Reuters

Wednesday, September 26, 2012
By Hugh Bronstein

BUENOS AIRES, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Georgetown University students in Washington D.C. got to do something on Wednesday that Argentine journalists rarely get to do: grill visiting President Cristina Fernandez on issues like her country's discredited inflation statistics.

Fernandez is a gifted public speaker but she seldom holds news conferences or gives interviews at home. Her drive to crack down on media monopolies has aggravated a long-running feud with top Argentine conglomerate Grupo Clarin.

One student asked Fernandez why he and fellow Latin American studies classmates were allowed to ask her questions when Argentine journalists rarely get the chance.

"In Argentina, when a reporter doesn't like the answer, he starts to yell and make a fuss," Fernandez said, appearing surprised by the question. "They scream, get angry, they throw things, one broke a door in the press room once."

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