Voices en Español

I’ll preface this post by saying that I know squat about Argentine politics. That said, I think it’s a pretty safe bet to assume that whatever political playbook Pres. Barack Obama is currently using in la Casa Blanca was not inspired by or based on the policies of dead Argentine dictators.

That’s why this video clip is so funny to me. Cristina Kirchner, the current president of Argentina, has some snarky words for Obama. In a recent political speech, she sarcastically wondered aloud if Obama had been reading up on General Juan Perón, (dictator and husband of Evita). Kirchner also claimed that Obama was copying her (and her husband’s) economic model. (Her husband, Néstor Carlos Kirchner, was president of Argentina from 2003 until 2007 when Cristina was voted to succeed him in the position.)

Her comment about political plagiarism is laughable. That would be like me adopting an orphan from Africa and then holding a press conference to yell “copy cat!” the next time Madonna or Angelina Jolie decide to do the same. (Peruvian journalist Jaime Bayly, who appears in the following video, thinks la Sra. Kirchner is a little wacko too.)

Does Cristina Kirchner really believe that Obama even thinks about Argentina? In fact, it’s doubtful that he even knows who she is, as evidenced by the following video. Maybe her recent comments are a way to get back at Obama for this public snub or perhaps it’s just to prop herself up and recast herself as a strong leader by making some tenuous association between herself and Barry? Either way, it’s pretty amusing.