Support wanes for Argentina's 'Hillary'

President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner's approval has dropped hard in her first six months.

from the May 29, 2008 edition

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As concerns mount – with reports that middle-class Argentines are buying US dollars to insulate themselves against a currency crash – her biggest crisis to date has been the farmers' strike, which ignited in March after she announced variable increased taxes on soybeans and sunflower-seed exports to over 40 percent, from a current fixed rate of 35 percent. Her government says the policy is to more fairly distribute wealth and make sure domestic food prices remain low. But Argentines took to the streets.

Farmers called a third strike in just two months over the export taxes on Tuesday; they will stop selling grain and livestock until next week.

She has consistently accused the media of painting only one side of the story – an escalation of a battle that began with her husband's administration. "Inflation, the conflict with the agricultural sector, and the conflict with the mass media have tarnished her popularity," says Mr. Fraga.

Relations with the US have cooled as well, especially in the wake of a scandal over alleged illegal campaign financing from Venezuela. She dubbed the inquiry, prompted by the US, "a garbage operation." Instead, Fraga says, she has cozied up to Venezuela's lefist leader Hugo Chávez.

When she was elected as president – with Michelle Bachelet governing in neighboring Chile – there were high hopes that this would usher in a new era for women in Latin America's traditional macho society. It is a prospect that still thrills many of her supporters.

"It makes me proud to have a woman as president," says Silvia Jimenez, who runs a tourist stand at an airport in Buenos Aires, "especially a woman with so much training, who has such a good image."

But some of that expectation has abated, especially because analysts and residents alike have made a public sport of guessing which one of the two is really governing the country today.

When referring to the presidency, analysts don't call her "Mrs. President," but refer disparagingly to "The first couple."

For Mr. Giacobbe, that could actually hurt women's status. "She is sitting in the seat, but not governing," he says. "It's not the best image for the evolution of women."

Fernández de Kirchner, like President Bachelet, has said that she has been judged more harshly for being a woman, particularly during the farmer's strike. Many, supporters and critics alike, agree. Even though gender barely came up as an issue during the presidential election, it could hurt her now, says Dionisio Carrizo, a small food store owner. "For being a woman, she is more vulnerable up against an association of men," he says, referring to farmers but adds unions to the list. "This is a macho country."

Ms. Gomez disagrees. She says she voted for Kirchner precisely because she represented strong women like herself but has since become totally disillusioned. "This is not a strong woman," she says. "A strong woman brings people to dialogue."

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