Popular, persistent and under investigation: Why former President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner may be gearing up for a congressional run.

1. Web Exclusive
A Kirchner Comeback in Argentina? (return to
activity)
http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/8870
BY BRENDAN O'BOYLE | JUNE 7, 2017
Popular, persistent and under investigation: Why former President
Cristina Fernández de Kirchner may be gearing up for a
congressional run. (getting ready)
GUE/NGL/Flickr CC by 2.0
12
If you thought Cristina Fernández de Kirchner was finished with
national politics, think again.
Less than two years after relinquishing (handing over) Argentina’s
presidency, the 64-year-old Fernández has been meeting with foreign
dignitaries, giving primetime interviews, even tweeting out campaign-
style videos – in other words, behaving like a candidate for Congress in

2. October’s midterm elections in all but (except) the official
announcement.
The sense in Argentina is that she will run – a decision with substantial
implications for her and for her party, said Bruno Binetti, a fellow at the
Inter-American Dialogue based in Buenos Aires. She certainly has
reasons to go for it, and much to lose if she doesn’t, he added.
For starters, a seat in Congress would provide Fernández with immunity
from detention – which could come in handy(useful), since she’s
facing multiple investigations over allegations(accusations) of corruption
during her presidency, and these appear to be picking up
steam(tomando impulso). On May 30, a federal
prosecutor called Fernández and her two adult children to testify in a
money laundering case in which all three are under investigation.
Fernández has characterized the corruption probes (inquiries,
indagatorias) as political attacks from her opponents. She
previously rebuffed (rejected) suggestions that she would run for
Congress in the 2015 midterms to secure immunity, ultimately not
running and saying she didn’t fear any judge. Still, there’s precedent for
former presidents joining Congress in order to get protection from the
courts, said Binetti. Former President Carlos Menem, who was convicted
of smuggling charges (illegal imports accusations) in 2013, is now
running for his third term as senator, which would allow him to retain
(keep) immunity into his 90s.
A position in Congress could also help propel (push, drive) Fernández to
another run at the presidency in 2019, allowing her to firm up
(strengthen) her base and rebuild a national Peronist coalition, said
Binetti.
Fernández had ostensibly ruled out (eliminated) a run for Congress as
recently as May 5, when she told a private teachers’ union in Buenos
Aires that she wasn’t interested. But just weeks before a June

3. 24 deadline to formally declare her candidacy, the former president
indicated that a return to Congress, where she served before the
presidency, may still be in the cards (be likely to happen, be
probable).
In a primetime TV interview on May 25, Fernández said that for the
sake of (for the good of) her party and its ideals she would be willing
(be ready, estar dispuesta) to run – likely as a Senator for Buenos
Aires province, where approximately 40 percent of the national
electorate lives. “We have to put limits on the neoliberal adjustment the
country is living through,” Fernández said, referring to the economic
program of her successor, Mauricio Macri. “If it’s necessary for me to
be a candidate to get the most votes for our proposal, then I’m it (soy
la mejor).”
The interview came just two days after Fernández met with mayors
from the province to discuss their Justicialist Party’s strategy for
October, and a day after she met privately with the man many think
would be her running mate on a Senate ticket (boleta), former Buenos
Aires province Governor Daniel Scioli.
Whatever her motivations and challenges, Fernández remains a
formidable candidate. A telephone survey conducted by the Analogias
polling firm between May 17 and 22 gave a Fernández-Scioli ticket the
support of 31.3 percent of intended voters. Her presumed challenger to
represent the Justicialist Party, her former interior and transport
minister Florencio Randazzo, received only 9.8 percent. An earlier
poll conducted in April by Management and Fit, a consultancy, put her
support in Buenos Aires province at a competitive 40 percent.
Despite her popularity in the province, getting on the ticket won’t
necessarily be easy. Randazzo has insisted on competing in a party
primary, while Fernández has discouraged (dissuaded) them, contending
(stating, arguing) that primaries would hurt party unity. Further, after
12 years of Kirchner rule, initially under her late husband Néstor

4. Kirchner, Fernández doesn’t hold the kind of influence among members
of her party that she once did.
“There’s a whole new generation of governors that have different ideas
and different ambitions and they’re probably not willing to be just
supporting what Fernández wants,” Binetti said.
A Fernández candidacy could even be counterproductive for the Peronist
opposition, said Sergio Berensztein, an Argentine political analyst. “The
government wants Fernández to be the Marine le Pen of this election,”
Berenzstein said, in reference to France’s defeated and polarizing right-
wing presidential candidate. “She looks like a good threat for the
independent voter to vote against.”
Fernández would also have history working against her. Former
presidents Menem and Raúl Alfonsín both found it difficult to maintain
electoral relevance after transitioning from the presidency to Congress,
said Berensztein. Furthermore, only three presidents in Argentina’s
history have managed a return to the presidential palace after a stint
(time period) away – Julio Argentino Roca in 1898, Hipólito Yrigoyen in
1928, and Juan Perón in 1973. Neither Yrigoyen nor Perón finished their
terms.
“The chance of coming back is very small, but the chance of finishing is
even smaller,” Berensztein told AQ. “To win the presidency in Argentina,
you have to be a rookie (a new recruit, novato).”
One thing that’s on Fernández’s side, for now, is an economic recovery
that’s been slower in arriving than Macri promised. If Fernández is able
to win a Senate seat decisively, the government’s legislative agenda and
Macri’s vision for the country could both be dealt (get) a damaging
blow.
“The government is framing (mounting, encuadrando) this election as a
choice between the future and the past, with Cristina as the past,”
Binetti said.

5. A Fernández triumph could flip (turn over) that script (stage direction,
guion).
O’Boyle is an editor for AQ.

6. A Fernández triumph could flip (turn over) that script (stage direction,
guion).
O’Boyle is an editor for AQ.