Fernandez, who harnessed President Nestor Kirchner’s achievements in bringing Argentina back from a US$100 billion debt default, won the support of many Argentines despite offering few original proposals. Kirchner declined to seek a second term he seemed sure to win and instead deferred to his wife, a senator and fellow lawyer. Fernandez, 54, has reached out to the business community, a sector that sometimes felt victimised in her husband’s administration.

Her closest challengers, former lawmaker Elisa Carrio and former Economy Minister Roberto Lavagna, were trying to force her into a November 25 runoff, but all major pre-election polls showed her getting the 40 per cent — with a lead of more than 10 per cent — she needs to win outright.

Unlike Hillary Rodham Clinton, with whom she is often compared, Fernandez didn’t have to go through a bruising primary or much of any vetting process. Fernandez, who refused to debate and spent much of the campaign abroad in photo-ops with world leaders, also drew much attention for her chic European dresses and designer bags. She has also been compared with “Evita” Peron, another fashion-conscious and politically influential Argentine first lady. Fernandez, however, has steered clear of all comparisons.

“It has been an unequal campaign, a thousand against one,” Carrio said in her campaign closing last week. “We don’t know what plans she has,” former Economy Minister Roberto Lavagna, another presidential candidate, told reporters. Fernandez has presented herself as a candidate of change while at the same time vowing to continue the policies of her husband. In a television interview last week, the mother of two also dismissed rumors that she had gotten a face-lift, but didn’t rule out the procedure in the future. Opponents have plastered before and after photos of her around the capital in an effort to demonstrate how her public “look” has improved, even as she ages.