World | Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner Argentina's Prez Struggles to Keep Power Peronists abandon Kirchner as approval rating drops to 20% By Jason Farago Posted Jul 2, 2008 7:03 AM CDT Copied Police officers detain Alfredo De Angeli, a prominent farmers' activist , for blockading the road in Gualeguaychu, on the Argentinean border with Uruguay, Saturday, June 14, 2008. (AP Photo/Ricardo Santellan) Six months ago Cristina Fernández de Kirchner succeeded her husband as president of Argentina, romping to victory with the help of a huge turnout in rural provinces. But those bastions of Peronism have since turned on Kirchner, whose hugely unpopular agricultural tax hike set off a months-long battle between the government and the nation's farmers. Now the president faces a critical vote in Congress that imperils her government. As the New York Times reports, the president's approval rating recently plummeted to 20%, and as the people turn on her, her own party's politicians are preparing to do the same. "Like Bill Clinton said, ‘It’s the economy, stupid,’ and that’s why we voted for her," said one mayor, a lifelong Peronist who has abandoned Kirchner. "And we really were stupid." Read These Next Gavin Newsom has filed a massive lawsuit against Fox News. New York Times ranks the best movies of the 21st century. A man has been deported for kicking an airport customs beagle. Supreme Court gives Trump big win on national injunctions. Report an error