Kirchnerism Kirchnerismo | |
|---|---|
 Néstor Kirchner (left) andCristina Fernández de Kirchner (right) served as Presidents of Argentina from 2003–2007 and 2007–2015, respectively. | |
| Leader | Cristina Fernández de Kirchner |
| Founder | Néstor Kirchner |
| Founded | 1 March 2003; 22 years ago (2003-03-01) |
| Headquarters | Buenos Aires |
| Youth wing | The Campora |
| Membership | Justicialist Party |
| Ideology | Peronism[1] Anti-neoliberalism[2][3][4] Social democracy[5][6][7] Left-wing populism[8][9] Progressivism[10] Socialism of the 21st century[11][12][13] Factions: K Radicalism[14] Socialism[15] Communism[16] Liberation theology[17] |
| Political position | Centre-left[18] toleft-wing[19] |
| National affiliation | Front for Victory (2003–2017) Citizen's Unity (2017–2019) Frente de Todos (2019–2023) Union for the Homeland (since 2023) |
| Seats in theChamber of Deputies | 90 / 257 |
| Seats in theSenate | 32 / 72 |
| Website | |
| www | |
Kirchnerism (Spanish:Kirchnerismo[kiɾʃneˈɾismo]) is an Argentinecentre-left toleft-wing political movement based on ideals formed by the supporters of spousesNéstor Kirchner andCristina Fernández de Kirchner, who consecutively served asPresidents of Argentina. Although considered a branch ofPeronism, it is opposed bysome factions of Peronists and generally considered to fall into the category ofleft-wing populism.[22] It is considered a representative of thesocialism of the 21st century,[23] although similarly to Peronism and in contrast to other left-wing ideologies, it is highly nationalist and populist rather than class-based.[24]
Although originally a section in theJusticialist Party, Kirchnerism later received support from other smallerArgentine political parties (like theCommunist Party or theHumanist Party) and from factions of some traditional parties (like theRadical Civic Union and theSocialist Party). In parties which are divided along Kirchnerist and anti-Kirchnerist lines, the members of the Kirchnerist faction are often distinguished with the letterK (for instance "peronistas K", "justicialistas K", "radicales K", or "socialistas K") while the anti-Kirchnerist factions, those opposing Kirchnerism, are similarly labelled with the expression "anti-K".
Both Kirchner and Fernández come from the left-wing of Peronism and both began their political careers as members of thePeronist Youth (Juventud Peronista). Many of the Kirchners' closest allies belong to the Peronist left. Anti-Kirchnerists often criticize this ideological background with the termsetentista ("seventies-ist"), suggesting that Kirchnerism is overly influenced by the populist struggle of the 1970s.
In its electoral campaigns, the Kirchnerist candidates combined the traditional elements of Peronism - nationalism, anti-imperialism, and economic redistribution. Similarly to classical Peronism, the support base of Kirchnerism became the working class, unemployed, and the new social movement. Kirchnerism is considered to be a part of the largerPink Tide in Latin America - a rise of left-wing populist movements.[25] Kirchnerism has also been described as similar to the ideologies of China and Venezuela -Socialism with Chinese Characteristics andchavismo.[26]
Kirchnerist policies have been described as progressive and left-wing; Kirchnerists pursued cooperation with Venezuela, Brazil and Cuba, denounced U.S. interventionist policies and strongly opposed the IMF and austerity measures. Considered assertively anti-neoliberal, Kirchnerist administrations subsidized social services - income transfers and healthcare systems were greatly expanded, most notably extending the free prescription drugs to 15 million people (about 41 percent of the country’s population).[27] They also pursued the traditional Peronist policy of intervening in union conflicts and providing state backing to wage increase demands. The period of Kirchnerist governments was the second longest Argentina had gone without general strikes, toppled only by the period Perón's governance (1946-1955).[28]
Initially, Kirchnerism has shown itself to be concerned with the defense ofhuman rights, particularly in prosecuting those who committed human rights violations during theDirty War and were later made immune from prosecution by the governments ofCarlos Menem (1989–1999). The willingness of the Kirchner government to revoke these immunities has led many Argentine pressure groups, such as theMadres de Plaza de Mayo andAbuelas de Plaza de Mayo, to take an actively Kirchnerist position.[29] This has led to many controversies and to allegations that the Kirchners were never fully committed to human rights, especially during the period of the last military dictatorship, and that it was only when Kirchner became President and began to make alliances with the left-wing parties in Congress and with the Madres de Plaza de Mayo that he started to campaign about these rights in order to promote his own platform and gain popular favor. It is documented nevertheless that the Kirchners did push for trial against human rights violators during the dictatorship, although late in that period in 1983, when its end was already in sight.[30]
Economically, Kirchnerism has pursued an economic policy ofindustrialistdevelopmentalism, andtariffs toprotect the local industry and employment. The movement was also characterized by actively developing economic relations with Brazil and Venezuela; it took an antagonistic position towards the IMF and the United States, denouncing both for imperialist policies and promoting austerity measures. Under Kirchner, the national economy started recovering, which resulted in economic growth and declining unemployment by 2003. This allowed Kirchnerism to become the dominant force of modern Peronism. Political scientists Bonvecchi and Zelaznik wrote: "Menem had converted Peronism from a labor-based party to a “neoliberal” force. Kirchner's agenda, contrary to Menem's, was in tune with the traditional state-centered Peronist preferences. Kirchner was therefore able to return Peronism to its political tradition." Kirchnerism came to be seen as a movement that "represents the current version of left Peronism, modernised for the times".[31]
Internationally, Kirchnerism has strongly supportedMercosur and vice versa, to the point that the President of Mercosur,Carlos Álvarez, is a Kirchnerist. One of the most prominent aims of Kirchnerism is to strengthen Argentine relations with the countries of Latin America and to establish a South American economic axis. Recent economic measures posited by Fernández's government have nevertheless hurt Argentina's relationship with these countries, mainlyBrazil[32] andUruguay, whose PresidentJosé "Pepe" Mujica expressed worries regarding Argentina going towards an "autarkist" form of government and the Kirchneristeconomic model "complicating relationships and multiplying difficulties" in bilateral commerce.[33] Kirchnerism, in particular former minister of healthGinés González García, has shown a liberal attitude tobirth control and sexuality, including the legalization ofsame-sex marriage, both of which have provoked the opposition of theCatholic Church and other conservative sectors.[34]
According toAlberto Fernández, the Chief of the Cabinet of Ministers during the first five years of Kirchnerism and formerPresident of Argentina, they followed five tenets regarding the economy, which explained the perceived early success of the movement:[35]
According to Fernández,Cristina Fernández de Kirchner moved away from these five tenets after her husband's death, causing an economic crisis that resulted in the first political defeat of Kirchnerism in a presidential election in 2015. In the presidential election of 2019, Kirchnerism returned to power with the election of Alberto Fernández as President and Cristina Kirchner as Vice President.[36][37] In the 2021 legislative elections on 14 November 2021, theFrente de Todos lost its majority in Congress for the first time in almost 40 years in midtermlegislative elections. The election victory of the center-right coalition,Juntos por el Cambio (Together for Change), meant a tough final two years in office for President Alberto Fernandez. Losing control of the Senate made it difficult for him to make key appointments, including to the judiciary. It also forced him to negotiate with the opposition every initiative he sent to the legislature.[38][39]
Ronaldo Munck described Kirchnerism as close toChavismo, includingleft-wing nationalism. Munck wrote that Kirchnerism is "clearly part of the anti-imperialist left".[40] Political scientists Gary Prevost and Carlos Oliva Campos state that Kirchnerism represents Peronism's return "to its traditional center-left stance" under Juan Perón, and note that under Kirchners, "Peronists have returned to a progressive orientation, distancing themselves almost completely from the decade-long neoliberal detour under Carlos Menem."[41] Economically, Kirchnerist governments pursued a redistributive agenda based on promoting the interests of organized labor. Like classical Peronism, Kirchnerism relies on the support of the informal sector workers and the unemployed (the piqueteros), the poor, and trade unions. Kirchnerism promoted fair redistribution of income and nationalization - to this end, Kirchnerism "openly defied the IMF and international creditors", restored price controls and state ownership of public utilities, increased the minimum wage, and removed legal restrictions from collective labor strikes.[42]
Prevost and Campos argue that Kirchnerism was protectionist and state interventionist, much like Perón. The unique trait of Kirchnerism was its focus on anti-neoliberalism, postulating the need to move away from neoliberal Menemism and reverse its policies.[42] It was also described aseconomically nationalist,[43] andsocialist.[44] Kirchnerism, similarly to movements such asLulism, is seen as a response and a counter to neoliberalism; some political scientists propose the term ‘Pink Tide neopopulism’ to describe such movements, as opposed to the neoliberal populism of the 1990s.[45] Javier Franzé wrote: "Kirchnerism gave rise to a phase of wealth redistribution comparable only to Yrigoyenism and the initial Peronism, relying pragmatically on soybean income and debt payment to the IMF to achieve political independence."[46]
On foreign policy, Kirchnerism displays nationalist and anti-Western tendencies, denouncing the United States and the IMF. Kirchnerist governments are allies of the Venezuelan presidentsHugo Chávez andNicolas Maduro, and pursued economic and political ties with Venezuela as well as Cuba. This was combined with an anti-American rhetoric, as the Kirchnerist administrations accused the USA of interference in Latin American affairs, and strongly opposed thewar on drugs, especially in the aspects that spilled over into Latin America.[41] Both Nestor Kirchner and Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner "moved to break the popular conception that political parties and the government mainly heed the interests of the international creditors and global markets, not of the Argentinians"; because of this, Kirchnerism frequently targets "IMF, foreign and domestic capitalists, bondholders and the military" in both policies and rhetoric.[42] Raimundo Frei Toledo argues that Kirchnerism "broke the ‘Washington consensus’ when, together with other leftist Latin American leaders (e.g. Chavez, Lula), he rejected theALCA and disobeyed the IMF's guidelines, thereby enhancing national pride and connecting Argentina to the Latin American community."[47]
Unlike his predecessorEduardo Duhalde, Kirchner was a Peronist that distrusted the Justicialist Party as a support for his government. He proposed instead a "transversalist" policy, seeking the support ofprogressive politicians regardless of their party.[48] Thus he got support from factions of the Justicialist Party, theRadical Civic Union (which were called "Radicales K") and smallcentre-left parties.
Kirchner neglected the internal politics of the Justicialist Party and kept instead theFront for Victory party, which was initially an electoral alliance in his homeprovince ofSanta Cruz and in the2003 elections premiered in the federal political scene. Some politicians favored by this policy wereAníbal Ibarra, mayor of Buenos Aires for theBroad Front and supported as Kirchnerist; andJulio Cobos, governor of Mendoza for the UCR and elected as Vice President ofFernández de Kirchner in 2007.
The transversalist project was eventually dismissed. Kirchner took control of the Justicialist Party and some "Radicales K", slowly returned to the "anti-K" faction of their party, most notably Vice PresidentJulio Cobos and Governor ofCatamarca provinceEduardo Brizuela del Moral, while other very prominent Radical politicians remained in the "K" wing of theRadical Civic Union such as provincial governorsGerardo Zamora ofSantiago del Estero,Ricardo Colombi ofCorrientes andMiguel Saiz ofRío Negro. After the2011 general elections, several K radicals regretted having been part of that political space, turning once again to the opposition UCR. Such is the case ofMiguel Saiz, former governor of Río Negro, who declared: "My commitment to the Concertación ended in December 2011".
In March 2015, dissatisfied with the UCR's alliance withMauricio Macri'sRepublican Proposal (PRO), theNational Alfonsinist Movement (MNA) led byLeopoldo Moreau joined the Front for Victory. For this reason,Ernesto Sanz, the president of the UCR, announced the expulsion of Moreau from the party.[49] ProfessorGustavo Melella was reelected as mayor of the city of Río Grande in 2015, through theFORJA Concertación Party. During the presidency ofAlberto Fernández,Ricardo Alfonsin was appointed as the Ambassador to Spain.
| Election year | Candidate | First round | Second round | Result | Note | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. of votes | % vote | No. of votes | % vote | ||||
| 2003 | Néstor Kirchner | 4,312,517 | 22.25 | Null | 0 |  Y2nd-round unopposed | WithinFront for Victory |
| 2007 | Cristina Kirchner | 8,651,066 | 45.29 | YElected | |||
| 2011 | 11,865,055 | 54.11 | YElected | ||||
| 2015 | Daniel Scioli | 9,338,490 | 37.08 | 12,317,330 | 48.66 |  N2nd-round defeated | |
| 2019 | Alberto Fernandez | 12,946,037 | 48.24 | YElected | WithinEveryone's Front | ||
| 2023 | Sergio Massa | 9,387,184 | 36.38 | 11,598,720 | 44.35 | N2nd-round defeated | WithinUnion for the Homeland |
| Election year | Votes | % | Seats won | Total seats | Position | Presidency | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 5,511,420 | 35.1 | 58 / 130 | 129 / 257 | Majority | Eduardo Duhalde (PJ) | including the other PJ factions |
| 2005 | 5,071,094 | 29.9 | 50 / 127 | 75 / 257 | Minority | Néstor Kirchner (FPV—PJ) | |
| 2007 | 5,557,087 | 56 / 130 | 106 / 257 | Minority | Néstor Kirchner (FPV—PJ) | ||
| 2009 | 1,679,084 | 8.8 | 14 / 127 | 70 / 257 | Minority | Cristina Kirchner (FPV—PJ) | |
| 2011 | 10,121,311 | 49.1 | 76 / 130 | 90 / 257 | Minority | Cristina Kirchner (FPV—PJ) | |
| 2013 | 7,487,839 | 33.2 | 42 / 127 | 132 / 257 | Majority | Cristina Kirchner (FPV—PJ) | |
| 2015 | 8,237,074 | 60 / 130 | 96 / 257 | Minority | Cristina Kirchner (FPV—PJ) | ||
| 2019 | 11,606,411 | 45.3 | 64 / 130 | 119 / 257 | Minority | Alberto Fernández (FdT—PJ) | |
| 2023 | 8,252,357 | 33.62 | 48 / 130 | 99 / 257 | Minority | Sergio Massa (UP—FR) |
| Election year | Votes | % | Seats won | Total seats | Position | Presidency | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 1,852,456 | 40.7 | 13 / 24 | 41 / 72 | Majority | Eduardo Duhalde (PJ) | Including the other PJ factions |
| 2005 | 3,572,361 | 45.1 | 14 / 24 | 14 / 72 | Minority | Néstor Kirchner (FPV—PJ) | |
| 2007 | 1,048,187 | 8 / 24 | 22 / 72 | Minority | Néstor Kirchner (FPV—PJ) | ||
| 2009 | 756,695 | 4 / 24 | 12 / 72 | Minority | Cristina Kirchner (FPV—PJ) | ||
| 2011 | 5,470,241 | 54.6 | 13 / 24 | 24 / 72 | Minority | Cristina Kirchner (FPV—PJ) | |
| 2013 | 1,608,866 | 32.1 | 11 / 24 | 40 / 72 | Majority | Cristina Kirchner (FPV—PJ) | |
| 2015 | 2,336,037 | 32.72 | 12 / 24 | 39 / 72 | Majority | Cristina Kirchner (FPV—PJ) | |
| 2019 | 2,263,221 | 40.16 | 13 / 24 | 39 / 72 | Majority | Alberto Fernández (FdT—PJ) | |
| 2021 | 7,47,,030 | 31.67 | 9 / 24 | 35 / 72 | Majority | Alberto Fernández (FdT—PJ) | |
| 2023 | 4,739,859 | 40.82 | 10 / 24 | 33 / 72 | Minority | Sergio Massa (UP—FR) |
Kirchnerism has encountered opposition from various sectors of Argentine society, which tend to criticize its personalism.[50] In 2012, there was a massive anti-Kirchnerism protest in several cities within Argentina and also in several Argentinian embassies around the world. It became known as8N. In 2015, whenForeign Policy was discussing corruption in Latin America it was stated:[51]
The viceroys of the colonial era set the pattern. They centralised power and bought the loyalty of local interest groups. ...Caudillos,dictators and elected presidents continued the tradition of personalising power. Venezuela'schavismo and thekirchnerismo of Ms Fernández are among today's manifestations.
In an editorial published in October 2015,The Economist expressed the following view about the situation in Argentina:[52]
Argentina needs change. As Ms Fernández slips out of office the economy is starting to crumble. Currency controls and trade restrictions ... are choking productivity; inflation hovers at around 25%. ... Argentina cannot seek external financing until it ends its standoff with creditors who rejected a debt-restructuring plan. Unless the new president quickly reverses Ms Fernández's populist policies, a crisis is inevitable.
First, the left-populist kirchnerista camp, by far the dominant faction, includes territorially rooted social movements, dissident unions and La Cámpora, a powerful and combative youth wing led by the Kirchners' son.
This socialism of the XXI century, overflowed the Venezuelan experience and became a trend that took greater force throughout Latin America, especially in Ecuador with its President Rafael Correa, in Bolivia implemented by its president Evo Morales and in Argentina initially with Néstor Kirchner and later with his wife Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, as well as in Nicaragua, El Salvador, Uruguay. This ideological conception sought primarily to give responses to the serious problem of underdevelopment in which the region lives due to the social imbalances, injustice and inequality (Hamburger, 2014).
In terms of South America, three years ago it had three centre-right governments (those of Juan Manuel Santos in Colombia, Horacio Cartes in Paraguay and Sebastián Piñera in Chile), three centre-left governments (Ollanta Humala in Peru, Dilma Rousseff in Brazil and José Mujica in Uruguay) and four of the similarly heterogeneous, Socialism of the 21st century and allies (Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela, Rafael Correa in Ecuador, Evo Morales in Bolivia and Cristina Kirchner in Argentina).
La cuestión central no es, entonces, disfrazar con más palabras lo que en realidad se puede llamar por su nombre: Néstor Kirchner practica una suerte de nacionalismo de izquierda, que Hugo Chávez denomina el "socialismo del siglo XXI".
This impact achieved an unprecedented point even exceeding the party divisions, in that certain groups from rival parties such as the UCR, PS (Partido Socialista - Socialist Party), and CPA (Partido Comunista de la Argentina - Communist Party of Argentina) identify themselves with Kirchnerism.
This impact achieved an unprecedented point even exceeding the party divisions, in that certain groups from rival parties such as the UCR, PS (Partido Socialista - Socialist Party), and CPA (Partido Comunista de la Argentina - Communist Party of Argentina) identify themselves with Kirchnerism.
This impact achieved an unprecedented point even exceeding the party divisions, in that certain groups from rival parties such as the UCR, PS (Partido Socialista - Socialist Party), and CPA (Partido Comunista de la Argentina - Communist Party of Argentina) identify themselves with Kirchnerism.
Leftist elements (e.g., kirchneristas), however, do periodically control the ideologically shifty PJ.
Often described as a leftist splinter sect of Peronism (which by all accounts, is left-of-center to begin with), Kirchnerism began with the presidency of Néstor Kirchner in 2003.
Additionally, the incumbent vice-president is Kirchner, which only strengthens the belief that the Peronists' influence in the state, in its variant, already referred to as Kirchnerism, has been preserved, even if Kirchnerism is not endorsed by many politicians self-identifying as Peronists, mainly because of its strongly leftist and populist profile.
Speaking to thousands of supporters in a packed soccer stadium, Mrs. Kirchner stumped for the candidates who will represent her left-wing coalition, the FPV, in October's vote.
An immediate change in the relationship between the Coya and the national government appears to have taken place as the relatively supportive socialist Kirchner administration made way in December 2015 for the new government headed by the distinctly neo-liberal conservative incumbent Mauricio Macri.
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