POLITICS-ARGENTINA: Menem Withdraws From the Running for 1999

By Marcela Valente Reprint | | Print |

Marcela Valente

BUENOS AIRES, Jul 21 1998 (IPS) - Argentine president Carlos Menem Tuesday announced his decision not to stand as presidential candidate in 1999 – an ambition which has pushed the ruling Justicialist Party onto the brink of division.

“Following careful thought, I have decided to withdraw from the running,” Menem told Justicialist governors and legislators, barely four days after he called a party congress to whip up support for his candidacy.

And his departure could leave 0the way clear for Governor of Buenos Aires province and co-party member, Eduardo Duhalde – the man who threatened to call a plebiscite to show the lack of support for the reelection bid.

Alternatively there is the precandidacy of former singer Ramon “Palito” Ortega, standing in the wings as official understudy should Menem not be vouchsafed. “This is a real resignation, beyond all speculation, and very sincere,” said Ortega.

But the polls say different.

According to surveys, the two opposition Alianza candidates, Mayor of the City of Buenos Aires, Fernando de la Rua, and deputy Graciela Fernandez Meijide, stand the greatest chances of success in the 1999 presidential elections.

The 1994 consitutional reform allowed Menem to stand for a second term as president, but rejecting the possibility of a third.

Therefore, Menem, currently in his second term, was aiming for another constitutional reform or a ruling from the Supreme Court to authorise this, all with full party backing.

But in the end, Friday’s meeting did not give furnish him with the hoped for support.

Duhalde and his supporters in Congress, along with representatives of other districts, did not attend, announcing they would oppose the move, and the number of participants voting in favour of Menem’s candidacy barely exceeded the required minimum.

Similarly, the polls were not favourable. At least 65 percent of the electorate are opposed to constitutional reform authorising another term in power for Menem, and he barely takes 17 percent of support on the image front.

Given this panorama Tuesday, Menem called governors and legislators together asking them to drop the third presidency campaign.

He stated he would be ending his term on December 10, 1999, as is written in the Constitution, hopefully to be replaced with another Justicialist “who will keep up the good work.”

The president also promised he would give up his legal immunity, countering opposition claims his desire to stay in power was mainly a wish to continue hiding his illicit enrichment.

Menem’s decision took both party members and the opposition by surprise.

On Monday, the president had published an open letter in the Argentine dailies calling for unity and dialogue within the party, and showing no signs of the imminent withdrawal of his candidacy.

Justicialist senator, Eduardo Bauza, one of Menem’s closest associates, reported the president had made his decision alone, convinced this line of action would avoid a split in the party and a break with more than 50 years of justicialist history.

Meanwhile, Interior Minister Carlos Corach said the president had chosen to resign in order not to jeopardise continued economic transformation, underway since he assumed the post for the first time in 1989.

The opposition gave the announcement a warm welcome. The Alianza’s De la Rua said the decision had “saved the Constitution.”

“Now we can abandon this madness which only created political tensions, and go back to discussing what really interests the people,” he added.

Fernandez Meijide agreed, saying it was high time the governors realise the laws overrule personal desires.