AFP/Buenos Aires
President Cristina Kirchner celebrated a landslide re-election victory in Argentine elections yesterday, on the back of booming economic growth and sympathy a year after the death of her husband.
Re-elected Argentinian President Cristina Kirchner shows a picture of her deceased husband, Nestor Kirchner, as she celebrates at Mayo Square in Buenos Aires
“I’m the first woman to be re-elected president. I don’t want anything more,” the centre-left politician said in an emotional speech in Buenos Aires, after partial results gave her more than 53%.
The victory, celebrated by thousands of blue and white flag-waving supporters in front of the pink presidential palace, gave Kirchner the strongest mandate for an Argentine president since the end of the 1976-1983 dictatorship.
Her closest rival, Hermes Binner, won 17%, according to the results from Interior Minister Florencio Randazzo, with 64% of votes counted.
“I’m impressed by the figures and infinitely grateful,” Kirchner said. “If we’d spoken of these figures barely two years ago, they’d have thought we were mad!”
The 58-year-old incumbent has risen in the polls since losing a fierce battle with soya farmers over taxes in 2008, aided by high prices for farm exports in the vast nation of 40mn.
She pushed forward with popular social programs started by her husband when he took office in 2003, including for pensions and child benefit as well as subsidies for transport and utilities.
Nestor Kirchner had been expected to stand for another four-year term before he died.
“He’s here more than ever,” Kirchner said on Sunday, also thanking a string of Latin American leaders, including Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, for their support.
Nestor Kirchner was credited with lifting the country out of its financial meltdown of 2001 by restructuring massive debts and promoting spending.
He cut off talks with the International Monetary Fund after Argentina defaulted on almost $100bn in foreign debts.
Glamorous and known for her sharp tongue, Kirchner has shown a more consensual style, making efforts to improve relations with key sectors like industry and agriculture.
But experts said the key to her success lay in the improved state of the economy.
“The explanation of her victory is simple,” sociologist Jorge Giacobbe said. “Sixty per cent of Argentines are doing well. And half of the 40% who are not doing well are Peronists.”
She needed just 40% to win if her nearest rival was more than 10 points behind, or 45% for an outright win.
The difference between her and her main rival was “historic,” according to analyst Rosendo Fraga, from the New Majority institute.
