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Last summer, pundits were writing the political obituaries of Cristina and Néstor Kirchner, Argentina’s first couple. Their coalition had suffered big losses in national legislative elections. Néstor, the former Argentine president (2003–2007), had failed in his bid to win a congressional seat, and he had subsequently resigned as leader of the Peronist Party. Cristina, the incumbent president, had seen her popularity plummet. The decline in global commodity prices was causing serious economic pain. Foreign investors were fleeing. All signs pointed to an opposition victory in the 2011 presidential election.