Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner's memoir, 'Sinceramente', hits the shelves
Former Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner's eagerly anticipated new book, Sinceramente ('Sincerely'), has been released to the public.
Mainly an overview of her 2007-15 presidency, many are eager to see if Sinceramente confirms whether or not she's planning another bid for the presidency.
Sparking further speculation this week, the former president announced that she will present the book in person at the 45th Buenos Aires International Book Fair on May 9.
Kirchner, 66, has neither confirmed nor denied her candidacy. Despite a concerted media, government - and, it was recently revealed, intelligence-run extortion - campaign against her, recent polls show her besting incumbent President Mauricio Macri by 9 points.
The book, around 600 pages, went on sale on opening day at the book fair and at selected bookshops across the country. All other stores should be be stocking it today.
Its initial print run was said to be around 20,000, with many bookstores reporting having copies sold out within hours. Those selling the book at the fair said it was one of the best-selling items.
Local outlets reported Friday that another print run of some 40,000 had been ordered.
The book is also a needed boost for Argentina's publishing industry, which since Macri took office has fallen from 83 million books in 2015, to 43 million last year - the lowest since 2003.
Book sales were down another 12% in the first quarter of 2019.
Chaos
"Macri is chaos, that's why I firmly believe that Argentina needs to be sorted out," Kirchner writes.
The peso has lost 56% of its value against the dollar since Macri's carry-trade debt bubble imploded a year ago this week, pushing inflation from 25% to 55%, central bank rates from 27% to 72%, and sending real wages down 17% and GDP down 6.2% - the second recession since Macri took office.
The resulting debt crisis forced Macri to go to the IMF, where he secured a $56 billion high-access stand-by credit line - the most restrictive kind, and one which only three other crisis-wracked countries (Iraq, Jamaica, and Kenya) currently have.
"Today the country is in complete political, economic, social and cultural regression," Kirchner writes in the introduction. "And I hope that, by reading these pages, we can think and discuss without hate, without lies and without grievances."
At: http://www.batimes.com.ar/news/argentina/cristina-fernandez-de-kirchners-book-sinceramente-hits-the-shelves.phtml
Former Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and her newly-published memoir, Sinceramente ('Sincerely').
The book, mostly reflections on her 2007-15 presidency, is seen by many as her candidacy announcement for this year's presidential elections, which recent polls show she'd likely win.
But despite the June 22 filing deadline, Mrs. Kirchner has remained non-committal, and may endorse a fellow center-left Peronist instead.
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