Néstor Kirchner: Difference between revisions
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==Governor of Santa Cruz== |
==Governor of Santa Cruz== |
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When Kirchner entered the governor's office, the province of Santa Cruz, which then contributed only |
When Kirchner entered the governor's office, the province of Santa Cruz, which then contributed only one percent to Argentina's [[gross national product]], primarily through the production of raw materials (mostly oil), was battered by the ongoing economic crisis, with high unemployment and budgetary deficit of 1.2 billion dollars. He arranged for substantial investments to stimulate productivity, the labor market, and consumption, and concentrated on elimating hperinflation through monetary policy and deregulation, what Menem, who was elected president in 1989, had been doing on a national level. By eliminating unproductive expenditures and cutting back on tax exemptions for the key petroleum industry, Kirchner restored the financial equilibrium of the province. Through his exapansionist and social policies, Kirchner was credited with bringing a substantial measure of prosperity to Santa Cruz. Subsequent studies showed that the province had best distribution of wealth and lowest levels of poverty in the country, second only to the province of Buenos Aires. |
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Kirchner emerged as a center-left Peronist, critical of both Menem's far-reaching neoliberal model as well as the union bureacracy of the PJ. He attached great importance to not only careful management of the |
Kirchner emerged as a center-left Peronist, critical of both Menem's far-reaching neoliberal model as well as the union bureacracy of the PJ. He attached great importance to not only careful management of the bugetary deficits but also economic growth based on domestic production, not speculation. He was also considered a progressive in human rights issues, manifesting his opposition in 1990 to the decision of Memem to grant immunity to the leaders of the Videla junta and the Montoneros. |
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Kirchner's tasks as governor were admittedly were made easier by the modest scale of the province's economic base and its limited labor market. Critics said he was was no different most of the other Peronist governors, and when push came to shove, also fell back on personalism and authoritarianism, above all in his handling of the provincial media and appointing his cronies judges. Public control of job positions and a heavily-subsidized economy also lent itself to clientism typical in the feudal environment of such remote provinces. |
Kirchner's tasks as governor were admittedly were made easier by the modest scale of the province's economic base and its limited labor market. Critics said he was was no different most of the other Peronist governors, and when push came to shove, also fell back on personalism and authoritarianism, above all in his handling of the provincial media and appointing his cronies judges. Public control of job positions and a heavily-subsidized economy also lent itself to clientism typical in the feudal environment of such remote provinces. |
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Twice Kirchner also introduced amendments to the provincial constitution. in 1994 and 1998, to enable him to run for re-election indefinitely, something that Memem later tried to imitate at the national level. As a member of the Consitutent Assembly organized by Menem and the former president [[Raúl Alfonsín]], Kirchner participated in the elaboration of a new Magna Carta, which made possible for the president to be re-elected to a second six-term. |
Twice Kirchner also introduced amendments to the provincial constitution. in 1994 and 1998, to enable him to run for re-election indefinitely, something that Memem later tried to imitate at the national level. As a member of the Consitutent Assembly organized by Menem and the former president [[Raúl Alfonsín]], Kirchner participated in the elaboration of a new Magna Carta, which made possible for the president to be re-elected to a second six-term. |
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In 1995, with his constitutional reforms in place, Kirchner was easily re-elected to second term |
In 1995, with his constitutional reforms in place, Kirchner was easily re-elected to second four-year term of office, with 66.5% of the votes, the same time at which Memem also re-elected for another four years. But by now, Kirchner was distancing himself from the charismatic and controversial Memen, who was also the nominal head of the PJ; this was made particuarly apparent with the launch of the "Corriente Peronista", an initative supported by Kirchner to create space within the Movimiento Justicialista to confront the problems facing the country. |
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The decision of Memem in 1998 to stand for re-election a third time, by means of an ad hoc constitutional reform met with strong restistance among Peronist rank-and-file, who were finding themselves under increasing pressure due to the highly controversial social and economic policies of the Memem administration. Kirchner joined the camp of Memem's chief oponent within the PJ, the governor of the Buenos Aires province (and later president) [[Eduardo Duhalde]]. |
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The elections of 24 October, 1999, was a major upset for the PJ; Duhalde was beaten by [[Fernando de la Rúa]], the Alianza condidate, and the party lost majority in the Congress. Alizana also made headway in Santa Cruz, but Kirchner nonetheless managed to be re-elected to a third term in May of that year with 45,7% of the vote. |
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==Presidential election== |
==Presidential election== |
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Revision as of 11:04, 13 June 2004
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| Became President: | May 25, 2003 |
| Predecessor: | Eduardo Duhalde |
| Date of Birth: | February 25, 1950 |
| Place of Birth: | Río Gallegos |
Néstor Carlos Kirchner Ostoic (born 25 February 1950) is the president of Argentina. He was sworn in on May 25, 2003. A Peronist with leftist leanings, Kirchner was governor of Santa Cruz previous to being elected president.
Early years
Kirchner was born in Río Gallegos, in the Patagonian province of Santa Cruz. His father, a post office official, was of Swiss descent; his mother of Croatian background. He received his primary and secondary education at local public schools; he obtained his B.A. from the Colegio Nacional República of Guatemala.
Early on, Kirchner participated in the Movimiento Justicialista, first as a member of the Young Peronists, whose leftwing radicalism was strongly opposed to the military dictatorships. In the mid-1970s, Kirchner studied law at La Plata National University, receiving his law degree in 1976. He returned to Río Gallegos with his wife, Cristina Fernández, also a lawyer and member of the Justicialist Party (JP), to practice law. During the Videla junta, he was incarcerated at one point, the reason for and duration of which is not known.
After the fall of the military dictatorship and restoration of democracy in 1982, Kirchner became a public functionary in the provincial government. The following year, he was briefly president of the the Río Gallegos social welfare fund, but was forced out by the governor over a dispute over financial policy. The affair made him a local celebrity and laid the foundation for his subsequent political career.
By 1986, Kirchener had developed sufficient political capital to be put forward as the PJ's candidate for mayor of Río Gallegos. He won the 1987 elections for this post by the slimmest of margins -- some one hundred votes. Fellow PJ member Ricardo del Val became governor, keeping the Santa Cruz firmly within the hands of the PJ.
Kirchener's performance as mayor from 1987 to 1991 was satisfactory enough from both the point of view of the electorate and the party to enable him to run for governor in 1991, which he won with 61% of the votes. (At this time his wife was also at this time a member of the provincial congress)
Governor of Santa Cruz
When Kirchner entered the governor's office, the province of Santa Cruz, which then contributed only one percent to Argentina's gross national product, primarily through the production of raw materials (mostly oil), was battered by the ongoing economic crisis, with high unemployment and budgetary deficit of 1.2 billion dollars. He arranged for substantial investments to stimulate productivity, the labor market, and consumption, and concentrated on elimating hperinflation through monetary policy and deregulation, what Menem, who was elected president in 1989, had been doing on a national level. By eliminating unproductive expenditures and cutting back on tax exemptions for the key petroleum industry, Kirchner restored the financial equilibrium of the province. Through his exapansionist and social policies, Kirchner was credited with bringing a substantial measure of prosperity to Santa Cruz. Subsequent studies showed that the province had best distribution of wealth and lowest levels of poverty in the country, second only to the province of Buenos Aires.
Kirchner emerged as a center-left Peronist, critical of both Menem's far-reaching neoliberal model as well as the union bureacracy of the PJ. He attached great importance to not only careful management of the bugetary deficits but also economic growth based on domestic production, not speculation. He was also considered a progressive in human rights issues, manifesting his opposition in 1990 to the decision of Memem to grant immunity to the leaders of the Videla junta and the Montoneros.
Kirchner's tasks as governor were admittedly were made easier by the modest scale of the province's economic base and its limited labor market. Critics said he was was no different most of the other Peronist governors, and when push came to shove, also fell back on personalism and authoritarianism, above all in his handling of the provincial media and appointing his cronies judges. Public control of job positions and a heavily-subsidized economy also lent itself to clientism typical in the feudal environment of such remote provinces.
Twice Kirchner also introduced amendments to the provincial constitution. in 1994 and 1998, to enable him to run for re-election indefinitely, something that Memem later tried to imitate at the national level. As a member of the Consitutent Assembly organized by Menem and the former president Raúl Alfonsín, Kirchner participated in the elaboration of a new Magna Carta, which made possible for the president to be re-elected to a second six-term.
In 1995, with his constitutional reforms in place, Kirchner was easily re-elected to second four-year term of office, with 66.5% of the votes, the same time at which Memem also re-elected for another four years. But by now, Kirchner was distancing himself from the charismatic and controversial Memen, who was also the nominal head of the PJ; this was made particuarly apparent with the launch of the "Corriente Peronista", an initative supported by Kirchner to create space within the Movimiento Justicialista to confront the problems facing the country.
The decision of Memem in 1998 to stand for re-election a third time, by means of an ad hoc constitutional reform met with strong restistance among Peronist rank-and-file, who were finding themselves under increasing pressure due to the highly controversial social and economic policies of the Memem administration. Kirchner joined the camp of Memem's chief oponent within the PJ, the governor of the Buenos Aires province (and later president) Eduardo Duhalde.
The elections of 24 October, 1999, was a major upset for the PJ; Duhalde was beaten by Fernando de la Rúa, the Alianza condidate, and the party lost majority in the Congress. Alizana also made headway in Santa Cruz, but Kirchner nonetheless managed to be re-elected to a third term in May of that year with 45,7% of the vote.
Presidential election
Although Menem, who was president from 1989 to 1999, won the first round of the election on April 27, 2003, he only got 24% of the valid votes – just 2% ahead of Kirchner. This was a Pyrrhic victory, as Menem had an extremely negative image among a large segment of the Argentine population and had virtually no chance of winning on the run-off. After days of speculation, during which polls forecasted a massive Kirchner victory with about a 30%-40% difference, Menem finally decided to stand down. This automatically made Kirchner president of Argentina.
Kirchner succeeded Duhalde on May 25, 2003.
Next elections would normally be held in 2007.
His sister Alicia Margarita Kirchner is the Minister for Social Development.
| Preceded by: Eduardo Duhalde |
Presidents of Argentina | Succeeded by: -Currently in office- |