BUENOS AIRES — The larger battle may be over the future of Peronism, but it's the fight between the first ladies that has grabbed the headlines as Argentines go to the polls today.
The mud-slinging campaign closed last week in an eleventh-hour frenzy of verbal volleys, with President Nestor Kirchner saying he would be "a prisoner of vested interests" during his remaining two years in office if his slate does not win big in the midterm legislative elections.
The most high-profile race by far is the Senate contest featuring his outspoken wife, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner -- who has not discouraged comparisons to the country's most famous first lady, the late Eva Peron -- and Hilda "Chiche" Gonzalez de Duhalde, the wife of a former president.
The Senate race has in effect become a proxy battle between Kirchner and former President Eduardo Duhalde over their competing visions for Peronism, a complex political movement blending social justice, a tightly controlled economy and a strong centralized government that has been the dominant political force here for much of the last six decades.
In general, Kirchner has been trying to reach out to non-Peronist elements, especially on the left, and redefine Peronism according to the vision of his "Victory Front" party. That vision is a bit fuzzy, but some have compared his goal to the center-left coalition that governs neighboring Chile.
Duhalde's strength lies in the traditional Peronist appeal to the working class, government-linked unions and other sectors firmly beneath the Peronist banner. Kirchner is gambling he can push aside the traditional wing led by Duhalde.
Once allies beneath the broad Peronist umbrella, Kirchner and Duhalde have emerged as bitter rivals with varying visions of the movement created by former leader Juan Peron. Neither of the two factions slugging it out may win a clear victory today, an outcome that would probably auger fierce legislative battles during the final two years of Kirchner's term.
At stake today are half of the seats in the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house, and about a third of the Senate slates, along with numerous local races.
The president's slate seems likely to benefit from the nation's steady recovery from the economic meltdown of 2001 and 2002, a calamity that left millions of once-middle-class Argentines near destitute.
