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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BUENOS AIRES 002122 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA TOM SHANNON, JOHN MAISTO, AND CHARLES SHAPIRO 
NSC FOR DAN FISK 
TREASURY FOR DAS NANCY LEE 
USCINCSO FOR POLAD 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/15/2016 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL AR
SUBJECT: ARGENTINA: TOP POLITICAL LEADERS FROM KEY PROVINCE 
ON POLITICS AND ECONOMY 
 
REF: A. 02 BUENOS AIRES 02403 
     ¶B. BUENOS AIRES 00293 
 
Classified By: CDA, a.i., Michael Matera, Reasons 1.4(b) and (d) 
 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY: On September 13, Charge and Poloff met 
with leading Peronist from Santa Fe province, Senator Carlos 
Reutemann, and Poloff met separately with leading candidate 
for Governor of Santa Fe, Socialist Hermes Binner.  Reutemann 
said that Kirchner will continue to succeed politically as 
long as the economy remained strong.  Reutemann noted 
President Kirchner's tendency to give one message in private 
and another in public, which he felt had damaged relations 
with the U.S.  Socialist Congressman Hermes Binner 
highlighted Santa Fe's booming agricultural economy during a 
talk at the Club de la Union Nacional.  Although Binner 
avoided discussion about political candidacies, Binner was 
critical of some of Kirchner's policies and his concentration 
of power.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) On September 13, Charge and Poloff met with leading 
Peronist from Santa Fe province, Senator Carlos Reutemann, 
and Poloff met separately with leading candidate for Governor 
of Santa Fe, Socialist Hermes Binner.  Reutemann, who chairs 
the Argentine Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told Charge 
that the Congress now has a very limited role in the 
political process.  Asked about his committee, Reutemann 
replied, ""Foreign Ministry officials make their decisions 
personally, without consulting us.  Of course, in reality, 
all of the decisions in this country are made by two or three 
people.""  Reutemann also said that the Peronist Party (PJ) 
was absent from the political system.  ""There are a few 
people, such as (Salta Governor Carlos) Romero and (former 
Senator Ramon) Puerta that are trying to revive the PJ, but 
it will not amount to much.  It is difficult to build 
anything without the national government's support because 
they control all of the resources."" 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Reutemann said that Kirchner will continue to 
succeed politically as long as the economy remained strong. 
Reutemann felt that the economy would continue to be good, at 
least until 2008, when problems could begin to develop. 
Reutemann thought that former Economy Minister Roberto 
Lavanga was the only opposition leader that stood a chance of 
competing with Kirchner in 2007, but said he thought that 
Kirchner would ultimately win reelection.  Reutemann did not 
think that the GOA price controls would function in the 
long-run, but argued that Kirchner's principal objective is 
to ensure that the 2006 inflation figures are lower than the 
2005 figures to enable Kirchner to argue that he is better 
able to control inflation than was Lavagna in his last year 
as Economy Minister.  (Note: Lavagna was fired by Kirchner at 
the end of November 2005.  End Note.) 
 
¶4.  (C) Reutemann noted President Kirchner's tendency to give 
one message in private and another in public, which he felt 
had damaged relations with the U.S.  Reutemann argued that 
Kirchner's ""double-speak"" in Monterey, Mexico and poor 
performance in Mar del Plata had left a bad impression on 
President Bush.  Reutemann indicated that he wished the 
political situation was different.  ""I would have been a 
better President.""  (COMMENT: Carlos Reutemann, leading in 
presidential opinion polls in 2002, was former President 
Eduardo Duhalde's first choice to succeed him as President. 
Reutemann turned down Duhalde's offer reportedly because he 
did not want to compete against his former mentor Carlos 
Menem (See reftel A).  More recently, Reutemann turned down 
President Kirchner's offer to be his candidate for Governor 
of Santa Fe in 2007.  Reutemann protege and Congresswoman 
Maria del Carmen Alarcon told PolCouns and Poloff that 
Reutemann does not want to run for Governor because of the 
potential that corruption he was involved in when he was 
previously Governor might come to light during the campaign. 
It is rumored that President Kirchner asked Reutemann to 
accompany him on his current trip to the U.S. in order to 
personally ask Reutemann to reconsider running for Governor. 
END COMMENT.) 
 
BUENOS AIR 00002122  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Socialist Congressman Hermes Binner highlighted 
Santa Fe's booming agricultural economy during a talk at the 
Club de la Union Nacional.  Binner noted that Santa Fe is 
Argentina's largest beef and milk exporter, accounting for 40 
and 50 percent of the country's total, respectively.  Binner 
said that the province's exports of grain has grown from a 
level of less than 4.8 billion dollars annually during the 
economic crisis to 7.7 billion dollars today.  Binner called 
for a greater partnership between the government and the 
private sector to ensure that this economic growth continues. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Although Binner avoided talk about political 
candidacies, Binner was critical of some of Kirchner's 
policies and his concentration of power.  Binner deflected 
questions about his future political plans and that of his 
party, ""There is still a whole year to go before the 
elections, and people are fed up with politicians who, upon 
being elected, immediately begin campaigning for another job. 
 We must honor those who voted us into office.""  Binner was 
highly critical, however, of the GOA ban on beef exports. 
""We are lucky that soy is not consumed locally, or it would 
be banned too.""  Binner also criticized Kirchner's recent 
reform of the Council of Magistrates that gave the Casa 
Rosada more control over the Judiciary (See reftel B). 
Binner noted that other agricultural powerhouses like 
Australia and Canada developed booming economies while 
enjoying strong democracies. 
 
¶7.  (C) COMMENT: Carlos Reutemann and Hermes Binner are 
currently the two most important political figures in 
Argentina's fourth largest electoral district.  Given 
Reutemann's unwillingness to run, it seems highly likely that 
Binner will win the gubernatorial elections next year, giving 
the political opposition an important success in what is 
otherwise likely to be a bleak electoral year.  Also, coming 
from opposite sides of the political spectrum, their 
criticism of Kirchner's concentration of power is a clear 
reminder that Kirchner's authoritarian tendencies have earned 
him Peronist and non-Peronist critics.  END COMMENT. 
 
MATERA