Does anyone think this has anything to do with the lame share price action? Or is it simply a reflection of how lousy all share price action was today?
(Reuters) - Argentine PresidentCristina Fernandez has a hefty poll lead as October'spresidential election draws closer, but simmering powerstruggles among her allies may help a splintered field ofrivals gain traction.
As Latin America's No. 3 economy booms, Fernandez'sapproval ratings are steady at about 50 percent while opponentsscramble to forge electoral pacts strong enough to mount aconvincing challenge. [ID:nN17108645]
The center-left leader is keeping voters guessing aboutwhether she will seek a second term following the death lastyear of her powerful husband and predecessor, former PresidentNestor Kirchner, but a re-election bid is widely expected.
Kirchner's death sent Argentine bond and stock priceshigher as investors bet the couple's time in power was comingto an end, clearing the way for a more business-friendlygovernment to be elected in 2011. [ID:nN29175687]
But Fernandez's robust popularity ratings and signs she isstepping up pressure on the private sector and shifting more tothe left could rattle asset prices as voting nears.
A strike call last month by the country's most powerfulunion leader, a government ally, sent jitters through localfinancial markets. The strike was called off, but the episoderaised the specter of unrest and political tension.
Here are some of the main issues investors are watching:
ELECTION BUILD-UP
Some polls conducted since Kirchner's death on Oct. 27 havesuggested Fernandez could win in a first round, especiallybecause no single, strong opposition candidate has emerged.
Under Argentina's electoral system, candidates can win in afirst round with 40 percent of the vote as long as thesecond-placed candidate trails by at least 10 points. Supportof 45 percent guarantees a first-round victory.
Fernandez's healthy poll ratings, coupled with the strongshowing of pro-government candidates in provincial elections inCatamarca and Chubut, has raised expectations that she willannounce her candidacy by the end of June. [ID:nN14142490]
Kirchner battled behind the scenes to shore up his wife'ssupport among the Peronist party kingpins that are seen to holdthe keys to power, especially the mayors of the denselypopulated Buenos Aires outskirts and powerful trade unionists.
His wife has changed tack, however, forging closer tieswith non-Peronist center-leftists such as congressman MartinSabbatella and distancing herself from Daniel Scioli, themoderate Peronist governor of Buenos Aires province.
What to watch for: