President Kirchner has less than 45 days left as our President. He has been the most favored president in the last 50 years, benefitting from absolutely optimal external conditions. He has managed, of course, to convince everyone that his wonderful administration skills were responsible for his success, not at all helped by factors over which he has no control.
He has spent the past few months boosting people's disposable income and he has governed by decrees as opposed to passing actual laws (executive decrees need to be ratified by Congress ex-post). He has done as he pleased and he has had four very belligerant years, picking fights against corporations, the military, Uruguay, the U.S.A., economists, the press, political opposition, the Church, etc. and not made many friends (Castro? Chavez?).
It seems very bizarre that a president voted by 22% of the people, who lost the first round to ex-president Menem, has amassed such a large amount of power. However, he has not looked to build beyond the short-term. His nearsightedness will have cost him and his successor a lot: not only have institutions not been built during his term, but they have been destroyed. For isntance, the National Statistics bureau (INDEC, see picture below), has been totally disacredited - even to trade-unionists - as presenting indicators which are plain false. His willingness to control statistics - because he lacked understanding of how to do things to affect reality instead of its measurements - shows to what extent he has failed. The very organism that should be portraying his success is put in doubt because of his attempts to look good. The biggest irony is that, in the end, no one really knows whether he was good or not, because he manipulated the entity which was in charge of doing so ...
It seems very bizarre that a president voted by 22% of the people, who lost the first round to ex-president Menem, has amassed such a large amount of power. However, he has not looked to build beyond the short-term. His nearsightedness will have cost him and his successor a lot: not only have institutions not been built during his term, but they have been destroyed. For isntance, the National Statistics bureau (INDEC, see picture below), has been totally disacredited - even to trade-unionists - as presenting indicators which are plain false. His willingness to control statistics - because he lacked understanding of how to do things to affect reality instead of its measurements - shows to what extent he has failed. The very organism that should be portraying his success is put in doubt because of his attempts to look good. The biggest irony is that, in the end, no one really knows whether he was good or not, because he manipulated the entity which was in charge of doing so ...
Regardless, we will see if in 45 days, when he will leave (his wife in) power, what his real legacy, if any at all, was.
