ARGENTINA: A Muted Si for Isabel

Since she took office after the death of her husband last July, Argentina's President Isabel Perón has been bedeviled by leftist guerrillas, rightist extremists, angry farmers and restive labor unions. Lately her government has seemed on the verge of foundering. Some diplomatic observers have even predicted a military takeover. Yet last week Mrs. Perón received an unexpected vote of confidence.

Elections for a new provincial government—the first balloting of any kind since Juan Perón died—were held in the rural northeastern province of Misiones. Local issues figured too strongly to make the contest an accurate gauge of the President's nationwide support....