Argentina’s Presidential Decree

Argentine President Kristina Kirchner recently used her presidential decree powers in two high profile cases.

First, and to the dismay of many living in Argentina’s west and south, the President used a decree to temporarily move all clocks forward one hour starting on December 30^th. This adjustment, which leaves much of the country under daylight well into the night, is hoped to alleviate Argentina’s power shortages and Buenos Aires’ recent blackouts.

Then, in a move that will bring the first high speed train to Latin America, President Kirchner used a presidential decree to grant a 1.5 billion dollar contract for a high speed train link between Buenos Aires and Cordoba to a consortium headed by the French company Alstom.

These two decrees demonstrate the proactive power afforded to Argentina’s President by the country’s institutions, and more generally, highlight the powers of presidential decrees in presidential systems. The result, in these two cases, has been decisive policy making on two issues calling for quick decisions, although it appears both decisions may have some feeling left out.

For more on these two stories, please see:

http://www.economist.com/world/la/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10566820

http://www.hemscott.com/news/latest-news/item.do?newsId=57266947191808

-Argentina Group