Argentina

Checking out Martinique’s and Guadeloupe’s Neighborhood Caribbean Politics in the 21st Century

There are at least two large themes underpinning a number of the contemporary developments in Martinique and Guadeloupe, and by extension in other Caribbean countries: one is the question of autonomy or independence, the other is a matter of identity. Much has been said about these issues – and one can think of the contribution of such Caribbean intellectuals as Césaire, Glissant, Chamoiseau, and others – and it is indeed difficult at this point to hope to add much of substance to this debate. One may argue, however, that preoccupation with these issues, and the relative neglect of the immediately adjacent Caribbean neighborhood, has much to do with the special status Guadeloupe and Martinique enjoy as French overseas departments. In any case, it also appears that these issues have, to a large extent, become the provenance of limited political or intellectual elite, and are no longer part of a band of thinkers sharing a deeply felt political credo. In Martinique, polls clearly show that such theoretical issues are considered to be of much less concern than more mundane and immediate matters such as unemployment, economic development, housing, education, drugs, or social security. Presumably, this is also true for Guadeloupe.

Malos Aires, Argentina

Christina Fernández at the Helm

Four months after being sworn in as the first elected female president of Argentina, President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner is now facing the most hectoring of times since taking office on December 10, 2007. Argentine farmers only recently ended a three-week strike protesting a tax increase on grain exports, saying that the strikes will be suspended for only thirty days in order to allow time for the four major farm groups to hold negotiations with the government. Farmers had been blocking local roads as well as major highways in order to prevent trucks from transporting agricultural produce. Taxes on soybeans, which today are Argentina’s principal export, along with other products, like wheat, were increased from 35 percent to almost 45 percent, in an effort to curb rising inflation levels and high prices on domestic food supplies. President Fernández currently faces grave challenges because she holds the country’s well-being in her hands.


By the time that the strike was lifted, there were shortages of meat, fresh produce, and dairy products, as well as a shut-down of grain and livestock shipments. On March 25, there was a nationwide rally in support of the farmers, in which thousands of their supporters banged pots and pans in the streets of the capital, while Fernández adamantly maintained her position that the tax increase was necessary in part to redistribute wealth in a country where a little under 24% of the population already lives below the poverty line.