In a dramatic comeback, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, one of Argentina’s most popular presidents during her two terms from 2007 to 2015, has been voted back into office as vice-president.
A large crowd of supporters burst into a roar outside the Frente de Todos (Everybody’s Front) party bunker in the Chacarita neighbourhood of the capital Buenos Aires on Sunday night, when preliminary official results gave the victory to the centre-left presidential candidate Alberto Fernández and his running mate Fernández de Kirchner.
Fernández, who assumes office on 10 December, arrived at the presidential palace on Monday for a meeting with the outgoing incumbent, Mauricio Macri, to discuss the potentially tricky transition of power.
The victory puts an end to the pro-business economic policies of Macri’s administration, who promised “zero poverty” during his electoral campaign but exits office with a plunging peso, an inflation rate that rocketed to an annual 56%, and the number of people living beneath the poverty line having risen from 29% to 35%.
Conceding defeat on Sunday, Macri told his supporters: “We need an orderly transition that will bring tranquility to all Argentinians, because the most important thing is the wellbeing of all Argentinians.”
With more than 90% of ballots counted, Fernández, no relation to Fernández de Kirchner, had 47.79% of the vote, compared with Macri’s 40.71%.
Fernández is a moderate Peronist who has pledged to respect the $57bn IMF loan taken out by Macri last year to try and salvage Argentina’s creaking economy while promising to improve wages and benefits for workers and pensioners.
His victory was widely expected, and car horns started sounding nonstop in Buenos Aires after polling booths closed at 6pm on Sunday.
In one quiet neighbourhood, a group of bicycle delivery workers– one of the few job opportunities available for young people during Macri’s administration – rode through the streets tinkling their bells ecstatically to celebrate the end of his government.
Argentina’s elections, traditionally held the last Sunday of October, coincided this year with the ninth anniversary of the death from a sudden heart attack of Néstor Kirchner, the husband and predecessor in office of Fernández de Kirchner. During his 2003-2007 administration, Kirchner led Argentina’s recovery from its economic collapse and monumental foreign debt default in 2001-02.
Cristina Fernández de Kirchner served as president from 2007 to 2015. By the time she left office she was entangled in a string of court cases involving accusations of bribery, money laundering, corruption and allegations that she had helped cover up Iran’s involvement in a terrorist bombing that prosecutor was investigating. Some of the corruption cases are continuing. She denies any wrongdoing.
The memory of the period of sustained economic growth in the 2000s, during which time Fernández was the cabinet chief, played an important part in the election campaign.
Reflecting his confidence in an easy win, Fernández, an amateur musician who enjoys hanging out with rock stars, spent a relaxed Saturday afternoon playing the guitar and singing 1960s and 70s Argentinian rock songs with Gustavo Santaolalla, the Argentinian musician who won two consecutive Academy Awards for Brokeback Mountain and Babel. A short video of the impromptu jam uploaded by Fernández’s spokesman, Juan Pablo Biondi, soon reached over 170,000 views on Twitter.
Lujos de esta campaña que termina con broche de oro! Yo ya gané ✌️ pic.twitter.com/IfPWAAfJMS
— Juan Pablo Biondi (@JuanPabloBiondi) October 26, 2019
On Saturday, Fernández de Kirchner visited her husband’s mausoleum in the Patagonian city of Río Gallegos, and on Sunday at midday she was greeted by a large adoring crowd at the polling booth. “This is such an important day for democracy,” Fernández de Kirchner said to journalists after voting.
Future regional tensions were immediately on show as the far-right administration of Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil hit out at the leftist’s victory.
Speaking in Abu Dhabi, Bolsonaro declined to congratulate Argentina’s president-elect, telling reporters: “Argentina has chosen badly.”
Bolsonaro’s foreign minister, Ernesto Araújo, went further, warning in a series of tweets that Argentina’s new leaders would usher in an era of “retrograde” economic policies and support for dictatorships.
“The indications are the worst possible … The forces of evil are celebrating,” Araújo said.