Argentine presidential election
No lesser, just two evils
By Alicia Jrapko
On May 18, a member of the Peronist party is
sure to win Argentina's presidential election. That is because
the two candidates facing each other in this runoff are from
the same party.
Saul Menem and Nestor Kirchner represent different currents
in the Peronist party. Menem is for strengthening the Free
Trade Area of the Americas--the U.S.-engineered "free market"
agreement for this hemisphere--and is supported by those who
favor further privatization. Menem also supported the U.S.
attack on Iraq and is openly hostile to Cuba.
Kirchner, on the other hand, has distanced himself from
George W. Bush and seems more focused on social and economic
issues.
This runoff comes after an election on April 27 in which 20
percent of those registered did not vote, even though
participation is mandatory. In the large field of candidates in
the first round, three Peronists took a total of 60 percent,
but no single candidate received more than 25 percent, leading
to the runoff.
This election also comes after almost two years of the worst
economic crisis in Argentina's history. The country owes $160
billion to the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.
In December 2001 thousands of people took to the streets to
protest the government's economic policies, which were
affecting not only the workers and unemployed but also the
middle class. This popular uprising forced five presidents to
resign in a period of one month. Since then, workers have
seized more than 100 factories to provide jobs.
The intervention of the masses brought hope to many Latin
American countries that Argentina would be in the forefront of
the struggle against neoliberalism.
However, Eduardo Duhalde, a Peronist himself, was able to
retain power in a caretaker role despite his unpopularity. He
called for the recent election and is now supporting the
candidacy of Kirchner.
Peronism's roots
Peronism dates back to 1945, when a new strategic alliance
was formed in Argentina between the industrial bourgeoisie and
the proletariat. Juan Domingo Perón, the president from
1945 to 1955, legalized unions, implemented the first mandatory
collective bargaining agreements, increased workers' wages and
assured the participation of workers at all levels of
government. Perón nationalized various sectors of the
economy.
The Peronist party gave great concessions to the workers but
failed to challenge or change the unjust structures of
capitalism. This political party was at one time banned and its
leader forced into exile. It has many internal currents, from
the far right to the far left. Now, almost 60 years later, it
is about to take power again, but without its early populism
and under conditions very different than those of 1945.
In the months that followed the Dec ember uprising, the most
conscious working-class sectors of Argentine society organized
themselves for the most part on a clearly anti-imperialist
basis. This sector had lost faith in the system and for months
was promoting the slogan, "Everybody should go," meaning all
the corrupt capitalist politicians.
But a year and a half is a short time in history, and these
popular sectors have been unable to organize themselves
adequately to present a viable alternative to the capitalist
ruling class.
The candidates of the left in this election were Patricia
Walsh of the Com mun ist Party, Jorge Altamira of the Workers
Party, Guillermo Sullings of the Humanist Party and Jorge
Mazitelli of the Authentic Socialist Party. The Workers Party
and the United Left (Communist Party and Socialist Workers
Party) together received 2.5 percent of the vote, with two
thirds of that going to the United Left.
In the past, the political scene in Argen tina had been
dominated by two major capitalist parties, the Peronists and
the Radical Party. Usually the vote was close. This time,
however, the Radical Party candidate, Leopoldo Moreau, got less
than 3 percent of the vote.
Menem had been president of Argen tina from 1989 to 1999. He
won the 1989 presidential elections with promises to the poor
and the working class that he never fulfilled. Instead, he
reduced subsidies to the poor and accelerated the process of
privatization of all state-owned companies while moving closer
to Britain and the United States.
By the end of his reign, his administration was totally
discredited as responsible for the economic crisis and wracked
with scandals.
After he was forced out, a number of lesser bourgeois
candidates rushed to fill the vacuum of capitalist credibility,
with little result.
Many politicians and leaders of grassroots organizations say
that in the April 27 election people were voting for what they
saw as the lesser of evils. These different organizations have
a few things in common: they hate Carlos Menem and they believe
that an IMF delegation is waiting in the shadows to meet with
the future government as soon as it is elected to negotiate the
repayment of the foreign debt.
Mass organizations differ on elections
The mass organizations that have been in the streets
fighting for their rights and have been heavily repressed by
the state apparatus took different approaches in this election.
Leaders of the Piquetero movement "Teresa Vive" called on
people to vote for the United Left. Luis D'Elía, leader
of the Land and Housing Feder ation, recommended a vote for
Kirchner.
Calling on the people not to vote or to cast blank ballots
were Teresa Carrio of the Alternative for a Republic of Equals
coalition, Alfredo Bravo of the Socialist Party, and Juan Cruz
D'Affuncio from the Piquetero movement "Aníbal
Verón," which has been in the forefront of the struggle
and working closely with the Associ ation of Mothers of the
Plaza de Mayo.
In a recent interview with Página 12, an Argentinean
newspaper, Cruz said, "We believe that this moment will be like
others in the past, the promises [by the candidates] are going
to be empty again. Some talk about two models in dispute. Our
opinion is that neither of the candidates will solve the
problems of the country."
The U.S. does not seem to really care who the next president
of Argentina will be. They believe either wing of the Peronists
will accommodate them and resume payments on the crushing debt.
The poor and more vulnerable sectors of Argentine society will
be asked again to sacrifice in the name of democracy, United
States-style.
It remains to be seen how the popular movements in
Argentina, which in the last few years have gained a wealth of
experience, will respond to this new challenge.
Reprinted from the May 22, 2003, issue of
Workers World newspaper
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
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