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ARGENTINA ELECTION SCENESETTER By ROGER WILKISON/BUENOS AIRES (fwd)
DATE=5/12/95
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
NUMBER=5-30056
TITLE=ARGENTINA ELECTION SCENESETTER
BYLINE=ROGER WILKISON
DATELINE=BUENOS AIRES
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
Intro: The Countdown For Sunday's General Elections In Argentina
Has Begun As A Ban On Opinion Polls, Political Rallies And
Television Advertisements Went Into Effect Friday. As V-O-A's
Roger Wilkison Reports From Buenos Aires, Most Observers Are
Predicting That Incumbent President Carlos Menem Will Win
Re-Election Without Having To Face A Runoff, But The President's
Opponents Do Not Agree With Those Forecasts.
TExt: Five Of Argentina's Leading Polling Firms Have Predicted
That Mr. Menem Will Get At Least 45 Per Cent Of The Votes Sunday.
That Is What He Needs To Win Re-Election Outright. If He Fails
To Attain That Mark, He Can Still Win With 40 Per Cent Of The
Vote As Long As He Has A Ten Per Cent Lead Over The Second-Place
Finisher.
Mr. Menem Gets Good Marks From The Public For Ending A Decade Of
Hyperinflation And Stabilizing The Economy. But He Is Criticized
For The 12 Per Cent Unemployment His Adjustment Policies Brought
About. And Many Argentines Say He Is Frivolous And Out Of Touch
With The People.
Public Opinion Specialists Say There Has Been An Increase This
Week In Mr. Menem's Standing In The Polls. Felipe Noguera, One
Of Argentina's Most Respected Pollsters, Said His Figures Show
That Mr. Menem Will Obtain 47 Per Cent Of The Vote And That His
Main Rival, Senator Jose Octavio Bordon Of The Center-Left
Frepaso Coalition, Will Get 33 Per Cent. But Mr. Noguera Says
That About 20 Per Cent Of The Electorate Could Change Its Mind
Over The Next Two Days And Either Give Mr. Menem A
Bigger-Than-Expected Victory Or Force Him Into A Runoff With Mr.
Bordon.
///// Noguera Act /////
People Would Like To Continue With President Menem's
Policies, But They Want A Less Authoritarian Government,
A Government That Is More Sensitive To Social Concerns,
A Less Flamboyant Presidency, Fewer Corruption Scandals.
They Want To Send A Message To Menem. So When They See
Him Moving Up In The Polls, Some Of Them, I Think, Move
Away From Him And Towards Senator Bordon, Who's Running
Not A Close Second But Close Enough To Be Near Forcing A
Second Round.
///// End Noguera Act /////
Although There Are 14 Presidential Candidates, The Race Is
Clearly Between Mr. Menem And Mr. Bordon, A Former Member Of The
President's Peronist Party. Running Far Behind In Third Place Is
Horacio Massaccesi Of The Centrist Radical Party.
Joaquin Morales-Sola, A Noted Argentine Columnist, Says The Key
Factor In These Elections Is The Stake People Feel They Have In
The Economic Stability That Mr. Menem Has Given Argentina. He
Says People Have Access To Credit For The First Time In More
Than A Decade And Have Bought Such Items As An Apartment, A Car
Or A Television Set On The Installment Plan.
///// Morales-Sola Act (In Spanish) /////
Mr. Morales-Sola Says That People Fear Any Economic Changes That
Could Cause Their Instalments To Go Up And Feel The Need For A
Strong Hand Like Mr. Menem's To Keep The Economy Under Control.
The President Has Taken Advantage Of These Fears To Say That, If
He Is Not Re-Elected, Argentina Will Fall Back Into Economic
Chaos. Mr. Bordon, Who Says He Is Convinced There Will Be A
Runoff And That He Will Win It, Has Accused Mr. Menem Of Using
What He Called Scare Tactics To Gain Votes. (Signed)
NEB / RW / BD/PT
12-May-95 8:15 PM EDT (0015 UTC)
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Source: Voice of America
Subject: (fwd) "La verdad en la Argentina"==> NY Times
Hola:
Lo que sigue a continuacion es una reproducion de un articulo,
en la seccion Op-Ed, que publico el New York Times del jueves
11 de mayo de 1995. El proposito de esta inclusion, lo aclaro,
es para contribuir a la comprension de lo ocurrido ultimamente
en nuestro pais. Me refiero, por supuesto, a las declaraciones
de algunos integrantes de las Fuerzas Armadas. Y an~adir, de
paso, algunas informaciones--tecnicas de propaganda--que quiza
algunos de entre nosotros ya lo sabian, pero otros no.
Me parece que es importante escuchar otras voces, fuera de las
nuestras, cuando opinan desde un punto de partida--especialmente
cultural--diferente del nuestro. No hago de la cultura un
factor mayor, sino solo de un factor mas. Pero que, creo yo,
tiene su peso cuando consideramos actitudes politicas. No se
trata de mejor o peor, sino de distinto. Creo que reconocer
que "lo politico" es considerado de un modo distinto por los
sajones, especialmente los usainos, que por nosotros, no es un
error de logica. Parten ellos de una base cultural--politicamente
hablando--muy diferente de la nuestra. Nuestra = argentina y
latinoamericana en general.
----------------------------------------------------------
Reproduction from the New York Times of May 11, 1995, A29.
----------------------------------------------------------
TRUTH IN ARGENTINA
By R. Scott Greathead *
On the eve of Sunday's election in Argentina, President
Carlos Saul Menem has had to use some creative public relations
to deal with ghastly disclosures of military involvement in
"death flights" during the late 1970's.
The confessions last month by two former military men that
they were involved in throwing hundreds of drugged and
unconscious detainess into the ocean from military planes
between 1976 and 1978 were shocking, even by Argentine
standards. The victims were among the more than 10,000 men
and women who were murdered in the so-called dirty war waged
by the military regime against left-wing subversion from 1976
to 1983.
After first trying to put a lid on further confessions from
the military by suggesting that anyone involved talk to priests
rather than reporters, President Menem, who is running for
re-election, then said he would consider rescinding laws that
bar prosecution of the military for their crimes during the
period. But so far, nothing has been done.
This isn't the first time an Argentine leader beleaguered
by bad press has had to resort to clever public relations. In
1977, when Amnesty International and the State Department's
Human Rights Bureau reported that Government security forces
were responsible for hundreds of disappearances, the military
regime hired a giant public-relations company, Burson Marsteller,
to advise it.
In a 35-page report later leaked to the press and human
rights groups, Burson Marsteller laid out a strategy for
the regime to combat what it called the "well-financed
subversion campaigns of international origin." It advised,
for example, that the Government "use the best professional
communications skills to transmit those aspects of Argentine
events showing that the terrorist problem is being handled in
a firm and just manner, with equal justice for all."
Another recommendation was "the generation of positive
editorial comment" in the press by writers "of conservative
or moderate persuasions." A target of this strategy was the
head of the State Department's Human Rights Bureau, Assistant
Secretary of State Patricia Derian, whose reports to Congress
described kidnappings and other rights abuses in Argentina.
Judging by some of the commentary at the time, it's hard
not to conclude that the strategy was effective. Ronald Reagan,
writing in The Miami News on Oct.20,1978, accused "Patricia
Derian and her minions at Mr. Carter's Human Rights Office"
of making "a mess of our relations with the planet's seventh
largest country, Argentina, a nation with which we should be
close friends." Other columnists disputed her reports to
Congress and questioned whether she was telling the truth.
Not only was she telling the thruth, the reality was even
worse. With the help of Burson Marsteller and well-placed
sympathizers, however, Argentina's generals were able to
avoid an accounting of the fate of those who disappeared and
to remain in power until 1983, when their disastrous performance
in the Falkland Islands war with Britain finally forced them
to step down in favor of an elected civilian Government.
The military also escaped all but a token punishment for the
crimes of its members. In 1990, Mr. Menem released from prison
the handful of officers convicted of human rights crimes during
the "dirty war" and issued the blanket amnesty that guaranteed
that no one else would ever be prosecuted.
After these new revelations of military crimes, rescinding
that amnesty is the least President Menem can do.
------------------
* Member of the board of directors of the Lawyers Committee
for Human Rights
----------------------------------------------------------
Hasta aqui el articulo en cuestion. Aunque sea doloroso, hay
que reconocer que la justicia tiene que ser satisfecha si
queremos REALMENTE que la sociedad argentina se comience a
pacificar de una vez por todas.
Me parece que uno de los insultos mas graves que M.... ha
dirigido a los argentinos es el de querer cubrir el crimen
de los militares con la cuestion economica. Su poder de
acomodar la realidad a sus propios intereses politicos, es
notable y de efectos muy tragicos para nuestra sociedad. Que
haya convencido a tantos argentinos que un plato de lentejas es
mas valioso que cualquier consideracion moral, es un patetico
triunfo de un abhorrente maquiavelismo. Pero la culpa no la
tiene el chancho, sino quien lo echa al chiquero...decian antes.
Esa falta absoluta de espina moral, esos debiles ligamentos en
las rodillas le habran servido para llegar a lo que el queria,
pero dudo que le permitan tener una vejez con canas honradas.
En fin, veremos que pasa el domingo.
Guillermo O. Torres
--
Date: Sat, 13 May 1995 11:44:28 -0400
Subject: ARGENTINA ELECTIONS (S ONLY) By ROGER WILKISON/BUENOS AIRES
DATE=5/13/95
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
NUMBER=2-178391
TITLE=ARGENTINA ELECTIONS (S ONLY)
BYLINE=ROGER WILKISON
DATELINE=BUENOS AIRES
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
Intro: Voters In Argentina Are Preparing To Go To The Polls
Sunday To Elect A New President, As Well As Provincial And Local
Officials. Voa Roger Wilkison Reports From Buenos Aires That The
Country's Main Polling Firms Are Predicing That Incumbent
President Carlos Menem Will Win Re-Election, But Do Not Rule Out
A Runoff Between Mr. Menem And His Closest Contender, Independent
Jose Bordon.
Text: Twenty-Two Million Argentines Are Elegible To Vote Sunday,
And The Polls Show Mr. Menem Will Get Between 45 And 47 Per Cent
Of The Total -- Enough To Insure His Re-Election. But The
Pollsters Are Also Hedging Their Predictions, Noting That Between
11 And 16 Per Cent Of The Voters Have Not Yet Made Up Their Minds
And Are Not Firmly Committed To Any Candidate.
Mr. Bordon, Who Promises To Continue Mr. Menem's Economic
Stabilization Policies But Lessen The Burden On Lower-Income
Citizens, Is Shown With 33 To 34 Per Cent Of Voter Preferences.
Running Far Behind In Third Place Is Horacio Massaccesi Of The
Centrist Radical Party.
If He Does Not Get The 45 Per Cent Of The Vote He Needs To Win
Outright, Mr. Menem Can Still Avoid A Runoff By Obtaining 40 Per
Cent, But, In That Case, He Needs To Have A Ten-Point Lead Over
Mr. Bordon. Mr. Menem Says He Is Confident He Will Win On The
First Round. Mr. Bordon Is Convinced There Will Be A Runoff
Within 30 Days And That He Will Win On The Second Round.
(Signed)
NRB/RW/GPT
13-May-95 10:41 AM EDT (1441 UTC)
NNNN
Date: Sun, 14 May 1995 13:36:55 -0400
Subject: ARGENTINA ELECTION (S) By ROGER WILKISON/BUENOS AIRES
DATE=5/14/95
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
NUMBER=2-178415
TITLE=ARGENTINA ELECTION (S)
BYLINE=ROGER WILKISON
DATELINE=BUENOS AIRES
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
Intro: Voters In Argentina Are Trooping To The Polls To Choose A
New President For The Third Time Since Democracy Was Restored In
The South American Country 12 Years Ago. V-O-A's Roger Wilkison
Reports From Buenos Aires That Incumbent President Carlos Menem
Is Expected To Win Re-Election, But Some Pollsters Are Saying
There May Have To Be A Second Round Of Balloting Within 30 Days.
Text: To Win Re-Election Without Going Into A Runoff, Mr. Menem
Needs To Poll 45 Percent Of The Total Vote Sunday Or At Least 40
Percent But With A Ten-Point Lead Over His Closest Contender.
Most Pre-Election Opinion Surveys Showed Mr. Menem Winning On The
First Round, But They Did Not Rule Out A Last- Minute Surprise.
Most Argentines Give Mr. Menem Good Marks For Eliminating
Hyperinflation And Stabilizing The Economy. But The Harsh
Adjustment Policies He Imposed Increased Unemployment. His
Administration Has Also Been Wracked By Corruption Scandals.
The President's Main Rival, Independent Jose Octavio Bordon,
Promises To Continue Mr. Menem's Economic Policies, But He Wants
To Relieve The Social Costs Of The Adjustment That Have Been
Borne By Lower And Middle-Income Voters. Mr. Menem Has Pledged
That He Will Reduce Unemployment With The Same Determination That
Marked His Fight Against Inflation.
Mr. Bordon Hopes To Force A Runoff In Which The Opposition To Mr.
Menem Will Coalesce Around His Candidacy To Defeat The President.
Mr. Menem Is Confident That He Will Win On The First Round.
(Signed)
NEB/RW/BG
14-May-95 12:42 PM EDT (1642 UTC)
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Source: Voice of America
Source: Voice of America