Argentina's First Lady Christina Fernandez de Kirchner has become her country's first elected woman president. Having easily won the presidential vote, she will swap jobs with her husband, President Nestor Kirchner, in December.
The only other woman to hold the post, Isabel Peron, succeeded her late husband and never actually won an election. With tears in her eyes and music that sounded like the grand finale of a Hollywood movie in the background, Argentina's new president addressed her people with a special 'thank you' to women. “I want to thank all the women of Argentina for their support and votes. I feel I have a double responsibility, I know I have a tremendous responsibility to my gender.” she said. In general, Buenos Aires was unusually calm for an election night. Perhaps because throughout the campaign the polls predicted Christina Kirchner would win, many Argentines decided to watch the results at home. Her critics say she is haughty and authoritarian. Some economists argue the Kirchners have lied about the country’s economic recovery. They say she has no clear plan for tackling inflation and poverty. But the poor, who make up a quarter of the country’s population, provide a large number of her supporters. They want her to stick to the same socialist policies as her husband. “Not much will change. She’s going to continue the same economic plan as her husband. Some Argentines are afraid that the multi-nationals are going to end up having more power than the people. We’ve got to wait and see if that’ll happen,” commented journalist Gabriella Carchak.