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| Mauricio Macri, Argentina’s New President, Is Sworn In Amid Feud With Predecessor | |
| (about 9 hours later) | |
| BUENOS AIRES — Mauricio Macri was sworn in as president of Argentina on Thursday in a ceremony that was boycotted by his predecessor, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, after a bitter argument over how and where to hold it. | BUENOS AIRES — Mauricio Macri was sworn in as president of Argentina on Thursday in a ceremony that was boycotted by his predecessor, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, after a bitter argument over how and where to hold it. |
| At the close of an often-divisive eight-year presidency, Mrs. Kirchner appeared to be trying to complicate the transition, making a string of provocative moves during her last days in office. But few people in Argentina thought she would go as far as refusing to appear in person to hand over power, and the operatic twist gripped the nation’s attention. | At the close of an often-divisive eight-year presidency, Mrs. Kirchner appeared to be trying to complicate the transition, making a string of provocative moves during her last days in office. But few people in Argentina thought she would go as far as refusing to appear in person to hand over power, and the operatic twist gripped the nation’s attention. |
| “It’s an embarrassment; we don’t deserve it,” said Daniel Asasme, 48, a general contractor. “This transition should be for the good of democracy.” | “It’s an embarrassment; we don’t deserve it,” said Daniel Asasme, 48, a general contractor. “This transition should be for the good of democracy.” |
| In his inaugural speech, Mr. Macri appealed for unity and a new political culture. “Confrontation has taken us down the wrong paths,” he said, “We have to remove conflict from the center of the stage and replace it with meeting points.” Insisting that Argentines could overcome the country’s political polarization, he added: “If we Argentines dare to unite, we will be unstoppable.” | In his inaugural speech, Mr. Macri appealed for unity and a new political culture. “Confrontation has taken us down the wrong paths,” he said, “We have to remove conflict from the center of the stage and replace it with meeting points.” Insisting that Argentines could overcome the country’s political polarization, he added: “If we Argentines dare to unite, we will be unstoppable.” |
| Mr. Macri, 56, won the election last month with a largely noncombative campaign that appealed to many Argentines’ desire for a less fractious style of politics. | Mr. Macri, 56, won the election last month with a largely noncombative campaign that appealed to many Argentines’ desire for a less fractious style of politics. |
| On Thursday morning, Mr. Macri made his way in a white sport-utility vehicle, escorted by guards on horseback, from his home here to the congressional palace for the formal swearing-in. Historically, that ceremony was followed by a second one at the presidential palace, where the transfer of power was symbolized by the outgoing president placing a sash on his or her successor and handing over an ornate baton. In recent years, though, that ceremony, too, was held at the Congress. | On Thursday morning, Mr. Macri made his way in a white sport-utility vehicle, escorted by guards on horseback, from his home here to the congressional palace for the formal swearing-in. Historically, that ceremony was followed by a second one at the presidential palace, where the transfer of power was symbolized by the outgoing president placing a sash on his or her successor and handing over an ornate baton. In recent years, though, that ceremony, too, was held at the Congress. |
| Mr. Macri preferred to revert to the traditional system, but Mrs. Kirchner insisted on sticking to the more recent practice, and refused to relent. The two sides argued over whether Article 93 of the Argentine Constitution, which calls for the president to be sworn in before Congress, governed the handover ceremony as well, and over who had the final say in the matter. | Mr. Macri preferred to revert to the traditional system, but Mrs. Kirchner insisted on sticking to the more recent practice, and refused to relent. The two sides argued over whether Article 93 of the Argentine Constitution, which calls for the president to be sworn in before Congress, governed the handover ceremony as well, and over who had the final say in the matter. |
| Mrs. Kirchner wrote in a post on her website on Sunday that “Dec. 10 is not his birthday party.” She also noted one of her objections to holding the two ceremonies separately: she was in a hurry to leave the capital and get to Patagonia to see her sister-in-law, Alicia Kirchner, sworn in as a state governor there. | Mrs. Kirchner wrote in a post on her website on Sunday that “Dec. 10 is not his birthday party.” She also noted one of her objections to holding the two ceremonies separately: she was in a hurry to leave the capital and get to Patagonia to see her sister-in-law, Alicia Kirchner, sworn in as a state governor there. |
| Mr. Macri then moved to curb Mrs. Kirchner. He obtained an injunction from a judge, ruling that her term ended at midnight Wednesday, rather than at midday on Thursday, meaning that she would have no official authority over the ceremony. Mrs. Kirchner responded by refusing to attend the swearing-in; to show solidarity with her, a number of lawmakers did the same. On Thursday afternoon, Mrs. Kirchner took a commercial flight to the Patagonian city of Río Gallegos with her son, Máximo Kirchner, a lawmaker, and her dog. Saying that she had actually been facilitating the transition, Mrs. Kirchner wrote that she had ordered the flower beds at the presidential residence to be reseeded for the new tenant. | Mr. Macri then moved to curb Mrs. Kirchner. He obtained an injunction from a judge, ruling that her term ended at midnight Wednesday, rather than at midday on Thursday, meaning that she would have no official authority over the ceremony. Mrs. Kirchner responded by refusing to attend the swearing-in; to show solidarity with her, a number of lawmakers did the same. On Thursday afternoon, Mrs. Kirchner took a commercial flight to the Patagonian city of Río Gallegos with her son, Máximo Kirchner, a lawmaker, and her dog. Saying that she had actually been facilitating the transition, Mrs. Kirchner wrote that she had ordered the flower beds at the presidential residence to be reseeded for the new tenant. |
| In the end, Federico Pinedo, a lawmaker in Mr. Macri’s party, served as acting president between midnight and noon on Thursday, and it was he who placed the sash over Mr. Macri and handed him the baton at the presidential palace, as regional leaders looked on. From a balcony of the palace, Mr. Macri then spoke, and briefly danced, before crowds gathered in the plaza outside. | In the end, Federico Pinedo, a lawmaker in Mr. Macri’s party, served as acting president between midnight and noon on Thursday, and it was he who placed the sash over Mr. Macri and handed him the baton at the presidential palace, as regional leaders looked on. From a balcony of the palace, Mr. Macri then spoke, and briefly danced, before crowds gathered in the plaza outside. |
| Mrs. Kirchner delivered a farewell speech to her supporters in the same plaza on Wednesday night. Positioning herself as an unyielding opposition leader, she accused Mr. Macri of using disagreements over the ceremony to distract attention from his plans for major changes in economic policy. Though she was barred by the Constitution from running this year for a third consecutive term, she is free to run again in 2019. | Mrs. Kirchner delivered a farewell speech to her supporters in the same plaza on Wednesday night. Positioning herself as an unyielding opposition leader, she accused Mr. Macri of using disagreements over the ceremony to distract attention from his plans for major changes in economic policy. Though she was barred by the Constitution from running this year for a third consecutive term, she is free to run again in 2019. |
| Some of her supporters expressed skepticism about the new president. Micaela Zaina, 26, who is studying to be a social worker, pointed to Mr. Macri’s small margin of victory, of just 2.7 percent, the equivalent of fewer than 700,000 votes in a nation of 43 million, and accused him of fueling the rift over the ceremony to drive popular support behind him. | Some of her supporters expressed skepticism about the new president. Micaela Zaina, 26, who is studying to be a social worker, pointed to Mr. Macri’s small margin of victory, of just 2.7 percent, the equivalent of fewer than 700,000 votes in a nation of 43 million, and accused him of fueling the rift over the ceremony to drive popular support behind him. |
| “It was just another operetta to legitimize his government, so that they hate her even more,” Ms. Zaina said, referring to Mrs. Kirchner. “Half the country wanted a different government, not Macri’s,” she added. | “It was just another operetta to legitimize his government, so that they hate her even more,” Ms. Zaina said, referring to Mrs. Kirchner. “Half the country wanted a different government, not Macri’s,” she added. |
| Tensions were reflected even in the presidential palace’s official Twitter feed. It was renamed “2003-2015,” for the years Mrs. Kirchner’s political movement was in power, and it was evidently still in her supporters’ hands on Thursday, when it included posts hinting that Mr. Macri had little support among Argentines. It has since been made unofficial. | Tensions were reflected even in the presidential palace’s official Twitter feed. It was renamed “2003-2015,” for the years Mrs. Kirchner’s political movement was in power, and it was evidently still in her supporters’ hands on Thursday, when it included posts hinting that Mr. Macri had little support among Argentines. It has since been made unofficial. |
| Carlos Pagni, a political commentator, wrote in the newspaper La Nación on Thursday that Mrs. Kirchner’s decision to stay away had an “ideological dimension.” | Carlos Pagni, a political commentator, wrote in the newspaper La Nación on Thursday that Mrs. Kirchner’s decision to stay away had an “ideological dimension.” |
| “Cristina Kirchner proposes maintaining the polarization that she and her husband engraved into public life in the last 12 years,” he said, referring to Néstor Kirchner, who preceded Mrs. Kirchner as president. | “Cristina Kirchner proposes maintaining the polarization that she and her husband engraved into public life in the last 12 years,” he said, referring to Néstor Kirchner, who preceded Mrs. Kirchner as president. |