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President Macri and the Argentine Political Stability.


By Ricardo López Göttig

 In December 2015 assumed President Mauricio Macri in Argentina, after twelve years of three successive governments of the Peronists Néstor Kirchner (2003-2007) and his wife, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner (2007-2011, 2011-2015). The great surprise of the general elections was the triumph of Mrs. María Eugenia Vidal as the first female governor of the Province of Buenos Aires, the most populated of the country, after 24 years of Peronist administrations.
Nevertheless, the electoral coalition Cambiemos (Let's Change) obtained the first minority in the Chamber of Deputies, and just a third of the Senate. The upper house, since the restoration of constitutional order, has a Peronist majority. Last year, in October, the coalition Cambiemos won at the midterm elections in the most populated provinces, strengthening and expanding the number of seats in both chambers of the Congress.
President Macri and Governor Vidal have many challenges: reduce high public spending and inflation rates, promote private investments, and provide a new infrastructure of public services to the citizens: roads, hospitals, schools, and so on. But the main and long term challenge is to defeat populist tendencies and corruption. Many former public officials are prosecuted because of malversation of public funds, and the long list include millionaire trade unionists that cannot explain their huge fortunes. These maffias are loudly calling for the immediate cese of the President in office. President Macri and Governor Vidal end their actual mandates in December 2019, and elections will be held probably in October next year. Ruefully, they are suggesting a civil coup against the democratic institutions.
Open society requires a critical attitude towards Government and politicians, and that is positive in order to limit power and preserve individual liberties. However, populist forces are promoting a dangerous atmosphere of instability, seeking the end of judicial prosecutions. It is clear and evident that impunity of corruption would mean a fake Rule of Law.
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