Good Numbers for Mrs. Kirchner in Argentina

Good Numbers for Mrs. Kirchner in Argentina
February 27, 2008

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Cristina Fernández de Kirchner remains highly regarded in Argentina, according to a poll by Poliarquía Consultores. 54 per cent of respondents have a positive opinion of their president, down two points since January.

In October 2007, Fernández de Kirchner won the presidential election with 44.9 per cent of the vote as the candidate for the Front for Victory (FV). In December, Mrs. Kirchner succeeded her husband, Néstor Kirchner, as Argentina’s head of state. The outgoing president was praised for fostering an economic recovery after a major crisis in 2002. Fernández de Kirchner has vowed to address poverty and carry on with her husband’s fiscal policies.

In January 2007, Néstor Kirchner replaced Graciela Bevacqua—the official in charge of calculating inflation—which led to allegations of manipulation. Argentina’s official inflation numbers have been questioned ever since. The National Statistics Institute (INE) tabled inflation at 8.5 per cent at the end of 2007, but independent consumer surveys calculated it at three times that.

The government and the country’s unions are currently negotiating wage increases for this year. On Feb. 13, several unions demanded increases of up to 30 per cent, citing inflation. Juan José Zanola, head of the 90,000-member bank employees union, explained the rationale, saying, "We just want to recover the purchasing power we lost."

More:
http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/view/30009/good_numbers_for_mrs_kirchner_in_argentina