President-elect Barack Obama had a ten-minute conversation with Argentine President Cristina Fernández on Tuesday while she was visiting Tunisia. (El Gobierno anunció que Obama llamó a Cristina Clarín 18.11.2008)
Fernández had taken the unusual step of expressing her clear preference for Obama over McCain prior to the election. Sitting heads of government don't normally do things like that. My speculation is that she was ticked off at what she sees as Bush administration hostility toward Argentina. She was also not thrilled at the violent, reactionary secessionist movement in neighboring Bolivia against the country's democratically elected government, a movement that Bolivian President Evo Morales claims is backed by the United States.
She also sent him a long, effusive note of congratulations after his election as President. In it, she referred to Martin Luther King, Jr. and the civil rights movement in the US as having been an inspiration to young people in Argentina, apparently meaning those who were protesting against the military regime of 1966-1973.
According to the Argentine government announcement, Obama expressed his desire for a bilateral meeting in Argentina, telling her, "Argentina es un país muy grande; estoy ansioso por conocerlo y conocerla a usted". (Argentina is a great country; I'm anxious to get to know it and to get to know you.) It doesn't say if Obama was actually speaking Spanish.
I don't know what signals Obama may be sending here. But presumably it means that he's open to improving relations with Argentina.
Tags: argentina, barack obama, cristina fernández
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