Argentina’s first lady wins top job

BUENOS AIRES – First lady Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner will become Argentina’s first elected woman leader after easily winning a presidential vote that was largely a referendum on her husband’s economic successes.

Fernandez claimed victory in Sunday’s election as official results showed her with well over 40 per cent of the vote and a big lead over her closest rival, enough to avoid a runoff vote next month. With results in from almost two-thirds of polling stations, Fernandez had 43,6 per cent support, followed by former lawmaker Elisa Carrio, who had 22,6 per cent and conceded defeat.”This is a triumph for all Argentines,” Fernandez told cheering supporters at her campaign bunker in a message that also acknowledged the challenges that lie ahead.”Instead of putting us in a position of privilege, it gives us bigger responsibilities and greater obligations,” she said of the election victory.The Kirchners are Argentina’s undisputed power couple and have been called “the Clintons of the South.”Fernandez, a 54-year-old lawyer, is one of her husband’s key aides and a longtime senator.Voters weary of Argentina’s repeated boom-and-bust cycles said they hope she will deepen the economic course set by her husband.After a deep 2001-02 economic crisis, South America’s second largest economy has expanded at China-style rates since Kirchner came to office four years ago.Growth has topped 8 per cent a year, driven by strong consumer spending and agricultural exports.”Cristina is going to follow in Kirchner’s footsteps,” said housewife Betty Cuadros, 54.”She’s going to do what he hasn’t been able to do yet, and take the country forward.But even as Fernandez inherits the credit Argentines give Kirchner for overseeing an economic boom, she also faces mounting concerns about high inflation, energy shortages and a growing perception among some Argentines the Kirchners may have accumulated too much power.Nampa-ReutersWith results in from almost two-thirds of polling stations, Fernandez had 43,6 per cent support, followed by former lawmaker Elisa Carrio, who had 22,6 per cent and conceded defeat.”This is a triumph for all Argentines,” Fernandez told cheering supporters at her campaign bunker in a message that also acknowledged the challenges that lie ahead.”Instead of putting us in a position of privilege, it gives us bigger responsibilities and greater obligations,” she said of the election victory.The Kirchners are Argentina’s undisputed power couple and have been called “the Clintons of the South.”Fernandez, a 54-year-old lawyer, is one of her husband’s key aides and a longtime senator.Voters weary of Argentina’s repeated boom-and-bust cycles said they hope she will deepen the economic course set by her husband.After a deep 2001-02 economic crisis, South America’s second largest economy has expanded at China-style rates since Kirchner came to office four years ago.Growth has topped 8 per cent a year, driven by strong consumer spending and agricultural exports.”Cristina is going to follow in Kirchner’s footsteps,” said housewife Betty Cuadros, 54.”She’s going to do what he hasn’t been able to do yet, and take the country forward.But even as Fernandez inherits the credit Argentines give Kirchner for overseeing an economic boom, she also faces mounting concerns about high inflation, energy shortages and a growing perception among some Argentines the Kirchners may have accumulated too much power.Nampa-Reuters