Argentine Duo Evokes Evita Era

Fernandez is Latin America's first woman ever re-elected president

(NEWSER) - As expected, Argentine President Cristina Fernandez won yesterday's presidential election in Argentina in a landslide, reports AP . Her big win was the first time a woman has been re-elected president anywhere in Latin America. It represented a stunning turnaround for Fernandez, whose popularity dropped as low as 20% during her presidency. With nearly half the polling stations reporting, Fernandez has won 53% of votes cast—well ahead of her closest competitor, who had just 17%—which gives her the largest share of the ballot of any president since Argentina returned to democracy in 1983. Her margin of victory is on track to be larger even than Juan Domingo Peron's in 1972. More»

Kirchners' dynasty may be over as husband loses Congress bid

(NEWSER) - Voters in Argentina delivered a stinging verdict on President Cristina Kirchner last night, ousting the ruling Peronists from the lower house of Congress in mid-term elections. Her husband, former president Néstor Kirchner, suffered a humiliating defeat in his own bid for a seat. The result makes it unlikely the pair can continue their political dynasty in Argentina's 2011 presidential elections, reports the New York Times. More»

(NEWSER) - Marcela Acuña isn’t accustomed to losing. The 5-foot-4 Argentine boxer has won a record 32 matches, 16 by knockout, to just five losses, earning her a huge following and the nickname la Tigresa, the Tigress. Now, she’s jumped into a different kind of ring: the political one. She’s running for Congress on the Peronist ticket tomorrow, but her campaign may not be what it seems, the Wall Street Journal reports. More»

In Buenos Aires politics, women who rise are still Peronist wives

(NEWSER) - Argentina might have its first elected female president—and her nearest rival was also a woman—but the fairer sex is succeeding politically only on the coattails of husbands, and female-friendly policies get nowhere. In a phenomenon the Economist calls “Peronist”—president Juan Peron had two wives who were leaders—Argentina’s top women don’t stand on their own feet, but rather as proxies for their men. More»

Argentine vote today expected to go to Cristina Fernandez

(NEWSER) - First lady Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner looks to be the next president of Argentina, with a comfortable 20% lead over her nearest competitor in polls going into today's balloting, Reuters reports. The biggest question in the voting for her husband's successor is whether Fernandez—who downplays inevitable comparisons to both Evita Peron and Hillary Clinton—can capture the 45% of the vote necessary to avoid a runoff. More»