ARGENTINE PUNDITS: RESTORING PUBLIC CONFIDENCE KEY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BUENOS AIRES 001980 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/03/2017 TAGS: PGOV PREL ECON KLAB KCOR AR SUBJECT: ARGENTINE PUNDITS: RESTORING PUBLIC CONFIDENCE KEY CHALLENGE FOR NEXT GOVERNMENT REF: BA 1862 Classified By: Ambassador E. Anthony Wayne for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Summary. A group of top political and economic analysts maintain that the main challenges facing Argentina's next administration are restoring confidence in public institutions; reining in inflation and labor demands for higher wages; and improving juridical certainty to attract greater investment. They expect a first-round victory for Senator Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner (CFK) in the upcoming presidential election, and feel that the most relevant question now is whether she will capture a credible percentage of the vote that will simultaneously provide her with political legitimacy in the eyes of the public and ward off potential cries of electoral fraud from the opposition. Some of them doubt that CFK will finish her term. They suggest that the USG could enhance prospects for a better bilateral relationship with a CFK-led government through early engagement with key players in her Cabinet. This, they say, would enhance the CFK team's understanding of U.S. priorities in Argentina and Latin America. End summary. ¶2. (C) Ambassador Wayne hosted a lunch on October 1 in honor of visiting Brazil/Southern Cone Office Director Milton Drucker. Participants included: Rosenda Fraga, Executive Director, New Majority Unon; Diana Mondino, Director of Institutional Relations at the Argentine Center for Macroeconomic Studies; Manuel Mora y Araujo, Executive President of the polling firm Ipsos-Mora y Araujo; Graciela Romer, President of political polling and consultancy firm, Graciela Romer and Associates; and Eduardo Van der Kooy, leading editorialist for Argentine daily, Clarin. -------------- -------------- CFK Win Predicted, But Will it be a Credible Outcome? -------------- -------------- ¶3. (C) Our Argentine interlocutors forsee a first-round win for Senator Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner (CFK) in the upcoming presidential election. The most relevant question now, they debated, is whether she will capture a credible percentage of the vote that will simultaneously provide her with political legitimacy in the eyes of the public and ward off potential cries of electoral fraud from the opposition. Van der Kooy stated that it is a mistake for CFK to act as if �A;the upcoming elections are a "coronation". If CFK only captures 42 percent of the vote, she will lack the political legitimacy necessary to successfully deal with the unions in the next round of government negotiations over wages. If she captures 48 percent of the vote, however, the opposition will claim electoral fraud, he predicted. ¶4. (C) Romer explained that while there have been claims under previous governments of electoral fraud in lesser developed provinces like Formosa and Chaco, they have never before extended to Argentina's more developed provinces or its national elections, as she alleged they do today. Claims of fraud in Cordoba (ref A),coupled with alleged GOA manipulation of economic data, have contributed to a climate of public distrust in government institutions. The Kirchners have underestimated the damage that this (especially the manipulation of data from INDEC, the national statistics agency) has caused. Restoring public confidence will be one of CFK's main challenges, she concluded to the agreement of others. -------------- -------------- Some Find CFK More Interested in Monologue than Dialogue... -------------- -------------- ¶5. (C) Office Director for Brazil and Southern Cone Affairs Milton Drucker indicated that much has been said about CFK's willingness to engage in dialogue with the United States, but that her visit to New York seems to indicate a greater interest in talking rather than listening. Fraga agreed, adding that CFK has made no effort to understand how the United States works. When the Ambassador asked what the USG could do to improve U.S.-Argentine relations under a CFK administration, Fraga suggested early USG engagement with key players in her Cabinet to enhance their understanding of U.S. priorities in Argentina and Latin America. Romer noted that CFK is trying to fashion herself as a progressive intellectual rather than a traditional Peronist figure. She expressed concern that CFK could have a tendency to conduct foreign policy based on whim or ideology -- something Argentina can not afford. -------------- -------------- ...Others Expect CFK Outreach to Sectors K Scorned BUENOS AIR 00001980 002 OF 003 -------------- -------------- ¶6. (C) Mora y Araujo has a more optimistic view of Argentina's foreign policy under CFK, suggesting that she will work to improve public relations with sectors that her husband has publicly scorned, such as the Catholic Church and press. He said that he expects CFK to have a stronger Cabinet and to delegate more to her Ministers. He also thought she is interested in trying to find more consensus among social sectors and the government. Both Mora y Araujo and Romer expected CFK to engage Mercosur more actively and work to ease tensions with Uruguay over the Botnia pulp mill dispute. -------------- -------------- CFK Foreign Policy: Change in Style more than Substance -------------- -------------- ¶7. (C) Turning to a discussion on CFK's likely foreign policy priorities, Fraga asserted that there would be a change in style, not substance, under CFK. Mondino argued that resolving Argentina's arrears to the Paris Club is a "serious issue" that the next administration must resolve in order to restore Argentina's credibility with the international financial community and access resources and investment needed. Fraga, however, said that he did not see CFK tackling the issue. He added that CFK is unlikely to change her husband's policy of engaging Venezuela, noting that she passed up the opportunity to say anything to distance herself from Venezuela during her recent visit to New York. Rather, CFK said that Argentina has different friends than Venezuela-- in an allusion to Venezuela's close relationship with Iran. Mora y Araujo indicated that the GOA's flirtation with Venezuela has its limits, as the Argentine public will not tolerate CFK supporting Venezuelan President Chavez. He added that CFK is a strong advocate of democracy and appears to be more comfortable defending democracy than her husband -- particularly on Cuba. He also thought it very important that CFK had started to build a good relationship with Mexico's President Calderon. This, he told the Ambassador, is part of CFK's effort to build in more options for Argentines. -------------- The Challenges Ahead -------------- ¶8. (C) The Ambassador asked about Argentina's domestic challenges in the near-term. Mora y Araujo stated that improving juridical certainty is key to attract greater investment. Mondino stated that there are three inter-related problems facing the Argentine economy in the near-term: 1) cash flow; 2) inflation; and 3) the potential for labor conflict. She noted that Argentina's fiscal surplus is declining, limiting the GOA's ability to govern via patronage politics. Inflation has eroded real wages fueling ever-increasing labor demands to boost wages in order to keep pace with inflation. GOA policies to keep the Argentine peso artificially low, combined with government manipulation of economic data has resulted in a de facto dollarized economy. She stated that the Argentines no longer know what the peso is worth-- rent and other transactions are quoted in dollars and there has been a 15-17 percent increase in the number of dollar-denominated bank accounts opened in recent months. All agreed that labor unrest would be one of the early challenges CFK would face as President. They also speculated whether CFK would be able to complete her mandate, with Van der Kooy observing that there is no great love in Argentine society for either of the Kirchners. He added that neither have really connected with the people in general, or the unions in particular -- Peronism's traditional base. ¶10. (C) Romer observed that the next administration will have to work hard to regain the public trust. She argued that Argentines have adopted a cynical attitude towards politics and are only voting for CFK because there are no viable alternatives. She concluded that it is not that Argentines are apolitical, but rather, Argentina is in "stand-by" mode waiting to see what the new administration will bring and whether viable alternatives materialize. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶11. (C) The opinions expressed at the lunch reflect what we have been hearing lately from different quarters, including the opposition, political wonks, financial analysts, and corporate executives. The fact that some of these top-drawer pundits question whether CFK will finish her mandate suggests BUENOS AIR 00001980 003 OF 003 that she will face a tough political environment. WAYNE