Crucial senate vote has Argentina on edge
Things are getting pretty tense here today as the senate convenes for the crucial vote on the sliding-scale export duties which have so enraged the farmers and pitted the nation in two halves.
As it stands now, the vote is more or less even, with five, check, three senators still undecided. The question is not only whether or not the draft bill will be approved, but if it is, whether or not it's amended to include concessions to the farmers.
President Cristina Fernández, and her husband and Peronist party leader Néstor Kirchner, want the bill passed as is. That attitude has not only angered the farmers, but everybody else who feels that democracy isn't being served when the executive hands down an ukase to the legislators.
That said, I think (and many people I've spoken to agree) that despite four months of strife and strikes the conflict has strengthened Argentina's institutions and made it a more democratic country. The simple fact that a crisis like this hasn't led to a fall of the government or a military coup (despite the Kirchners' insisting that the farmers were fomenting one) is an achievement in itself.
But this conflict and its culmination in yesterday's 200,000 strong march against government policy, has created alliances between rich and poor and between town and country which were deemed unthinkable just four months ago. That rally eclipsed the 90,000 who marched on Congress to support the Kirchners.
It means that a future government will think twice before undermining the importance of the agricultural sector, which in turn means that federalism has been strengthened. That's a healthy sign after five years of Néstor Kirchner co-opting just about every provincial governor by controlling the federal revenue tap.
Another good sign is the fact that these issues have reached Congress. It took more than 100 days of protest to force Cristina Fernández to accept that her March 11 decree even be submitted to the scrutiny of the legislative power. Although the house of Deputies approved the draft more or less intact, it took much persuading by the government as many of those once presumed Kirchner loyalists, suddenly saw themselves faced with angry constituents.
The same goes for the senate. Again, on paper the president has a majority but it's become painfully clear for Cristina that in practice rubber stamping is out of the question.
By midnight we should know just how much Mrs Kirchner has had to sacrifice, so stay tuned for the result.
Before the vote in the House of Deputies I spoke to the US national breakfast show The Takeaway about the conflict. Listen here.
Meanwhile, here are some pics I took yesterday of both rallies.
As it stands now, the vote is more or less even, with five, check, three senators still undecided. The question is not only whether or not the draft bill will be approved, but if it is, whether or not it's amended to include concessions to the farmers.
President Cristina Fernández, and her husband and Peronist party leader Néstor Kirchner, want the bill passed as is. That attitude has not only angered the farmers, but everybody else who feels that democracy isn't being served when the executive hands down an ukase to the legislators.
That said, I think (and many people I've spoken to agree) that despite four months of strife and strikes the conflict has strengthened Argentina's institutions and made it a more democratic country. The simple fact that a crisis like this hasn't led to a fall of the government or a military coup (despite the Kirchners' insisting that the farmers were fomenting one) is an achievement in itself.
But this conflict and its culmination in yesterday's 200,000 strong march against government policy, has created alliances between rich and poor and between town and country which were deemed unthinkable just four months ago. That rally eclipsed the 90,000 who marched on Congress to support the Kirchners.
It means that a future government will think twice before undermining the importance of the agricultural sector, which in turn means that federalism has been strengthened. That's a healthy sign after five years of Néstor Kirchner co-opting just about every provincial governor by controlling the federal revenue tap.
Another good sign is the fact that these issues have reached Congress. It took more than 100 days of protest to force Cristina Fernández to accept that her March 11 decree even be submitted to the scrutiny of the legislative power. Although the house of Deputies approved the draft more or less intact, it took much persuading by the government as many of those once presumed Kirchner loyalists, suddenly saw themselves faced with angry constituents.
The same goes for the senate. Again, on paper the president has a majority but it's become painfully clear for Cristina that in practice rubber stamping is out of the question.
By midnight we should know just how much Mrs Kirchner has had to sacrifice, so stay tuned for the result.
Before the vote in the House of Deputies I spoke to the US national breakfast show The Takeaway about the conflict. Listen here.
Meanwhile, here are some pics I took yesterday of both rallies.
posted by PIT @ 12:00 PM
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