Ol' Spackleface is back[Al-Rooters] Former Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner intends to run for the office again this year, two sources close to left-leaning politician told Reuters, the strongest indication yet that the populist leader will look to mount a challenge to incumbent Mauricio Macri.
Fernández, who has yet to formally announce herself as a candidate in the elections in October, would make boosting consumer purchasing power a focus, the sources said, a counter to Macri's austerity push that has dented his popularity.
The election run, if confirmed, would make Fernández the first and most high-profile challenger to Macri, who is expected to run for a second term but whose leadership has faced heavy criticism after rampant inflation last year and a falling economy hit voters hard.
A Macri versus Fernández battle would likely dominate the election process in what will be a major crossroads for Argentina's economic and political future: a choice between Macri's IMF-backed economic reforms or a return to Peronism.
Fernandez - who led the country from 2007 through 2015 and is now a senator - is Macri's arch political rival and is among his main critics from within the country's Peronist movement.