The Power Behind Peronism

Debate, No. 64, June 4, 2004, Buenos Aires

Half a century ago, Eva "Evita" Perón, the stylish and outspoken wife of then Argentine President Juan Perón, transformed the previously symbolic role of first lady into a political force. Today, her husband’s eponymous political movement continues to dictate Argentina’s political life through the Justicialist Party, which promotes a populist nationalism built around a strong central government. Justicialist has repeatedly reinvented itself to suit the times, shifting from its leftist populist roots to 1990s neoliberalism, and back again.

Perhaps appropriately, the party’s latest incarnation is heavily influenced by Argentina’s current first lady, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. Cristina, as she is known to Argentines, has moved in circles of party power for the past decade as a national deputy and popular senator from the Santa Cruz province. When her husband, former provincial governor Néstor Kirchner, won the presidency in May 2003, it was he who was unknown in Buenos Aires. In fact, many commentators attribute Kirchner’s extraordinary approval ratings — the highest of any current Latin American leader — in part to his wife, whose lithe attractiveness balances her husband’s low-wattage style and earns her extra credit in a country obsessed with appearances and physical beauty.

Today, Cristina’s every political move — and new ensemble — are scrutinized by an Argentine public aware of the influence she exerts over her husband’s decisions. Her political future is the subject of a recent issue of Debate, a weekly Argentine political magazine that mixes reporting and opinion for a relatively small but influential audience of Argentine intellectuals, politicians, and journalists. Fiercely independent, the magazine injects a critical voice among Argentina’s typically sycophantic editorials, thanks in large part to co-founder Hector Timmerman, firebrand journalist and son of the late newspaper publisher and dissident Jacobo Timmerman. The degree of analysis Debate expends on Fernández de Kirchner proves she has earned her title "shadow president."

Debate dubs Fernández de Kirchner "the Mother of all Battles" on its cover. Inside, journalist Ana Gerschenson measures Fernández de Kirchner’s power by the extent her role has expanded beyond traditional senatorial duties. The first lady is consulted regularly on policy matters, contributes to International Monetary Fund negotiations, chairs the Senate’s Constitutional Affairs Committee and sits on the Judiciary Committee. She is also frequently deployed overseas as what Gerschenson calls a "second foreign minister," recently traveling to the United States to meet with former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, editors of the Washington Post, and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, to whom Fernández de Kirchner is regularly compared.

The first lady may boost her power even further if she follows through on her recently announced intention to run in 2007 for governor of the Buenos Aires province, which remains the stronghold of Peronism. The race would likely pit her against a candidate handpicked by former governor and party strongman Eduardo Duhalde, who served as the country’s caretaker president before the 2003 presidential election. Duhalde threw his support behind Kirchner in the election to eliminate Duhalde’s party rival, former President Carlos Menem. Kirchner has since sought to distance himself from Duhalde, preferring to build what he calls "transversal" alliances with political leaders outside of Peronism. Some see this strategy as a chance to remove Peronism from the corruption of the past half century, but it has also alienated some old friends: At the party convention in March 2004, Fernández de Kirchner was heckled off the podium by Duhalde loyalists, essentially splitting the party into two camps.

In his article "Everyone Wants Cristina," political analyst Luis Tonelli dubs Fernández de Kirchner a powerful tool in the struggle between her husband and Duhalde, calling her the "strongest trump card the president has for his political projects." Polling data place the first lady’s approval rating above 60 percent in the Buenos Aires province. A victory on Duhalde’s turf would consolidate power for the Kirchners in Argentina’s most politically important region. By uniting the Justicialist Party under their banner, the Kirchners might push through federal revenue and power-sharing reforms that stalled with past administrations: This move would build not only a new Peronism but a new Argentina.

Thus, the Kirchners have managed to create a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. Visible, ambitious first ladies such as Mexico’s Marta Sahagún Jiménez and Peru’s Eliane Karp have garnered many headlines throughout Latin America. But, while these women ultimately contributed more controversy than clout to their husbands’ presidencies, Fernández de Kirchner’s seasoned experience only enhances that of her husband. In this sense, she is as much a trailblazer as her predecessor in the Casa Rosada, Eva Perón.