On the other hand, it is not at all certain that Duhalde has the support to make it very far. His predecessor, Adolfo Rodriguez Saa, another Peronist party stalwart, lasted only a week before being forced to resign.
Duhalde is already repeating some of the mistakes of Rodriguez Saa by appointing mainly Peronist party cronies and other old political allies to his administration instead of forming a broadly based government. It was Rodriguez Saa's appointment of a politician dogged by allegations of corruption in the past that helped spark protests last Friday night that resulted in his resignation.
Argentines are angry at their political leaders and afraid of seeing the value of their savings reduced by a devaluation, but some kind of devaluation is inevitable.
So, in order to sell a devaluation and keep the pot from boiling over again, Duhalde has to offer Argentines something sweet, which means more government spending and policies to protect Argentina's battered, yet uncompetitive industries, among other things.
Yet Duhalde is starting off in a very weak position. Instead of mandating new elections, which might have given him badly needed legitimacy, Argentina's Congress chose instead to pick a new national president from its ranks just days after the last president they chose was forced to resign.
Fed Up?
Argentines are fed up with the economic crisis yet there's much more to come. Devaluation will spark bankruptcies and a further slowing of investment and spending. What might hold Argentina together now is a leader charismatic enough to convince the people to suffer for at least a few more months, if not much longer.
"If this government fails, all bets are off in Argentina," warns Diaz.
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