FARM LEADER SHOWS HIS HAND AND RUNS FOR ELECTION.
Alfredo De Angeli, head of the Small Farmers Association (FAA) in Entre Ríos province, yesterday said he would like to challenge former provincial governor Jorge Busti in a Peronist open primary, but he declined to confirm his possible candidacy for a seat in Congress representing the Peronist party in that province.
De Angeli, who affiliated to the Peronist party in the 90s, yesterday said he is considering to run for a seat in the Lower House, but said he is awaiting a confirmation of the FAA before making any announcement. De Angeli’s popularity has surged since he became one of the most visible heads of the farmers’ protest against the government over soybean export duties last year.
De Angeli said he "is not convinced" of whether he should campaign, and argued he will wait until the FAA "tell him" if he will be "more useful in Congress than in Gualeguaychú," where he has led several protests against the Fernández de Kirchner administration.
Busti, who ran the province in three different terms and now chairs the Entre Ríos Legislature would be the candidate for the Victory Front in an open primary, according to sources of the party. Nevertheless, his candidacy has not yet been confirmed. Last year, Busti supported the farmers in the soybean dispute, but in recent weeks he reconciled with the Kirchners and he has criticized the farmers for last week’s seven-day boycott to grain sales.
Minister blasts dissident Peronists alliance
Justice Minister Aníbal Fernández yesterday blasted the alliance between dissident Peronists Deputies Felipe Solá and Francisco de Narváez, claiming they have "no chance of beating" ex-President Néstor Kirchner, who would likely become the head of the Lower House slate in Buenos Aires province. The minister said Solá and De Narváez "have no political stature," and added their alliance with the centre-right PRO, called Unión-PRO, "is only a symptom of how disgraceful Solá has been his entire life."
Latorre rules out joining Rossi in Santa Fe Peronist slate
National Senator Roxana Latorre, the closest lawmaker of Senator Carlos Reutemann, yesterday dismissed the possibility that they would join the slate with Kirchnerite Deputy Agustín Rossi in June’s mid-term vote in Santa Fe province.
"After Reutemann announced his decision to leave the (pro-government) Victory Front caucus in the Upper House, I don’t believe there is anything else to add. We have drawn a line from the Kirchners. There is no possibility of sharing a slate with Rossi," said Latorre during an interview to a radio in Rosario. She expressed her confidence that most sectors of Santa Fe will back Reutemann in the election, as the Kirchner administration as loss much of its popularity in the province because of its reluctance to lower soybean export duties, one of Santa Fe’s main sources of income.
Jujuy moves election date to June 28
The government of Jujuy province yesterday called for the provincial elections on June 28, following the decision of the Kirchner administration to move the election four months forward. The decree, signed by Jujuy Peronist Governor Walter Barrionuevo, was published yesterday in the Official Gazette. Jujuy will elect 24 provincial deputies, while 19 districts in the province will renew half of their councilors.
Moyano backs K’s candidacy
Hugo Moyano, leader of the CGT General Labour Confederation, yesterday said he "completely backed" a possible candidacy of former president Néstor Kirchner for the Lower House in June’s legislative election. "I would like 70 or 80 percent of the slate to be formed by unionists," the teamster told reporters on the radio.
Deputy asks court to rule unconstitutionality of election date move
National Deputy for Córdoba province Norma Morandini, from the Memory and Democracy Party, yesterday presented an injunction requesting that the judiciary rule the parliamentary decision to move forward the elections to June 28 unconstitutional. The electoral law says election should be hold on the third Sunday of October. However, the Congress approved last week a government-sponsored initiative to move the election date on the basis that it would improve the governability of the country in the second half of the year, amid a scenario of uncertainty caused by the global economic slowdown. Morandini yesterday said the initiative presented by the government "imposes new exceptions and affects the autonomy of the Congress, weakening the democracy."
Catamarca joins soy revenue sharing fund
Eduardo Brizuela del Moral, governor of Catamarca province, yesterday signed the decree joining the province to the government’s initiative to create a Federal Fund to redistribute the revenue coming from soybean export duties. The fund would be used to finance infrastructure works. It is estimated that Catamarca would receive 168 million pesos yearly from those exports.
