A four-strong United States Congress delegation headed by Representative Eliot Engel (Democrat-New York) yesterday met with both President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and Foreign Minister Jorge Taiana yesterday but perhaps the most striking note of their day was what was described as a "historic" meeting with several CGT trade unionists headed by Secretary-General Hugo Moyano.

The group headed by Engel (who has strong blue-collar contacts in the US) was accompanied by the new US Ambassador Vilma S. Martínez (herself with an extremely solid background in labour law) as they discussed the "the social and economic reality" of Argentina over a two-hour "asado" lunch with the trade unionists at the CGT headquarters in Azopardo Street.

The CGT told their US visitors that "not only the (legal) security of the companies should be respected but also workers' rights," also stressing the need for strong trade unions. Moyano underlined that the CGT was fully behind the CFK administration.

Argentine Ambassador to Washington Héctor Timerman described the joint lunch yesterday as "historic" since it was the first time US politicians had not limited their reading of the Argentine economy to the views of company executives.

Apart from Moyano, the CGT leaders included Antonio Caló, (UOM metal workers union), Omar Viviani (taxi-drivers), Juan Carlos Schmidt (dredging and buoy-laying), Mario Manrique (SMATA auto workers) and Amadeo Genta (municipal workers) among others.

Taiana hailed the meeting between the US Congress group and the CGT for adding a working-class perspective to the bilateral relationship. In general, he described the visit as "positive" and a "friendly gesture," adding that there were many shared interests and interests between the two countries. But he also added: "There is much we can do together to improve the relationship and tighten it both bilaterally and regionally."

Engel, who chairs the House Subcommittee on Hemispheric Affairs (the top congressional authority on US Latin American policy), had expressed it slightly differently at a welcome reception for the Congress delegation hosted by Ambassador Martínez at her residence on Tuesday evening. He spoke glowingly of a "great" relationship between two countries with much more in common than anything dividing them who should work together for a better world.

The Engel delegation brought to the table an agenda including human rights, nuclear non-proliferation, sustainable development and the wars on both drugs and terrorism. Within the latter context the New York Democrat has a special interest in the investigation into the terrorist bomb destruction of the AMIA Jewish community centre in 1994.

Taiana also emphasized Argentina's interest in "opening up the US market."
At the reception Engel largely confined himself to allowing his second visit here in two years to speak for itself as indicating his enthusiasm and to presenting the other members of the delegation (all Democrats, thus breaking with a bipartisan tradition): Lynn Woolsey (California), Shelley Berkley (Nevada) and Pedro Pierluisi (Puerto Rico), along with Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Christopher McMullen, the right-hand man of Arturo Valenzuela who paid a controversial visit here last month. Engel joked as to who had more Puerto Ricans in his constituency - he or Pierluisi.

In her speech at a well-attended reception, Martínez highlighted the Congressional role in ensuring that US foreign policy was not made in isolation by the White House or the State Department but included legislative pluralism.

Engel's speech also included warm praise for both ambassadors, thus indicating that Timerman has been forgiven for his part in fuelling the controversy over Valenzuela quoting business doubts about "legal security" in Argentina.