Argentina appoints new secretary of 'national thought'
Cristina Kirchner appoints 'national thought' secretary, promoting criticism of the fascist overtones of the post
9:59AM BST 06 Jun 2014
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Argentina's President Cristina Kirchner has created a new post: secretary for strategic co-ordination of national thought.
Opposition leaders immediately derided the initiative, with some bristling over what they see as the post's fascist overtones.
"With a year and a half to go before they leave office, they could have named someone to act instead of think," said Ernesto Sanz, head of the opposition Radical Civic Union.
Ricardo Forster, who was named to the post, said the idea was to "build networks among academics and intellectuals who are thinking about joint projects in Latin America".
He said it had nothing to do with trying to inculcate "uniformity of thought".
The 56-year-old trained philosopher is a member of a circle of intellectuals close to Kirchner, whose term ends in 2015.
"It's pathetic and deplorable to designate a strategic secretary for national thought, as if those who aren't Kichneristas are not national," said Federico Pinedo, head of a conservative bloc in the lower house. "That's old-style fascism."
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