Argentine President Alberto Fernandez opts out of re-election campaign
Argentine President Alberto Fernández announced in a video posted to social media this morning that he will not run for a second term as president.
In an eight-minute message titled “My Decision” published just before 10 a.m, the president said: “The next December 10th, 2023, is the exact day our democracy turns 40. That day, I will give the presidential sash to whoever has been legitimately elected at the ballot box by popular vote.”
The president’s decision comes after months of evasiveness on the subject, during which Fernández indicated he would be “willing” to run for re-election - but refused to give a direct answer.
The announcement raises questions about who ruling, center-left Front for All coalition will field as its presidential candidate - with all eyes now on his embattled vice president, Cristina Kirchner, 70, who remains popular among the coalition's base.
Fernández, 64, inherited twin debt and economic crises from his right-wing predecessor, Mauricio Macri - who similarly bowed out of running last month.
“The have not been easy times,” the president lamented. “In 2019 we received an indebted country in recession, in default - and had to face a global pandemic, a war, and now, the consequences of a brutal drought.”
As already-high inflation doubled to 105%, and despite strong growth and employment numbers with 900,000 registered jobs added in three years (equivalent to 6.5 million in the U.S.), his approval ratings sank - hovering around 25% for the last two years.
At: https://buenosairesherald.com/politics/elections/breaking-president-alberto-fernandez-will-not-run-for-re-election
Argentine President Alberto Fernández enjoys a light moment during last night's reopening of the restored “Bridge House” - a Modernist architectural landmark.
Fernández, who, amid sky-high inflation, has endured low approval despite a strong recovery from the “Macrisis” inherited from his right-wing predecessor, has faced calls from his own coalition to opt out of running for re-election.
“It's clear we didn't accomplish all we set out to do,” the president lamented. “As a longtime Peronist, I've always known that first comes the nation, then the movement, and lastly, men” - a reference to one of populist leader Juan Perón's well-known aphorisms.
“The present economic context calls on me to concentrate all my efforts to attend to Argentina's difficult moment.”
