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Nestor Kirchner, the former president of Argentina and husband of current president Cristina Kirchner, has died this morning due to heart failure at the age of 60. The leftist-Peronist politician was widely expected to mount another presidential campaign in 2011.
Kirchner was pronounced dead at around 9 this morning after complaining of a flu yesterday, and chest pain earlier in the day. The former president had undergone two heart surgeries earlier this year. One in September to unclog a blocked artery, and another in February to remove an obstruction in the carotid artery.
Kirchner and his wife Cristina were seen as generally in line with a new wing of Leftist American presidents. While allies of more controversial leaders like Hugo Chavez and the Castros, Kirchner was not hostile to the United States. Though, he underemphasis ties with the U.S. in favor of strengthening economic power in Latin America.
The Kirchner gained the nickname of the “Clintons of Latin America” in the U.S. for their equal political ambition, and Nestor Kirchner was expected to once again campaign take the reigns of power once his wife’s term ended. Cristina Kirchner is still eligible to run for a second term.
