International
Senator appointed Argentine President
By Sridhar Krishnaswami
WASHINGTON, JAN. 2. Argentina has picked the fifth President in two weeks as Mr. Eduardo Duhalde, a senior Senator from the Peronist Party, has settled into office for a period of two years. By a vote of 262 to 21 and with 18 abstentions, the legislature appointed Mr. Duhalde to finish the term vacated by Mr. Fernando de la Rua who quit office on Dec. 20 amidst violent clashes that left at least 30 persons dead. Since then, there have been three Presidents.
The consensus has been that Argentina is in a mess and short of a national unity, Government matters are heading for the worse. Apparently, the Peronists and the Left parties have come to an understanding to come together with the specifics of political and economic policies to be announced later. ``Argentina is bankrupt. Argentina is sunk. This model, in its agony, has dragged everyone down with it'', Mr. Duhalde has been quoted as telling law makers.
With the country reeling under a $ 135-billion foreign debt, Mr. Duhalde has taken the populist course of saying that he will be sticking to the earlier stance of not making debt repayments. Other than the suspension of the debt payments, it is not clear how Mr. Duhalde is going to take Argentina out of the mess it is in. ``We need international understanding and cooperation'', the new leader said.
One of the most urgent tasks on hand for the new Government is to deal with the strict banking regulations that have now been put in place, including limits on withdrawals. ``The state won't allow depositors to be victims of the financial system'', Mr. Duhalde remarked setting in motion new thinking on the restrictions that are in place.
Analysts believe Mr. Duhalde's call for international ``understanding and cooperation'' will, to a very large extent, depend on what the Government in Buenos Aires does in the next several days.
The interim Government of Mr. Adolfo Rodriguez Saa got off to an expected start only to falter within days in the face of determined political opposition and street battles. Mr. Rodriguez Saa quit blaming the political lobbies for standing in the way of genuine reforms needed in exceptional times.
Much of how Argentina bounces back will depend on how Mr. Duhalde and his economic team deal with the issues of debt restructuring and the currency crisis especially as it pertains to the relationship between the peso and the dollar.
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