A supporter of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner cries in court after the sentencing LUIS ROBAYO (AFP)
The sentencing of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner to six years in prison and permanent removal from office spread like wildfire in telephone chats and social networks. The unprecedented corruption conviction of the vice president, Argentina’s most popular and hated politician, triggered a cascade of reactions. For her supporters, she is innocent and the verdict aims to ban her from political life. For critics, the verdict confirms the existence of a matrix of state corruption and represents an important step towards impunity.
The public address system installed outside the federal courthouses failed, and the few Kirchner protesters who gathered there had to resort to cell phones to find out that she had been found guilty. Some wept; Others cried out in anger at what they believed to be a “judicial mafia coup.” However, the majority complied with the order not to go out on the streets and responded to the verdict from home.
“An entire city is defending you, the truth is on your side and history is with you. Today is a scandal,” Interior Minister Wado de Pedro tweeted. Other members of Alberto Fernández’s cabinet and MPs from the ruling Frente de Todos focused their criticism on the alleged collusion between the judiciary, opposition politicians and the mainstream media to condemn them. This is how it was with the head of the justice department, Martín Soria: “More than a decade ago Cristina Kirchner was condemned by the Grupo Clarín in the media. Today, the judicial mafia has turned that hatred into an illegitimate verdict, bearing the signature of anti-Peronism and an unspeakable desire: to ban us again and control democracy.”
over a decade ago @CFKArgentina was condemned in the media of Grupo Clarín. Today, the judicial mafia has turned that hatred into an illegitimate verdict bearing the signature of anti-Peronism and an unspeakable desire: to ban us again and control democracy. pic.twitter.com/ZGVD4Oz3gR
— Martin Soria (@MartinSoria_) December 6, 2022
“The verdict is nonsense that has nothing to do with reality. The prosecutors and the director of Clarín wrote the case while drinking mate in front of the lake,” said lawmaker José Luis Gioja on the same social network, referring to the controversial trip by a group of judges to millionaire Joe Lewis’ ranch in Patagonia.
The Human Rights Secretariat warned in a statement that the verdict is “inextricably linked to the upcoming electoral process and will end with the 2023 presidential election”. For the secretariat, the verdict “represents a clear restriction of the political rights of the vice president”.
“Justice Has Been Done”
The opposition dreamed of a 12-year sentence requested by prosecutor Diego Luciani but celebrated the six-year sentence handed down by the Federal Supreme Court 2 . Buenos Aires Mayor Horacio Rodríguez Larreta, one of the main opposition candidates for the presidency. Rodríguez Larreta felt the verdict confirmed that “an unprecedented model of systemic corruption can be stopped” in Argentine history.
The Radical Citizens’ Union, part of the opposition coalition “Together for Change”, described the verdict as “historic” and stressed the need to demand honesty and transparency from those in power in the country.
One of the Buenos Aires mayor’s rivals in the internal opposition, former Security Minister Patricia Bullrich, warned that justice would be served if the former president “returns all the stolen money and goes to jail for the crimes committed”.
The judgment only becomes final once all legal remedies have been exhausted, which can take years.
Kirchner cannot be arrested because she enjoys privileges in public office. However, that immunity could be lifted next year if she remains determined not to run for a third term as president or even for a seat in the legislature in the 2023 election.
Argentine President Alberto Fernández is silent for the time being from Montevideo, where he attended the Mercosur summit this morning.
From abroad, the vice-president received support from some progressive Latin American leaders, such as former Bolivian President Evo Morales. The Puebla group denounced what it sees as “a political process being orchestrated by the right with law enforcement officials and the media to remove it from democratic debate.”
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