant to develop and live, it won’t. And this happens regardless of it being conceived in a laboratory or in a uterus,” clarifies Dr. Pasqualini.

A social and legal standpoint

Sumate a dar Vida is a civil partnership set up in 2008 by couples suffering from infertility. As Patricio Campos, media officer, Daniela Hornich, spokesperson, and Romina Cartoceti de Maldonado, secretary, explain, their main objective is to gather 300,000 signatures that, by means of a popular initiative, will force national congress to discuss an assisted human reproduction law in a national level.

“Back in 1995 there had been an assisted human reproduction bill in congress which did not prosper. It was very restrictive; we want a national law that does not prohibit any of the procedures used to treat infertility. Also, we want this law to cover all of the fertilization techniques,” clarifies Maldonado.

Some of the Sumate a dar vida team

The assisted human reproduction law has two edges: techniques’ regulations and their coverage. Sumate a dar Vida, as a civil partnership composed by patients, is not meant to rule on regulations. They are mainly asking for infertility being recognized as an illness. The natural consequence would be that of its coverage.

But why should infertility be considered an illness in the first place? Because it affects directly three crucial aspects of every human being’s existence. Firstly, as described above, there is a physical impact: if the reproductive system cannot function properly it must be ill. Secondly, there is a psychological impact caused by anxiety or guilt feelings that test couple’s stability. Finally, there is a social impact that translates into ill couples choosing to isolate themselves from their friends or relatives. “It is hard when most of your friends have already two or three children. It is easier not to meet them. I, for example, went through that stage in which I did not want to go to birthday parties,” comments Hornich.

Also, there is an official pronouncement on the subject. Infertility “is an illness. The World Health Organization determined so, there is not much to discuss,” assures Campos.

Sumate a dar Vida has gathered 205,945 signatures after a three year’s work. And, considering last December’s fertilization law in the province of Buenos Aires, as well as last year’s debate in congress, there are high hopes a bill will also be discussed in 2011. “Last year, three bills were debated in the House of Representatives’ health committee. We still have to wait for debates in the childhood, women’s and adolescence committee, budget committee and federal legislation committee. If a bill is finally approved, then it would pass on to the Senate,” explains Maldonado.

As for the objections to a fertilization law, these are mostly addressed to cryoconservation procedures and are formulated by sectors related to religious ethics. They allege cryoconservation violates natural laws by vitrificating life. Truth is, echoing Dr. Pasqualini’s words, freezing potential embryos is not equal to freezing embryos. There is life, but there is not a baby: 15% of the natural pregnancies are spontaneously aborted; 20% in In vitro cases.

Cryoconservation helps preserve women’s bodies since, after a failed procedure, it prevents patients from taking more medicines and going through surgery again to extract more ovules.

Regarding budget, “we do not deny these techniques are expensive and that our health system is collapsed. The problem is that people commonly assume affected couples would need to be treated with high complexity procedures. In fact, out of the affected population, only 30% would require them. The rest can be treated with suitable medication or with low complexity procedures,” explains Maldonado.

Paradoxically, there are medical insurance plans that will provide customers with a free-of-charge plastic surgery a year. “I would not say it is discriminatory. The thing is, basic medical insurance plans do not include reproductive medicine specialists. And the amount of young couples with infertility problems is growing,” states Campos.

The law Sumate a dar Vida is trying to get debated in congress should be selective yet inclusive. Costs for infertility treatments vary from $3000 to $20,000 plus medicines. And, if a couple happens to come from a distant province, costs will ascend pending on their stay in Buenos Aires. Many patients are forced to indebt in order to cover treatments; others cannot even afford a consultation.

Finally, a law does not imply every couple has to go under infertility treatments. And it does not replace adoption; that is another issue different from infertility.

Patricio Campos and Daniela Hornich from Sumate a dar Vida (Photo: Andy Donohoe)

An experiential standpoint

Campos and Hornich have been married since 2004, and have been trying to get pregnant since 2006. Their case is complex, as both of them suffer from pathologies affecting their reproductive system. They have already gone through six high complexity procedures, “and the following, will be the last,” says Hornich. They are aware of the political and economical background a fertilization law has. Hornich, Campos and Sumate a dar Vida understand every medical institution will stand by its own interests, as will do the government.

When political will is the key factor to the improvement of citizens’ lives, organizations such as Sumate a dar Vida have a lead role in defending their rights. And conceiving is a right exclusively subject to couples’ decision. An assisted human reproduction law should not be discussed under the lens of a dogma, but bearing in mind present problems.

A law would ease infertile couple’s struggle to become parents and would at least relieve them from economical pressure. Though it is not an absolute solution to infertility, it signifies an extra help. For, as Hornich points out, “a law will not give me a child”.

To see what the Argentina public think about the new law, click here.

Though he may have polarised opinion with his confrontational style and heterodox policies, the reaction to Néstor Kirchner’s sudden death last week made it clear how important he was in Argentine politics. It makes sense: aside from being a former president, chief policy advisor to the current president (his wife, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner) and active deputy in Congress, he was the leader and symbol of the country’s socialist movement over the last decade.

People hang up tributes to Néstor Kirchner in Plaza de Mayo soon after his death (photo/Shooresh Fezoni)

Tributes in the media in the aftermath of his death describe a man who was passionate to the point of obsession about his work, something that was both a virtue and, ultimately, a costly weakness.

However, while he was still alive, attitudes towards Kirchner the politician and the so-called kirchnerismo movement he led differed wildly. Some considered him a revolutionary who did more for Argentines than any leader since Juan Domingo Perón, a national emblem. Others dismissed him as populist or authoritarian, and accused him of amassing a personal fortune whilst preaching the merits of wealth redistribution.

In death, however, an examination of his legacy through his achievements, and not his imposing personality, seems more appropriate.

The Rise of Kirchnerismo

When Kirchner became president in 2003, Argentina was broken—the economy was in ruins after a devastating default, and the state had neither credibility among, nor authority over, a resentful public. At that point, the country found the strong leader it needed in the unknown and awkward-looking governor from Santa Cruz, in far-flung Patagonia. With an inaugural-day promise that “change was the name of the future” Kirchner set about the task of redrawing the political, economic and social landscape of Argentina with a ferocity that would never subside, even as his health deteriorated.

In practice, this meant a clean break from the institutions and policies that had led the country from one crisis to another since the military dictatorship that began in 1976. The establishment—and the powerful actors that controlled it from behind the scenes—had to be dismantled. The Supreme Court was one of the first institutions to be purged, with a new system for electing judges in a more independent and transparent fashion established by presidential decree in mid-2003.

President Kirchner watches General Bendini remove the portrait of former dictator Bignone in 2004 (photo/Wikimedia Commons)

The military, so long the country’s dominant force, was also a target. On 24th March 2004, the anniversary of the ’76 military coup that marked the start of the Dirty War, Kirchner personally ordered the removal of the portraits of two dictators, Videla and Bignone, from the walls of the Military School. This was a symbolic gesture, but it showed he was willing to tread where other presidents hadn’t dared, and before his term was up, the pardons extended to the military junta by former president Carlos Menem had been nullified and human rights trials had begun.

There were also big changes in economic and social policy, as Kirchner turned his back on the neo-liberal ideology that governed the country during the Menem era of the 90s. According to the incoming president, the success of that model was measured by the profits of a few concentrated sectors and the size of speculative investment, without any regard for the poverty and social exclusion that this caused.

Under kirchnerismo—an offshoot of the Peronist doctrine—the balance of power would shift back from the business to the workers, and would serve national, rather than foreign, interests. Trade unions were given new powers to negotiate conditions and salaries, minimum wages were reinstated and pension payments increased. The state began to take a more directly active role in the economy: several industries were re-nationalised, government subsidies kept prices for transport and utilities frozen, and spending on public works ballooned.

Kirchner’s other key objective was to break the country’s dependence on external debt, thus freeing it from the suffocating demands of foreign creditors. In perhaps his most landmark achievement, he took a uncompromising, hard line approach to negotiations, and was able to restructure around three quarters of its outstanding debt on terms considered impossible even within his own government. In 2006, he ordered the lump-sum payment of all obligations to the IMF and severed ties with the Washington-based institution. Around the same time, Kirchner rejected a trade agreement the Bush administration, working instead with countries such as Venezuela and Brazil to enhance regional integration.

A Work in Progress

From the beginning, evaluating the success of kirchnerismo was a complex affair, with few concrete conclusions. True, the economic rebound after 2003 was swift and meaningful, and, despite constant warnings from orthodox economists, has been more or less sustained through to today. Growth has averaged almost 9% a year, while the number of unemployed and those living in poverty has fallen by more than half.

President Kircher and his economy minister until 2005, Roberto Lavagna (photo/Wikimedia Commons)

The headline data do not tell the whole story, though. Critics point to the fact that it was Kirchner’s predecessor, Eduardo Duhalde, who actually abandoned the currency peg, survived the devastating short-term consequences and set the economy on the path to recovery with a competitive exchange rate. Then there were the extremely favourable tailwinds in the international economy: the relentless expansion of China brought unprecedented demand for Argentina’s agricultural products, which benefited further from soaring global food prices. The money coming from export sales soared, helping to keep the public coffers full and support the government’s ever increasing spending commitments.

Progress in other areas was also inconclusive: the military junta went back on trial, but proceedings were bogged down in a judiciary that continued to suffer from doubts over its efficiency and independence. Workers salaries improved significantly, but the informal labour market remained uncomfortably large.

Kirchnerismo Under Cristina

In the end, however, the debate about the effectiveness of Kirchner’s policies was not as relevant as the overwhelming public approval of the model. This enabled the handover of power to lifelong partner and political ally Cristina Fernández de Kirchner in 2007 and ensured that kirchnerismo could be developed further, with Néstor now exerting his considerable political influence from behind the scenes.

Initiatives such as the nationalisation of the National Administration for Social Security (Anses), and the Asignación Universal por Hijo underscored the commitment to progressive social policies that targeted low-income groups. Meanwhile, the new media law and approval of same-sex marriages are signs that kirchnerismo is still challenging the country’s traditional powers, this time big media and the Catholic Church respectively.

Cristina de Kirchner celebrates winning the 2007 presidential election with her husband Néstor (photo/Wikimedia Commons)

The proposal to increase export taxes for soy in 2008 was another policy designed to strengthen the model, by further redistributing the wealth of Argentina’s most lucrative industry. The major campo protest that followed and subsequent rejection of the new tariffs in the Senate was the first time a major Kirchner-led policy was halted. A rejuvenated opposition, a barrage of negative media exposure and signs of a fractured Peronismo Justicialista party following a poor showing in the 2009 legislative elections were indications that more obstacles lay ahead.

But the plan was to keep going: Néstor, who never backed out of a fight, and a small group of his most loyal supporters stepped up the confrontational rhetoric and refused to bow down to criticism. He was seemingly gearing up for the 2011 electoral campaign as he repeatedly called for the need to “deepen the model”. Then his heart failed him.

Now the strength of his legacy as a man will probably be judged by the fortitude and endurance of the model he created. But aside from his individual achievements and failures, Néstor Kirchner’s legacy must also be analysed today according to the cultural and psychological impact of his time in power. Last week’s outpouring of grief demonstrated his significance to the Argentine public, even among his most fierce critics. But perhaps even more importantly, by forcing a radical paradigm shift against the odds using only politics, Kirchner has helped restore public faith in government policy as a tool for change.

There comes a time in Argentina’s political story line when nothing a ruler can do is worth a thing. True to form, there have been times when rulers did very little to no good, or even the very contrary (check 1976-83, for instance, in your history books). But in other times it seems political dialogue comes with a loudspeaker at one end and a deaf ear at the other. Words come and go but very few things are said. And very few are listened to. Even fewer make any sense.

The story line for President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner has reached that point in which the main character is hapless and hopeless, at least if her goal is to recover the ocean of public credibility she seems to have lost since she became Argentina’s first female president in December 2007. The public that voted for her now seems to have given her the thumbs down for good. Her character profile is going down and, as it is the norm in new Argentine film tradition as in new and old Argentine politics, happy endings are the exception rather than the rule.

President Cristina referred to her public persona on 1st March, as she delivered her annual State of the Nation address. The President started off by saying she would speak about the “real” Argentina. She said this Argentina is at odds with the “virtual or mediatised” Argentina where “terrible things happen, where everything is wrong”. By default, the president placed herself outside the story line the mainstream media is putting out every day, virtually placing herself out of present day history.

President Cristina is an intransigent politician. She was when she served as senator and deputy in representation of her husband Néstor Kirchner’s Patagonian home-province, Santa Cruz, and she continues to be now that she is in the highest office. But her vision that the country’s media establishment is telling a story based on political and money interests rather than any journalistic ideals is too obvious to be denied and too harmful to be left unchecked. Words fly as spears from one camp to the other, and no one seems to be speaking the same language.

The ruling party and the opposition have lost all sign of political etiquette. As she was addressing the opening of this year’s congressional session, the president announced she had signed two executive decrees to actually avoid Congress – a new, unorthodox way to try to save face after the unorthodox summer-long attempt to resort to Central Bank reserves to pay out this year’s debt. In return, the fragmented and squabbling, yet growing, opposition not only fails to find anything worth praising in the administration – like the simple fact that Argentina survived the worst global economic crash in almost a century virtually unscathed – but also declines to discuss the substance of policies and instead targets the Kirchners’ alleged corrupt and bullying ways.

The actors stand on a stage that is ready to shatter. Enjoy the play while you can. There’s even a novelty this time around: politics are going bust while the economy is sound. At least for now. It is still not clear whether the crash will come first in the virtual or the real world. Or, even more likely, in both places at the same time.