PanaTimes

Tuesday, Oct 03, 2023

The corruption case against Argentina’s VP Kirchner, explained

The corruption case against Argentina’s VP Kirchner, explained

Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner faces 12 years in jail on corruption allegations she denies. Here’s what’s going on.

One of the most polarising figures in Argentina went on the offensive this week as a corruption trial against her enters its next phase.

Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, the country’s former president and current vice president, has rejected the “media judicial firing squad” that she said has already written her conviction over allegations she led an illicit scheme that siphoned state funds through the awarding of public works contracts to a family friend.

On Monday, the lead prosecutor in the case asked a federal court in Buenos Aires to sentence Fernandez de Kirchner to 12 years in jail and ban her from holding public office for the rest of her life. She has denied the charges and said she is a victim of judicial and political persecution.

“I’ve said this before. They aren’t coming for me. They’re coming for all of you,” the 69-year-old told her supporters at the conclusion of a 90-minute address on Tuesday broadcast on her YouTube channel and televised by the media. “For the salaries, for workers’ rights, for retirees, for our indebtedness – that’s what they’re after.”

Here, Al Jazeera examines the case, the public response in Argentina, and the potential political ramifications for the South American nation:




What exactly is she accused of?


Fernandez de Kirchner is one of 13 people charged in the so-called “Causa Vialidad”, which centres on the awarding of public works contracts in the Patagonian province of Santa Cruz, where she and her late husband, former President Nestor Kirchner, cemented their political careers.

She is charged with “illicit association aggravated by her quality as leader” and “aggravated fraudulent administration”.


When did this allegedly happen?


The case focuses on a 12-year time period, starting in the early 2000s, during which 51 contracts were awarded to companies owned by Lazaro Baez, a businessman who was a friend and associate of the Kirchners. Baez, who was convicted last year of money laundering, went from being a bank employee to founding a construction company in the days before Nestor Kirchner took office in 2003.

The prosecution said that the construction firm was only ever created as a shell company to extract money from the state, however. Nearly 80 percent of the public works contracts in Santa Cruz between 2003 and 2015 went to Baez, often at inflated prices or with other special considerations, according to the prosecution. Of the 51 contracts, 24 were never completed, it added.

People demonstrate against Fernandez de Kirchner outside her home in Buenos Aires this month


What has her legal team said?


The defence has denied the charges. They said the premise of the accusations against Fernandez de Kirchner was absurd, noting in particular that public works contracts go through Congress, so any allegation of illicit association, they argued, would have to then extend to that legislative body.

But prosecutor Diego Luciani stated that nearly one-third of the contracts bypassed that process and those that did contained incorrect information. The left-wing Fernandez de Kirchner served two terms as president, from 2007 to 2015, following her husband’s four-year tenure.

“When Nestor Kirchner took over the presidency of the nation, and later his wife … they installed and maintained within the national and provincial administration of Santa Cruz, one of the most extraordinary corruption matrixes that unfortunately and sadly ever existed in the country,” Luciani said during nine days of closing remarks this month, estimating that the alleged “criminal manoeuver” cost the state $926m.


What does Fernandez de Kirchner have to say?


A lot. Denied the chance to address the tribunal on Tuesday, the vice president in her 90-minute response shared on YouTube denounced a “fictitious” case she said was designed by her political enemies to discredit her and scare others into submission.

“Nothing that the prosecutors said was proven,” she said. “They were not accusations; it was a script and a pretty bad one at that.”

Displaying articles written by La Nacion and Clarin, two major Argentinian media outlets that she described as “the flagships of lawfare”, Fernandez sought to show how the “script” was written by the media. She focused on court documents and WhatsApp chats between one of her co-accused, Jose Lopez — an ex-secretary of public works under both Kirchner governments who was caught in 2016 trying to hide five bags stuffed with $9m and a semi-automatic rifle in a convent — and Nicolas Caputo, a construction company owner and close confidant of former President Mauricio Macri, who succeeded her tenure.

“When the prosecutor Diego Luciani says, ‘Wherever you press, pus comes out,’ he’s right. It’s your pus, the pus of Macristas,” she said. “It’s not just about stigmatising and confusing people, but protecting those who are actually robbing the country.”

Supporters of the vice president gather outside the National Congress on August 23


How does the public in Argentina feel about the case?


Like all things that have to do with the vice president, the Argentinian public is divided on the matter. On Monday, after the prosecution completed its closing arguments, supporters and detractors faced off outside Fernandez de Kirchner’s home in the posh Buenos Aires neighbourhood of Recoleta.

On one side, people hoisted banners that accused her of being a “thief” and banged pots and pans, while on the other, her backers sang political chants and jumped up and down in boisterous support. Police used tear gas and batons to disperse the Fernandez de Kichner supporters, in what her allies denounced as a show of excessive violence. A legislator for the ruling Frente de Todos coalition was briefly arrested.

Oscar Sanchez, a 60-year-old taxi driver, said he and much of the country was most prosperous during the Kirchner years and that the court case is about targeting an economic model. “I don’t trust the media or the judicial system, which is the most corrupt system there is here,” he told Al Jazeera. But Maria, a retired radiologist, fumed with anger at the vice president, whom she accused of stealing money. “I think the case against her is real,” said Maria, who declined to give Al Jazeera her last name.

Supporters gathered outside the National Congress on Tuesday and Fernandez de Kirchner came out on a balcony and sang chants with them.


What are the next legal steps, and how long could this process take?


The trial has already lasted three years, but there is still a way to go. Next, each of the 13 defendants will have the chance to make closing statements. They are each allocated three sessions for those closing remarks, and these will begin in September.

The local media is reporting that the panel of three judges may return a verdict as early as December, or it could stretch to March of next year.

Once that verdict is delivered, the parties have the right to appeal, first to the Camera de Casacion Penal and then ultimately to the Supreme Court. That potential final hearing in Argentina’s highest court could come as late as 2025.




Will Fernandez de Kirchner be allowed to remain in office?


The legal process has not impeded the vice president’s ability to hold public office, and will not prevent her from running in next year’s national election should she choose. That is because even if she is convicted by the Tribunal Oral Federal 2, the conviction must be “firm” — meaning all avenues of appeal must be exhausted — and it must come with a prison sentence before it can affect her ability to seek public office.

But a guilty verdict would certainly send shockwaves across the country. All her allies, including President Alberto Fernandez, came out this week denouncing the case as judicial and media persecution.

“Beyond the lack of evidence that the prosecutor demonstrated, the problem is that he started from a premise that said that she, as president, could not not know what was happening,” the president said. “All the crimes she is accused of are crimes that require intent, having wanted to do it.”

Several left-wing leaders in the region also threw their support behind her, while her opponents accused her of delay tactics. “Instead of defending herself against the accusations, she talks about something else entirely,” Patricia Bullrich, the leader of the opposition PRO party, told the media. “It will be up to the court to decide whether what the prosecutor has said is sufficient or not.”

There are currently five active judicial cases against Fernandez de Kirchner related to other allegations of corruption, and irregular use and disbursement of state resources. She has been acquitted or the courts have dismissed several other charges.

Newsletter

Related Articles

PanaTimes
Close
0:00
0:00
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Israel: Unprecedented Civil Disobedience Looms as IDF Reservists Protest Judiciary Reform
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
Swedish Embassy in Baghdad Engulfed in Flames Amidst a Firestorm of Protests
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
Europe is boiling: Extreme Weather Conditions Prevail Across the Continent
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
A Swift Disappointment: Why Is Taylor Swift Bypassing Canada on Her Global Tour?
Historic Moment: Edgars Rinkevics, EU's First Openly Gay Head of State, Takes Office as Latvia's President
An Ominous Shift in Warfare: Western Powers Risk War Crimes and Violate International Norms with Cluster Bomb Supply to Ukraine
Bye bye democracy, human rights, freedom: French Cops Can Now Secretly Activate Phone Cameras, Microphones And GPS To Spy On Citizens
The Poor Man With Money, Mark Zuckerberg, Unveils Twitter Replica with Heavy-Handed Censorship: A New Low in Innovation?
Unilever Plummets in a $2.5 Billion Free Fall, to begin with: A Reckoning for Misuse of Corporate Power Against National Interest
Beyond the Blame Game: The Need for Nuanced Perspectives on America's Complex Reality
Twitter Targets Meta: A Tangle of Trade Secrets and Copycat Culture
The Double-Edged Sword of AI: AI is linked to layoffs in industry that created it
US Sanctions on China's Chip Industry Backfire, Prompting Self-Inflicted Blowback
Meta Copy Twitter with New App, Threads
The New French Revolution
BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Application Refiled, Naming Coinbase as ‘Surveillance-Sharing’ Partner
×