October 28, 2010

Nestor Kirchner, the former president of Argentina and the husband of the current president of Argentina (Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner), died suddenly of a heart attack yesterday. He was 60 years old. He was president from 2003-2007, and then he stepped aside and his wife was elected as president. The couple had been planning to keep on succeeding each other for the presidency and holding on to power for many years. Most recently he was serving as the Deputy of Argentina for Buenos Aires province and the Secretary General of the Union of South American Nations. 

Kirchner was a popular political figure in Argentina, and he helped to steer Argentina out of a devastating economic crisis. His leftist populism made him well-liked by the people. A lot of his policies were designed to help the poor and working classes. One of Kirchner's latest campaign promises was to support a labor movement effort to require all large businesses to open their books to the unions and to give 10% of their profits to their workers. Hugo Moyano, Argentina's most powerful union leader, said, "After Peron and Eva Peron, nobody has done so much for the workers as Nestor Kirchner." In addition, Kirchner was not shy in criticizing the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the "Washington consensus" (neoliberal economic policies which endorses expanding the role of the free market and cutting public services). Kirchner said the IMF ruins economies around the globe as a result of their guidance. 

As a result of these viewpoints, he wasn't very popular among the wealthy and business elites in Argentina and internationally. Credit markets were betting that his death will make Argentina more "trustworthy" in terms of the market. So it should come as no surprise that the cost of buying insurance on Argentine debt dropped 0.5% Wednesday afternoon (Kirchner died Wednesday morning), and Argentine-based companies that trade in New York saw a surge in their shares. [I find that kind of depressing. Markets rejoice when certain leaders die]. Investors are hoping that someone who is more favorable to their interests will be able to beat Cristina Fernandez in the election next year (some people are saying she's going to have a harder time winning now that Nestor has died. However, she is a well-liked and powerful political figure. She isn't simply "Nestor's wife". I think more credit needs to be given to Cristina Fernandez. Before she was president, she was a senator for many years, as well as a deputy of Argentina -- which is the lower house of parliament. She wasn't just simply handed the reins of the presidency by her husband). 

Kirchner was also praised for his advocacy of human rights. One part of his legacy is that he had reinvigorated efforts to prosecute those that took part in crimes against humanity during Argentina's "dirty war" (which took place during the Pinochet dictatorship, 1976-1983). As a result, military officials that previously had amnesty were stripped of their amnesty during Kirchner's term and were brought to trial for torture, assassination, and other crimes committed during this time. (Full Story)