Argentina made history yesterday by electing their first woman president! Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, wife of the current president Nestor Kirchner, and former senator for Buenos Aires won a solid 45% of the vote. She is considered to be center-left, and populist in her politics and is often seen as the new Eva Peron (Evita). Curiously this is the very position Eva Peron worked so hard for more than 50 years ago, but for which she was not allowed to officially run for. She took would have come to office while being married to the current president.
Fernández de Kirchner’s main issues while in office is likely to be the country’s economy. Argentina suffered a major economic crisis in the early 2000, from which it is still recovering. In her acceptance speech she also spoke about the impact women have in the country and who she hope to continue working with them.
Fernández de Kirchner will be joining the only other woman currently in office in Latin America, Michelle Bachelet of Chile. Hopefully these two women are some kind of proof that Latin American is leaving some of its machismo behind and moving in a new era.
You can read more about Mrs. Fernández de Kirchner from an article in the Guardian, or another article from the BBC. You can also visit her official site, or get her basic bio from Wikipedia.
Image from www.cristina.com.ar