From The Buenos Aires Herald :
A graveyard silence reigned among national government officials yesterday as opposition leaders celebrated an electoral defeat of an ally of President Néstor Kirchner’s in an election on Sunday in Misiones. Kirchner chose to extend his stay in his native province Santa Cruz yesterday following the failure of Carlos Rovira, the governor of Misiones, to win a Constituent Assembly election in a bid to reform the provincial Constitution. Kirchner’s leading spokesmen, Cabinet chief Alberto Fernández and Interior Minister Aníbal Fernández, avoided speaking to the press about the unexpected defeat which saw a coalition led by Bishop Emeritus Joaquín Piña win by more than 13 points.
Rovira himself said that the result cannot be argued with. "It must be accepted."
Unlike the Kirchner camp, members of the opposition jumped on the chance of celebrating a rare low point in the President’s popularity.
Raúl Alfonsín, the ex-president, said the electoral result was not a political victory, "It was a defence of the republic, of dignity, in the words of Piña."
One of Piña’s main campaign arguments was that Rovira’s attempt to clinch the right to unlimited re-elections goes against democracy itself. In the days prior to the election, Piña — who has said he respects and admires many of Kirchner’s policies — said he hoped the President would realize it was a mistake to support Rovira.
