Argentina enters new era after Kirchner

[Lily]

Buenos Aires: Tens of thousands of Argentines paid tribute yesterday to Nestor Kirchner, the powerful former leader whose death robbed President Cristina Fernandez of her husband and most trusted ally.

Kirchner, 60, was widely seen as the most influential figure in his wife's government, which has maintained the same economic measures that supporters say helped lift the country out of the doldrums after a 2001-2002 crisis.

The combative Kirchner was widely expected to run for a second term in a presidential election next October. His death increases the possibility that Fernandez, who has higher approval ratings than her late husband, will seek re-election.

Financial markets rallied on news of Kirchner's death from a heart attack on Wednesday. Investors had seen Kirchner as unfriendly to business. But his departure from Argentina's polarised political scene heightens uncertainties before the 2011 vote.

Change

Analysts say Fernandez — who, like her husband is known for antagonising business leaders and pushing policies that frustrate investors — could change tack and adopt a more conciliatory approach in a bid to garner broader support.

But she will likely maintain the couple's intimate circle of advisers and Kirchner's death could boost her approval ratings as voters recall the boom years of his 2003-2007 presidency when South America's No 2 economy expanded rapidly.

Long into the night, supporters gathered in front of the presidential palace, where regional leaders and political figures were due to attend a wake yesterday.

"We must show solidarity in the coming days so that the opposition doesn't take advantage of this moment," said Roberto Picozze, 25, one of thousands of people who turned out to express support for the powerful couple after staying home all day as a national census was carried out.

Although local financial markets were closed for the national census holiday on Wednesday, prices for Argentine bonds and stocks traded overseas firmed on bets Fernandez would take a more moderate line in her dealings with local companies and foreign investors.

Argentina, a leading agricultural exporter, has benefited from a boom in commodities prices since the economic debacle nine years ago, but critics reviled Kirchner's interventionist economic policies and said it failed to tackle inflation.

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