![]() Many analysts were surprised to see the public sparring between Fernandez and his vice president, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner (no relation), over social and economic policies following their party’s poor performance in the 2021 primary elections. This polarization has also manifested within parties. For instance, the Macri government was a leading critic of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s regime however, President Fernandez has undone many of his predecessor’s policies regarding Argentina-Venezuela relations. The divisiveness in Argentina, known commonly as la grieta, or the rift, has often led to democratic dysfunction and policy reversals whenever a new administration takes power. Political polarization is also a recurring problem. Recent high-profile political scandals include the 2018 Notebooks Case and the COVID-19-related “ VIP vaccination” episode. In 2020, Argentina ranked 78 out of 180 countries on Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index, tying with states including China and Kuwait. What political challenges does the country face?Īrgentina is considered one of the most stable democracies in Latin America, but the government faces several enduring challenges, including endemic corruption and low levels of public trust. In 2015, PRO leader Mauricio Macri was elected president and introduced a slate of pro-market policies and controversial austerity measures to revitalize the economy and resolve the country’s long-running debt dispute with foreign creditors. The latter two mainly draw support from the country’s urban centers and are considered emerging political forces. Additional notable parties include those in the growing Workers’ Left Front - Unity, an alliance of Trotskyist parties the parties that form the left-leaning Civic Coalition, of which former Minister of Finance Alfonso Prat-Gay is a member and the center-right Republican Proposal party (PRO). The party has fractured at times and its platforms have shifted over the years, but it has generally favored limiting spending to reduce the national debt, reforming the judicial system, promoting human rights, and now implementing a vocational training system. Today, it is a centrist, progressive party that draws its support largely from the urban middle class and comprises half of the Juntos por el Cambio (Together for Change) alliance, which now holds a congressional majority. The UCR has long been the main opposition of the Peronists and various military-led regimes, and its leaders have won the presidency close to ten times over the past century, most recently in 1999. The party has many factions, and its populist politics have evolved over the decades, but it continues to generally favor greater economic interventionism and social welfare spending. It was the largest party for nearly forty years until it lost its congressional majority in 2021, and it continues to draw support primarily from the working and lower classes. The center-left party-formerly known as the Peronist Party-is today part of a broader coalition called Frente de Todos (Front for All), which formed in 2019 to support the presidential campaign of Alberto Fernandez. There are two dominant and several emerging parties in Argentina. What are Argentina’s main political parties? Many experts say Peronism has fascist traits, but it remains the dominant political ideology in Argentina, and its leaders have not dismantled the country’s democracy during their time in office. Though popular, Peron became increasingly authoritarian, jailing political opponents and restricting press freedoms. Under Peron’s rule, the government intervened heavily in the economy, nationalizing the central bank and several large corporations, expanding health and welfare benefits, and paying off the country’s debt. Political historians attribute much of Peron’s appeal to the charisma of his second wife, Eva, known also as Evita, who advocated for greater labor rights and helped enact several reforms, including Argentina’s women’s suffrage law. His populist political movement, known as Peronism, draws most of its support from labor unions and the poor and working classes. Perhaps the most influential political figure in Argentina’s history is Juan Peron, a former military officer who was elected president three times in the post–World War II era. Among their concerns is that presidents can pass decrees that have the force of law, allowing them to bypass Congress. Some political analysts refer to the Argentine system as “ hyperpresidentialist ,” a tradition, they say, that stands in the way of needed democratic reforms. Since the 1930s, Argentina’s system of checks and balances has weakened, and political power has become increasingly centralized in the executive.
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