Argentina’s first lady claims victory in presidential elections

Fernandez, often called the new Evita or Argentina’s Hillary Clinton, is the first of the famous first ladies to won the presidential election and the first elected woman president in the country’s history. Fernandez is often compared to Eva ‘Evita’ Peron, wife of former President Juan Peron in the mid-20th century and became an icon of the times. But Fernandez may have more in common with Clinton: both are lawyers and senators and married to former governors, who became presidents. The difference is that Fernandez has won the presidential election, while Clinton is campaigning for the Democratic candidate for next year’s US presidential election.

Fernandez, 54, a mother of two, loved political debate in her teenage and studied law. She met Nestor Kirchner in law school and the two later got married. Since then they formed a tight political partnership. She has served in provincial and national legislatures and became a senator. As a senator, she was better known than her husband and was believed to have a strong influence on her husband after he took presidency in 2003.

Some analysts attributed Fernandez’s victory to her husband, whose government was credited with pulling the nation’s economy out of the 2001-02 crisis. Nominated by her husband as a presidential candidate, Fernandez said in her campaign that she would run on her husband’s policy, strive for steady economic growth, narrow the gap between the rich and the poor to realize social equity. Some critics said that her heavy make-up and expensive clothes sometimes attract more attention than her policies, but Fernandez said she just likes to “cake on the makeup.” (people.com.cn)