First lady is favourite to win Argentina election

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Reuters

First lady is favourite to win Argentina election
Wed 24 Oct 2007, 15:23 GMT

<-> Text <+> By Kevin Gray

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - First lady Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner is heavily favoured to win Argentina's election on Sunday, setting the stage for a rare handover of power between democratically elected spouses.

Fernandez is the clear front-runner, helped by the popularity of her husband President Nestor Kirchner, who has overseen a dramatic economic recovery in a nation that had become one of Latin America's most unstable economies.

Polls show Fernandez holds more than a 20-point lead over her closest rival, propelled by China-style annual growth rates higher than 8 percent since her husband took office four years ago and led the country out of a deep crisis.

"My hope is that she just keeps doing what he has done," said Rodrigo Rojas, a 37-year-old shopkeeper. "The country is back on its feet thanks to him."



Read more: http://africa.reuters.com/world/news/usnN24428155.html

[Judi Lynn]

1. Lessons from Argentina: New Paper Looks at Economic Policy in Argentina's High-Growth Recovery

Lessons from Argentina:
New Paper Looks at Economic Policy in Argentina's High-Growth Recovery

WASHINGTON - October 24 -Argentine Senator Cristina Fernandez Kirchner seems to be headed for a solid first-round victory in the October 28 presidential election, and a new paper from the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) looks at the economic expansion that has propelled her candidacy.

"Argentina challenged the conventional economic wisdom, and won," said economist Mark Weisbrot, co-Director of CEPR and lead author of the paper.

Argentina's economy has grown by more than 50 percent in real (inflation-adjusted) terms during the past five and one half years of expansion, making it the fastest-growing economy in the Western Hemisphere. Unemployment fell from 21.5 to 9.6 percent, and more than 11 million people, or 28 percent of the population, have been pulled across the poverty line. Real wages have increased by more than 40 percent.

A number of policy choices seem to have contributed to the recovery, some of them unorthodox and controversial. Among these were: the Central Bank's targeting of a stable and competitive real exchange rate; Argentina's break with the IMF and its policy prescriptions; and its tough bargaining with international creditors over defaulted external debt.

More:
http://www.commondreams.org/news2007/1024-12.htm

[LiberalFighter]

2. Too bad it wasn't Laura Bush.. then maybe we get rid of GW