RIP Crazy Penguin

Yesterday morning, Nestor Kirchner died suddenly after suffering a series of heart attacks near his home in El Calafate. It was also a national holiday (census day), so there wasn't much else to do than watch the news and see what was happening. To be honest, after the first 45 minutes of watching I came to realize that there wasn't much to be said and that the channels were just going to repeat the news over and over again.

It's definitely a strange, surreal event - there are tons of pro-Kirchner supporters out there, but there are also so many people who are fed up with how CFK and Nestor manipulate and control things. No matter how you feel about them/him, I find it in poor taste to openly "celebrate" his passing (as I have seen via many comments and discussions on Facebook - of all places).

Even though I think the Kirchners are nuts when it comes to politics, and I was not looking forward to the prospect of his being elected next year, I get so sad when I think of his wife and children who are of course suffering in a big way right now.

This article from the New York Times is a nice summary of what the Kirchner world is all about.

I'll include a little excerpt:

"Mr. Kirchner’s death, coming on a national holiday to conduct the census, throws next year’s elections and the presidency of his wife and political partner, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, into a sudden state of flux. Not only did Mr. Kirchner and his popularity as president help her be elected, but he also exercised substantial influence behind the scenes of her government, playing a hands-on role in the running of the economy and recently serving as the head of their Peronist party.

Together they formed one of the world’s most powerful political couples, dubbed the “penguins” for Mr. Kirchner’s close association with his Patagonian home province, Santa Cruz. As president, Mrs. Kirchner was more often the public face of their partnership, while he was the master political operator, pulling the levers of the Peronist machinery. Mr. Kirchner held the disparate governing coalition intact by inspiring loyalty in lower-level politicians and unions with subsidies and patronage, and by growing the economy at a swift pace, even at the cost of inflation.

Many Argentines were also betting that he, not his wife, would run for president next year, part of what analysts frequently called the couple’s leap-frog strategy to create a lasting dynasty by passing the presidency between them for multiple terms."