Argentine President Cristina Kirchner grieved on Thursday for her husband and predecessor, former Argentine president Nestor Kirchner, whose sudden death triggered mourning across Latin America — and political questions over her country’s future.
Accompanied by their two children and wearing dark glasses, the president walked up to where her husband’s body was lying in state inside the Casa Rosada presidential palace in Buenos Aires and placed a hand on his flag-draped coffin.
It was Cristina Kirchner’s first appearance in public since her spouse died of a heart attack on Wednesday at the age of 60.
Photo: EPA
A murmur ran through the thousands of Argentines filing through the palace to pay their respects, candles and flowers in hand, when she appeared.
Speculation has been swirling as to how the widowed president will cope, given the huge influence Nestor Kirchner played behind the scenes of her administration and his role as leader of Argentina’s ruling party.
Uruguayan President Jose Mujica said Kirchner’s death “changed the picture completely” in Argentine politics and “created a degree of relative uncertainty” that could be felt as far as in his own country.
“Where will she [Cristina Kirchner] find her inspiration now?” asked Carlos Pagni, editorialist for La Nacion, one of Argentina’s leading newspapers.
However, ordinary Argentines expressed faith that the president would pull through.
Many messages of support were fixed to the gates of the Casa Rosada, reading “Bear up, Madame President,” and “We need you more than ever.”
“I have much grief, but also much hope because I am convinced President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner will take on the task, because Cristina and Nestor are the same thing,” said municipal worker Graciela Benitez, who had waited all night to be among the first to enter the palace.
Lines of mourners snaked through the streets of Buenos Aires, filling the air with chants of “Nestor didn’t die, Nestor didn’t die. He lives in the hearts of our working people.”
Argentine football legend Diego Maradona declared after passing through the presidential palace to pay his respects: “Argentina has lost a gladiator.”
Cristina Kirchner, 57, took over from her husband as head of state in 2007, continuing with policies that have fueled strong growth following Argentina’s 1999 to 2002 economic collapse.
Before he died, it appeared that Nestor Kirchner was preparing a return to the presidency next year.
Many in Argentina regarded the two as the nation’s most influential power couple since the iconic former Argentine president Juan Peron and Eva Peron.
Besides his role as key adviser on national politics to his wife, Nestor Kirchner was also the head of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) when he died, giving him a high regional profile.
Latin American leaders started arriving on Thursday to attend Nestor Kirchner’s funeral, scheduled for yesterday in his hometown of Santa Cruz, in Argentina’s south.
Bolivian President Evo Morales, the first foreign leader to arrive, said he felt orphaned by the death of an “irreplaceable” man who guided him through difficult times and inspired South America.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva announced that he, too, was flying to Buenos Aires on Thursday after canceling all his appointments and declaring three days of mourning.
Others in Buenos Aires to attend the funeral included presidents Rafael Correa of Ecuador, Juan Manuel Santos of Colombia, Sebastian Pinera of Chile, Mujica of Uruguay, Fernando Lugo of Paraguay and Hugo Chavez of Venezuela.
Although Kirchner’s death came as a shock to many, the former president had previously suffered bouts of ill health linked to his heart.
Twice this year he had undergone surgery to unblock arteries.
That frailty, coupled with his defeat in legislative elections last year, had undermined his political prospects somewhat, though he continued to command great respect.
Many Argentines hailed him as a hero when he was president for his defiance against the IMF, which he blamed for Argentina’s economic woes.
Although irritable and quick to anger, he forged an identity as a strong leader for his efforts to pay off some of the debt Argentina had defaulted on.
Questions were raised over his propriety in office and afterward, however, when it was revealed he and his wife had accumulated an US$11 million fortune while many others in Argentina saw their own wealth dwindle.
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