Argentina: Economic Turbulence, Social Polarization and Political Realignment

The 2009 mid-term elections produced a complex scenario for President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner. By winning just one third of the vote, she lost the majority in the House and the Senate in the latter case due to divisions in the ruling coalition rather than because of the electoral results. Social distress nurtured by government behavior contributed to galvanizing a previously fragmented opposition. Hence, two electoral coalitions with non-rival territorial strongholds managed to defeat the incumbent party in the main districts. The economy resented both the global crisis and domestic mismanagement; although a meltdown was avoided, fiscal frailty persists due to a lack of alternative credit sources. Confronted with divided government, high social polarization and a stumbling economy, the President faces her next two years without visible inclination towards political accommodation or credible prospects of reelection.