Female Supremacy Articles - Page 26

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"Some of our dreams have started to be realized, and now we need to work on the remaining dreams," she said in her last campaign speech Thursday.

Kirchner -- who has not explained why he is stepping aside to support his wife's bid rather than seek re-election himself -- is expected to play an influential behind-the-scenes role if he swaps roles to become first man.

He oversaw a turnaround in Argentina's economy that earned him widespread popularity.

His policies of public spending and price controls have reversed much of the damage wrought in 2001, when the South American nation became the biggest defaulter of sovereign debt in history and was forced to unhitch its peso from the dollar.

Now, however, cracks are starting to appear in the recovery. Inflation is growing and estimated to be running at 20 percent this year, growth has slowed, and foreign investment is sparse.

Roberto Lavagna, a former economy minister fired by Kirchner after putting the recovery on track, is running for president too, but polls put him in distant third-place, just behind Elisa Carrio, a center-left politician championing an anti-corruption drive.

Eleven other candidates round out the field behind them.

Fernandez is seen as a more conciliatory figure than her husband, but her lack of concrete policy promises made her hard to judge.

Many Argentines figured that, in any case, a vote for her is a vote for Kirchner.