Argentine president wins landslide re-election

[marmar]

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Argentine President Cristina Fernandez was re-elected in a landslide Sunday, winning with the widest victory margin in the country's history as voters were mobilized by popular programs that spread the wealth of a booming economy.

Fernandez had 53 percent of the votes after 24 percent of polling stations had been tallied nationwide, while her nearest challenger got just 17 percent. Interior Minister Florencio Randazzo predicted the president's vote share would rise, saying very few of the ballots in her party's stronghold of Buenos Aires province, the country's largest, had been counted.

....(snip)....

Fernandez is Latin America's first woman to be re-elected as president, but the victory was personally bittersweet — the first without her husband and predecessor, Nestor Kirchner, who died of a heart attack last Oct. 27.

....(snip)....

Fernandez, 58, chose her youthful, guitar-playing, long-haired economy minister, Amado Boudou, as her running mate. Together, the pair championed Argentina's approach to the global financial crisis: Increase government spending rather than impose austerity measures, and force investors in foreign debt to suffer before ordinary citizens. .............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/feedarticle/9910106

[Blue_In_AK]

1. I watched Oliver Stone's "South of the Border" a few nights ago.

I'm ashamed to say I really didn't know a whole lot about the various leaders down there in South America. It was very interesting, and I wish all of these people the best.

[FarLeftFist]

2. Putting citizens first, what a concept!

[chollybocker]

3. "voters were mobilized by popular programs that spread the wealth"

Why does US politics not touch this?