Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner was re-elected on Sunday with 53.2 percent of the vote, a larger share of votes won than any president since the restoration of Argentina’s democracy in 1983. She will be the fifth Argentine president to govern the country for more than one term. Thousands of people flooded the streets of Buenos Aires in celebration. The president went to the Casa Rosada—seat of the executive branch of the Argentine government—to speak, celebrate and dance.
Four years ago, she became the first elected female president of Argentina after her late husband, Nestor Kirchner, concluded his term. Yesterday’s landslide victory and her popularity in the polls reflect her ability to forge her own political alliances. It also makes her the first Latin American woman to be re-elected president.
In her first speech as re-elected president, Kirchner reflected on the importance of her late husband and looked to the future. “Without him, it would have been impossible to arrive at this point,” she told the crowd, and added, “Count on me to continue developing the national project.”