Argentine ex-president Carlos Menem forming new party for another election bid

[Judi Lynn]

Argentine ex-president Carlos Menem forming new party for another election bid
The Associated PressPublished: February 5, 2007


BUENOS AIRES, Argentina: Former president Carlos Menem, who governed Argentina from 1989 until 1999 for the Peronist party, announced through a spokesman Monday that he is forming a new party to back a bid for a third term in October elections.

Menem, who previously announced he is running, has begun the process of registering a new national political party called "Loyalty and Dignity" with federal authorities, said Nicolas Martinez, a spokesman for the candidate.

Menem, a pro-U.S. free market advocate, had no comment on the announcement.

Now 76, Menem rose to power from the right wing of the long-dominant Peronist party and held two terms in office. But excessive borrowing and public spending during his final term preceded a deep 2001-2002 economic crisis that critics say has tarnished his efforts at a comeback.
(snip/...)

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/02/05/america/LA-GEN-Argentina-Menem.php



This ex-President of Argentina is a _Bush family friend. He provided immunity for the Argentinian military junta members who were responsible for the disappearance of up to 30,000 suspected "leftists."

The "disappeared" prisoners were tortured, and thrown from airplanes and helicopters.

The junta also stole the babies of the prisoners who were pregnant, who were kept until they gave birth, then killed, and their infants given to other Argentinian military officers and their wives. The mothers of the prisoners still protest the theft of their grandchildren, and have been trying all these years to learn where they are now.

Menem's "immunity" to the military right-wing killers was later overturned during the current administration led by Nestor Kirchner, who, himself, was tortured during that time.

[Say_What]

1. ROFL "Loyalty and Dignity" party... this guy has two chances:

None and none.

Is he gonna be the US-supported shill for president of Argentina? In 1990 he granted presidential pardons to the leaders of the last junta. When he was gonna run in 2003, 60% of Argentines said they would never vote for him again.

<clips>

Profile: Carlos Menem
Carlos Menem

Former Argentine President Carlos Menem is a flamboyant, charismatic figure whose years in public life have been characterised by scandal and controversy.

In two successive terms as president following election in 1989, he set Argentina on a course of radical free market reform which saw privatisation of state-owned businesses and the currency pegged to the US dollar.

Although his time in office is remembered by some as a period of stability, Mr Menem's economic policies are blamed by many Argentines for the country's current economic crisis.

In 1999 Mr Menem stepped down amid faltering support and allegations of rampant corruption in his government. At the time, he vowed to run again for president in 2003.

A recent poll suggested 60% of Argentines would never vote for him under any circumstances. But a separate poll recorded that a similar figure believed he would win the April 2003 election.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/1376100.stm