Kirchnerism has used every trick in the book to have an “artistic outreach” that defends the virtues of the “national and popular” model. Telenovelas on Argentine state channels, mega entertainment events on national holidays with millionaire tax-funded artists and rock concerts financed by taxpayers’ money. In one way or another, there was a lot of money floating around in the relationship between the administration and Kirchner-supporting artists, who enjoyed lucrative contracts with the Argentine state.
One of the more obsequious manifestations of this involves the 2003 to 2015 relationship between the Kirchner administrations and the rock band La Mancha de Rolando. Their live performances over the course the last decade were generously peppered with slogans of Kirchnerism, such as “Clarín lies” and the group enjoyed a close relationship with top Kirchner administration officials. One of them, former Vice President Amado Boudou, is today imprisoned, serving a sentence for corruption.
The latest national news with respect to La Mancha de Rolando was a claim that the Argentine State, now headed by Mauricio Macri’s Cambiemos party, owes them for unpaid concerts. The group claimed they were owed for fifteen concerts, but in the end they were only paid for seven. Now they are back in the news for putting music to the launch of the Cristina Fernández de Kirchner 2019 presidential campaign.
The glorious song, which they uploaded to social media, is called “Fuerza Cristina” and has images of the ex-president in her speeches and appearances by Kirchnerista icons such as Juan Cabandié, and even Boudou himself playing the guitar.
“We are going to the front, with dignity and joy
supported by the people, we’re still going
a country that grows, it’s a dream come true Argentina
together more than ever, strength Cristina”
Campaign launch?
So far the former president has not publicly announced her candidacy, and it is unknown if the song had her approval and will be the music for next year’s election campaign. For now, the new political party that formed for the legislative elections of 2017, Unidad Ciudadana, has not yet confirmed the candidacy of the widow of Néstor Kirchner. Meanwhile, her presence in the opposition continues to be a favorable development for the Macri administration.
The reason for this is that the Peronist opposition is now divided between those who view Kirchner as an unfavorable trainwreck, and the die-hard supporters of her ideology: largely poor and working class Argentines, and socialists.
According to recent surveys, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner has a 58% unfavorability rating, and 39% favorability, a situation that is similar to that of current president Mauricio Macri.
Macri has had a rough year, with the Argentine peso collapsing under his watch, as investors moved decidedly against emerging market currencies. He was forced to call on the IMF for a major bailout, as the Argentine peso lost over half of its value to the dollar, plunging from the high teens to over 40 pesos per dollar.
The peso appears to have stabilized, currently hovering around 35, but major macroeconomic factors are causing concerns to international investors, and overshadowing Macri’s reelection bid. Kirchner is trying to capitalize on discontent with Macri, and promising to spend more on social services.