Gamal Nkrumah on the remarkable rise of women in the South American political scene It was no vicious fight. It was a ladylike contest between two women presidential hopefuls. One was assured victory, and the other graciously conceded defeat. First Lady and now President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner reaped 45 per cent of the vote in the 28 October Argentine presidential elections, a 20 per cent lead over her nearest rival MP Elisa Carrio. The two rivals are poles apart: they have radically different personas and their political posturing reflects diametrically opposed ideological leanings. Carrio, a former beauty queen, is now well past her prime. Kirchner, on the other hand, is something of an ugly duckling, now lithe and impeccably dressed to the point of being dubbed a "fashionista" by ABC news, a dark-haired, swarthy beauty. Kirchner comes across as deadly serious, Carrio as a comic-strip capitalist. Upon winning the presidential race Kirchner lost no time in declaring that her top priorities would be eliminating poverty, tackling unemployment head on and pushing for Latin American economic integration and political solidarity -- perhaps even Bolivarian unification Hugo Chavez-style. Neighbouring Chile also has its Amazon at the helm, the indomitable socialist Michelle Bachelet. However, with the legacy of arch-capitalist General Pinochet lurking, her hands are not as free as her comrade across the Andes. As South America shifts leftward, there are competing efforts to unite the continent. Mercosur (which includes Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay) officially invited Venezuela to join, a clear signal of the lining up of the lefties. Chile, a founding member of the US- instigated Free Trade Area of the Americas, is unfortunately unable to join its comrades, even with its socialist president, at least not yet. Bachelet is an agnostic polyglot (she speaks English, French, German, Portuguese and her native Spanish) who espouses free market policies, but insists on increasing social benefits and closing the gap between rich and poor in Chile, which has one of the widest disparities in income in the world. Kirchner, too, hopes to close the income differential gap in her own country Argentina. However, the Wall Street Journal accuses Kirchner of being "anti-market", an accolade she is proud of. She does not shy away from her radical left-wing political past. Both these Amazons of the Americas are middle-aged and at the pinnacle of their political careers. They have a socio-political agenda. And, they are determined to succeed. The socialist South American women presidents have a more ambivalent attitude to the United States than their male counterparts -- militant leftist leaders such as Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez or his Bolivian counterpart Evo Morales. They are even more pragmatic than Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva. False assumptions about them abound. First, they are no angels, nor are they cast in the mold of Castro or Chavez. Yes, they are infinitely more humane and civilised than the brutish military strongmen that ruled their countries with a repressive iron rod barely two decades ago. The trigger-happy generals have been silenced and subdued. The Amazons owe their rise to power to the radical democratic changes that swept the region a decade ago, and they know it. They all suffered to varying degrees under the oppressive yoke of the juntas of the past. The Argentine Amazon is conscious of the painful legacy of the 1976-83 "dirty war" the military waged against the Argentine people -- hundreds of thousands of her compatriots were killed, tortured, psychologically scarred, physically maimed, injured and disappeared. She also understands that a healing process is underway. The atrocities of the past can neither be forgotten nor forgiven, but life must go on -- and go on as never before. In a touching instance of poetic justice, upon coming to office, her Chilean counterpart, Bachelet, pursued the infamous General Pinochet who had imprisoned and tortured both her and her mother in the notorious Villa Grimaldi in 1975 to the end. Unfortunately Pinochet died in December 2006 before he was brought to book. The Amazons of the Americas have the hang of democracy's inner workings and know how it can promote social justice. They are conscious of creating a new political establishment in their respective countries and in the continent as a whole. Their plans for the Americas are radical. Moreover, they are not afraid of taking on the United States. They firmly believe that the relationship between Latin America and the US must be based on equality and mutual respect. Latin America, they understand, is no longer America's backyard. Kirchner, for instance, is planning to go ahead with an economic restructuring programme despite objections from the US. But Washington is in no position to dictate. Kirchner wants to hold Argentine business accountable to Argentina's democratic institutions. There are some advantages to being an insider, and Kirchner does not shirk her responsibilities towards her country's poor. Many of her people, especially the disadvantaged, have welcomed these measures as brave and sound. Kirchner has political acumen. She was aware that there were no obvious candidates waiting in the wings. She knows that she is the second woman president of Argentina, but Kirchner goes down in history as the first elected Argentine woman president. As she takes office on 10 December, the politically astute lawyer acknowledges that she walks in the footsteps of Evita Peron. Kirchner is a Peronista and she is also aware of the pivotal importance of the feminisation of politics to counter the bloody machismo heritage of the generals and the juntas. "Our society needs women to be more numerous in decision-making positions and in entrepreneurial areas. We always have to pass a twofold test: first, to prove that, though women, we are no idiots and second, the test everybody has to pass," Kirchner explained. She is also aware of Argentina's international standing. How this is to reflect on its future foreign policy is not entirely clear -- especially as it concerns the Middle East. A clue, though, can be gleaned from her comments on the rise in anti-Zionist incidents in Argentina, home to the third largest Jewish community in the world. "You can be sure that all and each one of us who have institutional responsibilities will raise not only our voice, but will take concrete action against any sign of anti-Semitism," Kirchner declared. All this seems directed at a slightly different audience, perhaps a calculating overture. It was reprted that in 2006 over 580 anti-Semitic incidents occured in Argentina. Argentina witnessed the bombing of its third largest synagogue in 1994, when 85 people were killed. In 1992, the detonation of a car bomb near the Israeli Embassy in the Argentine capital Buenos Aires killed 29 and injured 242 Argentines and Israelis. Argentina has nuclear technology, and many Middle Eastern countries are interested in doing business with the energy- deficient South American rising star. Kirchner, for the time being, seems focussed on domestic concerns, but it would be interesting to gauge her thoughts on foreign policy issues.
