Oct. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Argentine comedian Nito Artaza, having poked fun at politicians for 25 years, says his campaign for Congress should receive no special treatment.

``I'll have to criticize myself on the show now,'' said Artaza, 46, as he prepared to take the stage for his nightly performance in ``The IMF Can Wait,'' a variety show spiked with political jokes and jibes at the country's economic woes.

Artaza's co-star Moria Casan, a 54-year-old showgirl who appears with her upper torso barely covered by the coils of a golden, artificial snake, is also seeking office in this month's mid-term elections for federal legislators.

Nine show-business personalities, from actors to television hosts, are running for office in Argentina, reflecting the disillusionment with the politicians who presided over an economic crisis in 2001 and 2002, said Eduardo Ovalles, a political analyst at Nueva Mayoria, a Buenos Aires public opinion research company.

``The fact that we sought to fill the shoes of career politicians speaks of a crisis of representation of the political system,'' said Artaza, wearing white shoes, suit, shirt and tie as he puts the final touches to his makeup.

Though the economy has grown at an annual pace of 8 percent for the past two years, just 2 percent of Argentines have a positive image of the nation's political parties, according to a Nueva Mayoria poll of about 1,100 people taken in Buenos Aires from Aug. 22 to Aug. 31. A similar survey in 1995 showed 20 percent of respondents had a positive image.

Frozen Deposits

In 2002, when the government froze bank deposits and the peso fell 70 percent against the dollar, a Nueva Mayoria poll showed no support for political parties.

Artaza became active in politics in 2002 as the leader of a campaign against government decisions to freeze the savings of him and millions of other Argentines, and then convert dollar- denominated deposits into pesos.

Artaza blames the IMF for prescribing policies that led to the economic crisis, He said he named his show ``The IMF Can Wait'' because payments on debt owed to the fund should take second place to helping make up losses suffered by Argentines.

In a bid to recover popularity among disillusioned voters, Argentina's two main political parties have included show- business personalities in their voting lists for the election, which President Nestor Kirchner, 55, describes as a plebiscite of his two-year presidency.

``Celebrities are the natural renovation of the political arena after the crisis,'' said Ovalles of Nueva Mayoria.

Chat-Show Hosts

The ruling Peronist Party has enlisted television chat-show host Claudio Morgado, 46. Casan -- who said on announcing her candidacy on July 4 that she would bring glamour and glitter to Congress -- is running for a party that backs policies carried out by former President Carlos Menem, 65, including selling state assets to attract international capital to the country.

Artaza and actor Luis Brandoni, 65, represent the Radical Party, which was in power at the time of Argentina's 2001 default on $95 billion of debt.

The disenchantment with politicians and their failure in government is an opportunity for newcomers to emerge, said Brandoni. Celebrities, who are known by the public and have their own following, have a head start, he said.

``We do have an advantage from being well recognized and liked by a lot of people,'' said Brandoni, who has appeared in 42 films since 1966.

Candidates representing smaller, independent parties include former showgirls Zulma Faiad, 61, and Ethel Rojo, 68, as well as tango singers Hugo Marcel, 62, and Hugo del Carril, 39.

Domingo Cavallo, 59, who as economy minister oversaw the debt default and then restricted bank withdrawals, last month withdrew his candidacy for the lower house after polls gave him less than 1 percent support.

Such disdain by voters shows the depths to which Argentine politics have sunk, Artaza said. ``The country must be in a really bad state when people like Moria and I can enter Congress,'' he told his audience.

To contact the reporter on this story: Daniel Helft in Buenos Aires at dhelft@bloomberg.net;

Last Updated: October 4, 2005 00:08 EDT