President Cristina Kirchner: more Robber Baron than Robin Hood?

I relish the prospect of Cristina becoming the first wife in the Western Hemisphere to succeed her husband as the elected president of her country when national elections are held in Argentina on October 28…

I don’t mind disclosing that, like Bachelet [the female president of Chile], Cristina espouses political reconciliation, poverty alleviation and a panoply of welfare programs, all of which appeal to my sensibilities. Therefore, I hope these women together can wrest the mantle of democratic socialism from Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who has turned out to be nothing more than a tin-pot dictator masquerading as a latter-day Robin Hood.

[Argentina’s first lady poised to steal Hillary’s thunder, TIJ, October 9, 2007]

As this quote indicates, in addition to heralding her historic presidency, I had great expectations that Cristina Fernandez Kirchner would honor her campaign promises to implement policies to redistribute wealth between rich and poor Argentines more equitably.

But I suppose I was put on notice that she would turn out to be just another political opportunist when reports surfaced in August 2007, which indicated that her campaign was being funded by the petrodollars of socialist reprobate Hugo Chavez.

Now comes reports that, just like her husband, she has been using her presidency as an opportunity to enrich herself at the expense of the poor. Specifically, here’s how the Guardian is reporting on this betrayal of public trust:

New figures show that since Nestor and Cristina Kirchner came to power in 2003, they have presided over a remarkable sixfold increase in their own wealth.  The couple have racked up a fortune through property speculation and investments that have thrived even as the economy has faltered. Last year alone their wealth jumped 158% to $12m.

Opponents have accused the Kirchners of exploiting political connections in their home state of Patagonia to buy municipal land cheaply and sell it at a vast profit. ‘It’s a scandal,’ said Patricia Bullrich, a member of congress.

Meanwhile, analysts have accused her government of “fiddling” with official economic data to underreport rising unemployment and inflation, which “was perhaps triple the official rate of 9%.”

But thankfully, unlike her patron and mentor Chavez, there seems little chance that Cristina and her husband will be able to hold onto power — by passing the reins of the Argentine presidency between themselves — for life.  In fact, the Economist reports that disillusionment and disaffection with their leadership was such that:

In a mid-term election on June 28th not only did the first couple lose [healthy majorities in both houses of Congress] but they also lost the political dominance they have exercised over Argentina since 2003.

The end of the reign of “Queen Cristina” and her enabling consort cannot come soon enough. But Argentines will have to wait until her presidential term ends in 2011. 

It makes me almost want to cry for Argentina….

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