BUENOS AIRES — Perhaps there is no better observation of the government of Argentine President Cristina Kirchner than the one given by Mario Vargas Llosa, the latest Nobel laureate in literature. Vargas Llosa said Kirchner was leading a corruption-riddled government.
"I love Argentina," he told me recently in New York, "and it hurts me to see what is going on in your country."
The death of former President Nestor Kirchner will make things only more difficult for Kirchner, who has made serious mistakes on several fronts. These include using rough tactics to dismantle the INDEC (National Institute of Statistics and Census). Technical personnel have been replaced with those loyal to the government. As a result, the institution has lost all credibility.