Cristina Kirchner swore as Argentina’s president for four-year term after winning elections on Oct. 28, 2007. She received the sash1 of office from her husband, Nestor Kirchner, and became the first woman to be elected president of Argentina.
In her first speech as president, Cristina vowed to wage2 a war on poverty. “There will be no definite triumph as long as there is poverty,” she said.
The new president hailed3 her husband’s government, which she said battled tirelessly against unemployment and poverty, she has also vowed to follow the political continuity.
The first-lady-turned-president made it clear her husband would not fade into the political background. “For me and for all Argentines, he will also continue being president,” she said.
But the former president insisted that she should alone make the decisions. “We have been a couple for 32 years. We have had a lot of experiences together. But she is the one who has to make the decisions.... It would be a big mistake if I interfered.” Kirchner told local television. Nestor Kirchner, who remained popular throughout his presidency, has not explained why he stepped aside for his wife instead of seeking another four-year term.
Cristina was born in La Plata in Buenos Aires province on Feb. 19, 1953, and studied law at the School of Legal and Social Sciences of La Plata National University in the 1970s. She married Nestor Kirchner, her fellow university student, in 1975 before moving to the province of Santa Cruz, where the couple opened a law firm. They have two children, Maximo, 31, and Florencia, 17.
Cristina began her political career for a provincial deputy4 in 1989, and later went on to become a national legislator5. In 2005, she became a senator6 for the province of Buenos Aires. She was nicknamed“Queen Cristina” by other politicians, a reference to her controlling personality.
In her victory speech, Cristina promised not to become complacent7. “We have won amply8,”she said, “But this, far from putting us in a position of privilege9, puts us instead in a position of greater responsibilities and obligations.”
In a rare interview, she talked with Time’s Tim Padgett about her role in Argentina’s return to the world stage.
Q: How are you like Eva Peron—and how do you think you represent Argentina's national character?
A: I bring a lot of passion to my life and my politics—I don’t mind saying there is a very strong Latin component to it. I’m a daughter of the middle class, but Eva was a unique phenomenon in Argentine history, so I’m not foolish enough to compare myself with her. Women of my generation owe her a debt: When we came of age during the dark [military] dictatorship10 of the 1970s, we had her example of passion and combativity11 to get us through.
Q: So why are you running rather than your husband seeking reelection?
A: He has always said that he wasn’t pursuing12 reelection—but no one believed him, perhaps because no one believed someone in his place would ever really mean it. I think my husband wants to be an example in that sense. We’d also like to stop the cycle of traumatic13 government change in Argentina, where every election is a game of Russian roulette14.
Q: Is it appropriate to compare you with Hillary?
A: We’re both lawyers, and it’s considered rare that professional women like us are also wives of Presidents. And don’t forget, one difference is that I was a Senator before my husband became President. But I think our style of argumentation15 is similar in the sense that women today bring a different face to politics. We’re culturally formed to be citizens of two worlds, public and private. We’re wrapped up as much in what our daughters’ school principal says as we are in what the newspapers are saying—we see the big geopolitical16 picture but also the smaller daily details of our citizens’ lives.
Q: Your marriage is also compared to the political partnership of Bill and Hillary Clinton.
A: I don’t call it a partnership; it’s still a marriage, and no two marriages are alike. But when my husband and I used to have offices next to each other in the Santa Cruz state legislature, we would consult each other not as spouses17 but as people we considered to have the clearest opinions on politics. We have the utmost respect for each other in that sense. And we have our differences—I think he spoils our 17-year-old daughter Florencia far too much.
Q: Should we expect any change from your husband’s administration, or do you plan to continue his course?
A: Under him Argentina has had unheard-of macroeconomic achievements—not only growth but a historic restructuring of Argentina’s foreign debt, especially with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in order to sustain that growth. So I’d say we’ve already experienced a huge change under President Kirchner. Now we can build on it with things like improved education and a system of national public health.
2007年10月28日，赢得阿根廷总统大选的克里斯蒂娜·费尔南德斯·基什内尔宣誓就职，开始了为期四年的总统生涯。克里斯蒂娜从丈夫奈斯特·基什内尔手中接过象征总统权力的绶带，成为阿根廷历史上首位民选女总统。
克里斯蒂娜在第一次总统演说中发誓要向贫穷宣战。她说：“只要贫穷还存在，就没有真正的胜利可言。”
这位新任总统高度评价了她丈夫领导的上届政府，说这届政府为促进就业、消除贫穷做出了不懈努力，并表示新政府将保持政策的连续性。
这位由第一夫人演变为总统的女中豪杰明确表态，她的丈夫不会退出政治舞台。她说：“对于我和所有阿根廷人民来说，他永远是总统。”
不过，前总统认为克里斯蒂娜凡事应该自己作决定。“我们做了32年的夫妻，共同经历了许多事。但她现在成了决策者。如果我插手的话，我就犯了大错。”基什内尔对当地电台说。奈斯特·基什内尔执政期间一直颇受欢迎。那他为什么没有谋求连任、而是闪在一边给妻子让路呢？他没有解答众人的疑惑。
克里斯蒂娜1953年2月19日出生于布宜诺斯艾利斯省的拉普拉塔市。上世纪70年代，她在拉普拉塔国立大学的社会学与法学院攻读法律专业。1975年，她与大学同学奈斯特·基什内尔结婚，随后两人迁往圣克鲁斯省，夫妇俩在当地开了一家律师事务所。他们育有两个孩子：31岁的儿子马克西姆和17岁的女儿佛洛伦西亚。
克里斯蒂娜1989年从省议员开始其政治生涯，不久就成了国家立法机关成员。2005年，她当上了布宜诺斯艾利斯省的参议员。由于她的铁腕个性，其他政客给她起了个绰号——“克里斯蒂娜女王”。
在她竞选获胜的演讲中，克里斯蒂娜承诺不会自满。“我们虽然赢得了大选，”她说，“但这并不意味着我们享有某种特权，而是让我觉得身上负有更大的责任和更多的义务。”
克里斯蒂娜很少接受采访，而在接受《时代杂志》记者蒂姆·帕基特采访时，她谈到了自己在促使阿根廷重返世界历史舞台过程中的作用。
问：您在哪些方面与艾薇塔·贝隆相像？您如何看待自己代表着阿根廷的民族性格？
答：我给自己的生活和政治生涯注入了很多的激情——其中带有浓郁的拉丁色彩，这点无庸讳言。我是中产阶层的女儿，而艾薇塔·贝隆在阿根廷历史上是空前绝后的，所以我不会愚蠢到拿自己去跟她比。我们这一代妇女都应该感谢她：在上世纪70年代黑暗的军事独裁时期，正是由于她的激情与战斗精神才使我们度过了难关！
问：那为什么是您参选总统、而不是让丈夫寻求连任？
答：他一直表态说他不想连任，但没有人当真，或许大家都认为像他那样身处高位的人只是说说而已。我却认为我丈夫树立了一个典范。我们都希望终止阿根廷政府换届时周期性的创伤，不应该把每一次选举都变成一场俄罗斯轮盘赌。
问：拿您与希拉里相比是否恰当？
答：我们都是律师，身为职业妇女又都是总统夫人，真是少见。不要忘了，我和她有一点不同，那就是在我丈夫就任总统之前我已经是参议员了。不过我觉得我俩的论辨风格有几分相似，就是我俩都认为今天的妇女应该给政坛带来新气象。文化背景使我俩成为两个不同世界的公民，无论从公众角度还是个人角度来看都是如此。我俩既对女儿就读学校校长说的话洗耳恭听，又对报纸上的言论特别关注——换言之，我们既看到了宏大的地缘政治画面，又关注着公民日常生活中的小事。
问：有人把您的婚姻与希拉里和克林顿的政治伙伴关系相比。
答：我不认为这是一种伙伴关系，婚姻就是婚姻，而且没有两桩婚姻是完全一样的。以前当我丈夫和我在圣克鲁斯省国家立法机关毗邻办公时，我们会征询对方意见——身份不是配偶，而是最能清晰表达自己政治观点的知音。在这点上我们会最大限度地尊重对方。当然我俩也有分岐——我认为他把1 7岁的女儿佛洛伦西亚宠坏了。
问：您会改变您丈夫执政时定下的航向呢，还是坚持不变？
答：在他的领导下阿根廷的宏观经济取得了前所未有的巨大成就——不仅经济增长了，而且历史性地重组了阿根廷的外债，特别是为了保持经济的持续增长，他与国际货币基金组织进行了协调。所以，我敢说在基什内尔总统执政期间我们阿根廷经历了巨大的变化。现在，我们要在他的基础之上，改善教育和公共卫生体系。
1. sash n. 绶带
2. wage v. 开始，进行
3. hail [heil] v. 赞扬
4. deputy n. 议员
5. legislator n. 立法机关成员，立法者
6. senator n. 参议员
7. complacent adj. 自满的，自鸣得意的
8. amply adj. 广泛地
9. privilege n. 特权，特别待遇
10. dictatorship n. 独裁政治，专制
11. combativity n. 好斗性，斗志
12. pursue v. 追寻
13. traumatic adj. 造成创伤的，痛苦的
14. Russian roulettes 俄罗斯轮盘赌，是一种残忍的赌博游戏。与其他赌博不同的是，俄罗斯轮盘赌的赌具是左轮手枪和人的性命。俄罗斯轮盘赌的规则很简单：在左轮手枪的六个弹槽中放入一颗或多颗子弹，任意旋转转轮之后，关上转轮。游戏的参加者轮流把手枪对着自己的头，扣动板机；中枪的当然是自动退出，怯场的也为输，坚持到最后的就是胜者。旁观的赌博者，则对参加者的性命压赌注。
15. argumentation n. 争论，辩论
16. geopolitical adj. 地理政治的，地缘政治的
17. spouse [spauz] n. 配偶