From his inauguration in 2003 Néstor Kirchner has had a knack for multiplying his enemies and seems to see no reason for stopping now that he is a congressional candidate — without relenting in any way in his demonization of the farming sector, he has evidently singled out industry as a target, especially the Techint multinational. Just to make absolutely clear the basic message that the Cristina Fernández de Kirchner administration places jobs above business profits, both members of the presidential couple were at it on Thursday — Kirchner rapped Techint for paying out six million dollars in director bonuses amid wage arrears of 27 million dollars while CFK announced the loan of 70 million dollars of ANSeS social security administration money (read confiscated AFJP private pension funds) to the ailing General Motors plant in Santa Fe province, also rubbing in the contrast with the bankrupt mother company in the United States.

The message is clear enough — the question is whether the hostility towards business is just electioneering or the shape of things to come. If nationalizations are the order of the day in a crisis-stricken world, why not in Argentina? The big problem with emulating Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez in nationalizing Techint (as he did last month, thus sparking the current tension between the government and business rather than their alliance against Venezuela which should have been more logical) is that the Kirchners are not exactly awash with cash like Chávez but need that be a problem — how much compensation was ever paid for such nationalizations as Aerolíneas Argentinas or the AFJP private pension funds? If Kirchner wins these elections (or more accurately, wins on his own terms by eking out a lead in Buenos Aires because he is sure to suffer an objective defeat with the loss of a Congress majority), there are fears of wholesale nationalizations perhaps beginning with the grain trade and affecting the financial sector.

The only trouble with nationalizations is that the state seems to be much better at spending than making money, always needing to raid soy windfalls or private pension funds to keep the largesse flowing. The message is that the government is perfectly willing to sacrifice a world player and export heavyweight like Techint in order to save jobs but the government will have to come up with something rather better than crony capitalism to find the requisite revenues once the Techints are gone.

From his inauguration in 2003 Néstor Kirchner has had a knack for multiplying his enemies and seems to see no reason for stopping now that he is a congressional candidate.