The May 21 announcement by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez of the nationalisation of a series of companies involved in steel and iron production has shaken up an otherwise lacklustre election campaign in Argentina for National Congress on June 28.
Of the six companies nationalised, two were majority owned by Techint, a transnational consortium controlled by Argentine corporate interests, which also had minority interests in another company nationalised.
A united front of 15 business organisations, including the two largest industrial associations, three from the exporting sector, and two banking groups, condemned Chavez's moves and attacked Argentine President Cristina Fernandez for not defending Argentine "national interests".
Even the president of the General Confederation of Workers (CGT), an important ally of the government, came out against Chavez's moves.
"I do not agree with the decision to nationalise private companies because it was not the policy that [former nationalist Argentine president Juan Domingo] Peron taught us in his time," commented Hugo Moyano.
For days, the front pages of the major newspapers echoed these sentiments. Opposition parties claimed the government's unwillingness to challenge Chavez's decision was a signal that the moderate Fernandez would unleash her own wave of nationalisations after June 28.
Chavez's decision was the result of an intense two-day discussion between 400 workers from the basic industry complex in Guayana, out of which came proposals that included nationalisation under workers control.
As was the case of the giant steel factory, Sidor, which was majority owned by Techint until it was nationalised last year, all factories nationalised have been the site of intense industrial disputes.
Workers at one plant had not been paid since October due to a dispute over the signing of a new collective contract.
In response to criticism, the Fernandez government said it respected Venezuela's sovereign right to make such decisions, but that it would lobby to ensure that Techint got the best outcome possible in negotiations over compensation.
The Fernandez government has a close relationship with the Chavez government based on preferential trade agreements between the two countries and joint opposition to some regional policies pushed by the US.
Fernandez was quick to dismiss any possibility of a wave of nationalisations, pointing out that the few nationalisations the government had carried out up until now had occurred as a result of bankruptcies and the lack of private capital willing to buy out those companies.
In some cases, such as that of Aerolineas Argentina, the government stated that its intentions were to nationalise the bankrupt company in order to get it running and sell it off again.
Nestor Kirchner, who preceded Fernandez (his wife) as president and is now heading the list of pro-government candidates for Buenos Aires, said that while the governments of Venezuela and Argentina were good friends, they were not the same.
Kirchner pointed to Chavez's declared aim of building 21st century socialism, as opposed to Fernandez's aim of building "national capitalism".
Current polls indicate that Fernandez may lose her majority in the Congress to right-wing parties in an election where half the lower house and one-third of the Senate are up for grabs.