Cristina to run for President!

[Marc]

Just spotted a news article on the BBC News website stating that Nestor Kirchner will step aside for his wife in the upcoming elections. However, there is nothing about this on any Argentine news websites (don't have a TV).
Have a look at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6259452.stm
Can this be true?

 

[Ernie]

Hello Marc,
It could well be true. Rumour has it the plan is for the couple to remain in power for 16 years. How? Nestor 4 years, Cristina 4 years, then Néstor for the following 4 and finally Cristina for the last 4.
God help us if it's true.
Cheers
Ernie

 

[Grazie]

Ernie, if the present Kirchner government was able to bring Argentina to its present economic recovery state, what can be so bad with Cristina in power? Maybe for the first time, Argentina is looking at a Kirchner dynasty? Is that bad for the Expats or only bad for the locals? If as a reigning couple they continue to sustain the boom in the economy (real estate is booming, fancy cars on the streets, etc.) what can be bad about that, locals and expats come out the winners, nothing is wrong with that.
My own porteno thinks that Cristina is in the Senate because people who believed in her voted her in there, so she must have a following, correct? She is popular right?
Maybe even better times ahead with her at the helm. I do not follow her politics, really. I thought a modern-twist to the Peron ideas and politics (after all the K.'s are Peronists) are loved by the masses. And the millions of Argentinians could not possibly be wrong?

 

[Ernie]

Hello Grazie,
As with any political argument, there are many sides to the same story.
Argentina is isolated from the rest of the civilised world in more ways than one. Our current exchange rate is hugely responsible for it. Travelling to the US and/or Europe is nearly impossible. Acquiring technology is extremely expensive. Take something as simple as the iPhone, for example, USD 599 in the US (the 8GB version), available in Argentina only as of 2008, and at USD 1,500 (the price of a notebook pc).
While there may be fancy cars on the streets, just try buying one on a current Argentina salary. And if you do, drive it at your own risk of getting killed for it. I have several friends who can easily afford to buy one or more fancy cars, but are wise enough to drive around Buenos Aires in beat-up rust-buckets for safety. They only drive their "real" cars in Punta del Este. Real estate is booming, for whom? Try buying a home on a regular middle-class salary. There is no proper access to credit and prices are downright ridiculous. The only real estate developments are luxury apartment buildings in Belgrano, Palermo and Puerto Madero. The owner of Nordelta just bought 1.500 has. in Escobar to build Nordelta 2. Is this popular? I don't think so.
I don't know if you were here in the 1990's. Back then (in 1998) I bought myself a USD 115,000 house in Olivos on a mortgage and a USD 20,000 car in cash, after saving really hard for a year. That is all gone now. I only had a middle management job in a record company (PolyGram). I travelled regularly to the US and the UK, which allowed me to experience what the rest of the world was like, first hand. And before I forget, I had a nice sum in the bank, which was taken by the corralito under De La Rúa. Kirchner promised to return every penny, but failed to do so.
Only since Kirchner took over we have to put up with "piquetes" all over the city as a normal thing. We have to put up with the military going to trial for crimes committed during the 1970's, while the montoneros who bombed private homes, kidnapped and murdered innocent people, are part of the government. Is this popular? I don't think so.
We have to put up with lies and double standards from both the K's, about how much they care for their people, while they illegally buy land in Puerto Madero and Calafate at laughable prices. While the land they bought in Calafate is worth USD 40, per sq mt., they paid USD 2,50. Instead of purchasing it through a public tender like the law disctates, they bought it directly from the governor. Is this popular? I don't thinks so.
I could go on and on, but right now I need to get some wotk done!
Cheers and please excuse me if I lost it for a while.
Cheers
Ernie

 

[sergio]

Grazie, I have to agree with Ernie. Salaries are pretty stagnant, especially professional salaries. Housing has increased dramatically – both rents and purchase prices. Mortgages are almost non-existent or limited where they exist. The agricultural and tourist sectors are doing well but most people are having a hard time managing with inflation soaring. The Kirchners are supported by a lot of poor people who are dependent on government handouts but handouts are not the long term solution to Argentina’s problems. At some point the government must start to attract serious foreign investment. Education must be improved; people need to be trained to work in areas like info technology and fields that are being largely ignored in a globalized world. Yes, things are better than they were at the peak of the crisis however it would have been hard not to get better, especially with world commodity prices high. If inflation continues as is (a harbinger of hyper-inflation?) Cristina Kirchner will have a serious political problem before her term comes to an end.

 

[bigbadwolf]

Ernie, if the present Kirchner government was able to bring Argentina to its present economic recovery state, what can be so bad with Cristina in power.

The recovery is based on a cheap peso and robust commodity prices. In any case, the country had reached rock bottom in 2002, and virtually anything after that could be construed as a recovery. Kirchner doesn't really understand much of the way the economic world works, and I doubt his aptitude lies in that direction. It's clear that the country is heading for the rocks of rapid inflation again, and it's also clear that the structural weaknesses of the economy -- admittedly intractable -- remain unaddressed.

 

[Granadaiscool]

Remember what happend the last time a presidents wife was in charge

 

[Granadaiscool]

Hello Grazie,
As with any political argument, there are many sides to the same story.
Argentina is isolated from the rest of the civilised world in more ways than one. Our current exchange rate is hugely responsible for it. Travelling to the US and/or Europe is nearly impossible. Acquiring technology is extremely expensive. Take something as simple as the iPhone, for example, USD 599 in the US (the 8GB version), available in Argentina only as of 2008, and at USD 1,500 (the price of a notebook pc).
While there may be fancy cars on the streets, just try buying one on a current Argentina salary. And if you do, drive it at your own risk of getting killed for it. I have several friends who can easily afford to buy one or more fancy cars, but are wise enough to drive around Buenos Aires in beat-up rust-buckets for safety. They only drive their "real" cars in Punta del Este. Real estate is booming, for whom? Try buying a home on a regular middle-class salary. There is no proper access to credit and prices are downright ridiculous. The only real estate developments are luxury apartment buildings in Belgrano, Palermo and Puerto Madero. The owner of Nordelta just bought 1.500 has. in Escobar to build Nordelta 2. Is this popular? I don't think so.
I don't know if you were here in the 1990's. Back then (in 1998) I bought myself a USD 115,000 house in Olivos on a mortgage and a USD 20,000 car in cash, after saving really hard for a year. That is all gone now. I only had a middle management job in a record company (PolyGram). I travelled regularly to the US and the UK, which allowed me to experience what the rest of the world was like, first hand. And before I forget, I had a nice sum in the bank, which was taken by the corralito under De La Rúa. Kirchner promised to return every penny, but failed to do so.
Only since Kirchner took over we have to put up with "piquetes" all over the city as a normal thing. We have to put up with the military going to trial for crimes committed during the 1970's, while the montoneros who bombed private homes, kidnapped and murdered innocent people, are part of the government. Is this popular? I don't think so.
We have to put up with lies and double standards from both the K's, about how much they care for their people, while they illegally buy land in Puerto Madero and Calafate at laughable prices. While the land they bought in Calafate is worth USD 40, per sq mt., they paid USD 2,50. Instead of purchasing it through a public tender like the law disctates, they bought it directly from the governor. Is this popular? I don't thinks so.
I could go on and on, but right now I need to get some wotk done!
Cheers and please excuse me if I lost it for a while.
Cheers
Ernie

Are you an Argentine?
How much % of your money you lost in the Corralito have you recovered?

 

[Ernie]

Granadaiscool,
Yes, I am an Argentine. Unfortunately, I recovered less than 50% of the funds I had deposited and am entitled to claim. Of course, I have not given up.

 

[Granadaiscool]

Did you have a dollar or peso account?
Do you only talk about the amount or also the devaluation of the dollar?
1000 dollar in 2001 is a lot more then in 2007 for example