Argentine President Cristina Fernandez on Saturday denied opposition claims that her husband, former President Nestor Kirchner, runs her presidency.
She also said she doesn't regret imposing the grain-export taxes that caused a farming crisis and helped put her approval ratings in the basement, the AP reported.
Fernandez spoke at her first news conference in eight months in office, addressing many wide-ranging themes, from her husband and taxes to the U.S. presidential election.
Analysts called it part of her strategy to regain political footing after her sharp fall in popularity and key political defeat in the four-month farming crisis. Some polls put her approval ratings at 20 percent.
Fernandez was elected last October after her husband served four years.
"Comments of that nature come from a biased reading of reality," she said of claims that Kirchner is still running the government. "We're simply a political team that has worked for a long time with the same vision and common ideas about the society we want."
She imposed the grain-import taxes in March to encourage farmers to sell grains locally rather than at soaring export prices. The taxes sparked protests, road blockades and sporadic food shortages. They were defeated in a surprise Senate vote last month, with Fernandez's own vice president casting the deciding vote.
Fernandez said high agricultural profits in the face of soaring world food prices still "should be taken up as an instrument of economic policy."
She also showed some favoritism toward U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, saying she was surprised by his personality, speech and new approach.
"I have to confess that I've never followed an election campaign in the United States with such interest," she said.