Neoliberalism is losing somewhere

When Oliver Stone shot South of the Border, he went first to Venezuela to see if Hugo Chavez was really the monster being portrayed in the USA media.  Chavez suggested Stone visit the rest of the new breed of Latin American leaders and one of the stops was Argentina.  In my favorite part of the documentary, we are introduced to the Kirchners.  Nestor will go down in history as one of those few brave enough to ignore the dictates of the banksters.  To ignore the economic conventional wisdom means knowing the subject well enough to independently formulate policy.  Kirchner led Argentina out of an economic catastrophe.

At his side, was Christina--this brilliant little firecracker who understood the anti-bankster economics of her husband well enough to explain it to the uninitiated.  In 2007, she won election as Argentina's Prime Minister because Nestor faced a term-limit law.  Stone's doc had opened when he dies in October 2010.  She seems to be doing quite well on her own and has just won an election that solidifies her power.  She will need all the help she can get--the banksters don't like successful examples of countries who prosper outside their complete control.

Argentina's Fernandez hand strengthened by primary

By Hilary Burke and Luis Andres Henao
BUENOS AIRES | Mon Aug 15, 2011 6:04pm EDT 

(Reuters) - Center-left Argentine President Cristina Fernandez looks set to win a second term in October and deepen her interventionist policies after thrashing rivals in a primary election, results showed on Monday. 

With almost all of the votes counted, Fernandez had just over 50 percent support -- 38 percentage points ahead of her closest contenders, centrist congressman Ricardo Alfonsin and former President Eduardo Duhalde. 

Sunday's primary vote was effectively a nationwide opinion poll because the parties had already chosen their candidates and voters could cast ballots for any of them. 

Fernandez has rankled Wall Street by imposing price controls, nationalizing private pension funds and publishing inflation data far below private estimates. 

But Argentine voters put her on track for a first-round triumph on October 23, when she will need just over 45 percent support to win outright. 

Markets barely reacted to the primary landslide since her expected re-election is already priced in to Argentine assets. 

Although Latin America's third-largest economy is booming, Fernandez faces major challenges. She will have to tame high inflation without hurting growth, cut spending, and find a way to repay debt without draining central bank reserves. 

Asked on Monday how she plans to cover debt payments next year, Fernandez alluded to doubts over U.S. and European financial woes. "Talking about next year in today's world is like talking about something two centuries away." 

She said her government has adopted a mix of orthodox and unorthodox measures to overcome obstacles in the past, telling reporters many of these steps "were not understood." 

"When we have a clearer view of the global scenario ... we will take whatever measures are needed, as we've always done." 

Fernandez also urged Congress to pass her bill to limit foreign land ownership, pushing ahead with a policy initiative aimed at strengthening Argentine control over its farmland and other natural resources. more