Mauricio Macri on Thursday inaugurated as new Argentine President, succeeding Cristina Fernandez.
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Rather than exiting the presidential stage gracefully, Ms Fernandez has been embroiled in a war of words with the incoming administration and will not be present at the ceremony on Thursday. The 56-year-old Macri, his wife and daughter were escorted by horse-riding guards through streets packed with cheering supporters waving the national flag and yellow balloons, the color of Macri’s “Let’s Change” alliance.
In his inaugural speech, Macri vowed to battle Argentina’s biggest problems as a country, which include corruption, poverty, and drug trafficking. “Today a dream is being achieved”, Macri said as he took the oath of office 15 minutes ahead of schedule.
His victory has political analysts talking about a possible “realignment” in Argentine politics. Peronism is a now a fragmented force but many Argentines who in the same breath voice support and disdain for it have tended to turn to it in times of political and economic turmoil.
He promised to universalize the scope of the social programs so that there is not a single hungry child in Argentina, to broaden and boost the economy so that the people have work and to create an inclusive education with more coverage, adjusted to the current times to help young graduates to find jobs easily.
At the close of an often-divisive eight-year presidency, Ms. Fernández appeared to be trying to complicate the transition to Mr. Macri, making a string of controversial moves during her last days in office.
Kirchner, 62, insisted that the whole thing could be done at Congress – in line with the constitution and the tradition she and Nestor set out, she argued.
He said: “The country has people who think differently but it is not divided”. “What we had under Fernandez was an very bad autocracy”, she added, echoing a complaint of Fernandez’s critics that the former president listened only to a small inner circle. Among them were the presidents of Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Colombia plus the former king of Spain, Juan Carlos.
At every step, Macri will likely have to contend with Fernandez, albeit now with the power of the presidency. “They’re leaving behind a complicated legacy”, Prat-Gay told reporters outside Congress.
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“To believe that relations with Great Britain are limited to the Malvinas issue is to say the least an “over simplification”. but this does not mean we have to cancel all dialogue with the United Kingdom”.
