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By Newsweek Editors
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Argentina's Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, 53, wears a number of hats: senator, First Lady, mother of two children. She also serves as a roving ambassador for her husband, Nestor, as she did during a four-day visit to Los Angeles last month, when she opened a museum exhibition about Eva Peron and spoke with NEWSWEEK's Joseph Contreras. Excerpts:
CONTRERAS: Eva Peron was arguably the first Latin American woman to assume a dominant role in the politics of her country. Was she a role model for you?
KIRCHNER: What Eva did was much more than the participation of a woman in politics. She changed the system of power operating in Argentina during the 1940s in a way that empowered workers and women. Eva was the figure who best symbolized that change in a very conservative Argentina that had excluded the poor and denied women the vote.
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Do you consider yourself a feminist?
No, I consider myself feminine. What is the difference? I believe that if you recognize feminism as a political category, you're validating the notion that machismo is a political category. I believe in defending the rights of women and of minorities, but not under the label of being a feminist.
But your commitment to women's rights does not translate into support for legalizing abortion. Why not?
[Partly] because I'm Roman Catholic, but also because of profound convictions. It's true that abortion is an issue that must be addressed in society, but it is not yet on the [political agenda] of Argentina as a topic for debate.
Since your husband became president, you have accused the Argentine press of criticizing you for "stupidities like whether I use makeup or wear a particular dress or whether I'm thinner." Are journalists in your country guilty of practicing a double standard when it comes to female politicians?
Some, but only some. It would be unfair to generalize. But I've never heard of a case where the news media described a male politician as someone who liked to have a tan or dress in one way or another. I do think there is a degree of misogyny and prejudice against a woman of importance--above all when they can't criticize you for any other reason.
In 1997, you were expelled from the caucus of Peronist senators. Was your gender a factor in that decision?
In reality they threw me out because I didn't support a piece of legislation sponsored by the [Peronist] government [of President Carlos Menem]. But if I had been a man, I don't know whether they would have expelled me.
Women currently make up a third of the members in both houses of the Argentine Congress. Are you satisfied with the progress that women have made in your country?
We have come a long way, but we have not yet acquired a [significant degree of] participation in executive decision making. The majority of people who make those decisions continue to be men, and we have yet to make that leap. [But] we're on the road toward achieving that.
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