Fernandez Strives to Hold Argentine Congress as Transition Nears

Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner is battling to retain a majority in Congress to maintain policies that have spooked investors as support for her coalition plunges to a 10-year low.

Fernandez’s candidates in Oct. 27 mid-term congressional elections are set to replicate results of an August primary in which support for her Victory Front coalition fell to 26 percent from 54 percent when she was re-elected in 2011, according to a survey by Management & Fit. Her leading candidate in Buenos Aires province, Martin Insaurralde, had 33.3 percent support against 40.5 percent for former Cabinet Chief Sergio Massa, according to the Oct. 11-17 poll of 800 people, which had a margin of error of 2.3 percentage points.