adminhistory after her government spread the wealth of a booming economy.
Kirchner had 53 percent of the vote after 58 percent of polling stations reported.
Her nearest challenger got 17 percent.
The interior minister, Florencio Randazzo, predicted the president’s share would rise as polls came in from her party’s stronghold of densely populated Buenos Aires province.
“Count on me to continue pursuing the project,” Kirchner said in her victory speech.
“All I want is to keep collaborating . . . to keep Argentina growing. I want to keep changing history.”
Kirchner is Latin America’s first woman to be re-elected as president but the victory was personally bittersweet – the first without her husband and predecessor, Néstor Kirchner, who died of a heart attack on October 27 2010.
Kirchner vowed to protect Argentina from outside threats or special interests.
“This woman isn’t moved by any interest. The only thing that moves her is profound love for the country. Of that I’m responsible,” Kirchner said.
Most voters polled beforehand said they wanted government stability to keep their financial situations improving in what has been one of Argentina’s longest spells of economic growth in history.
Kirchner (58) chose her youthful economy minister, Amado Boudou, as her running mate.
They championed Argentina’s approach to the global financial crisis: nationalise private pensions, use central bank reserves to increase government spending rather than impose austerity measures, and force investors in foreign debt to suffer before ordinary citizens.
Nearly 78 percent of nearly 29 million registered voters cast ballots in the country of 40 million. – AP.
Bunjiwe Mkwananzi