Kirchner, the powerful leader who went to the bench in Argentina

the vice president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchnercentral figure of the Argentine politics of the last 20 years, as loved by her followers as hated by opponents, was sentenced on Tuesday to six years in prison in a controversial trial for corruption that she defined as a “firing squad.”

LOOK: LIVE | Cristina Kirchner is sentenced to 6 years in prison for corruption and perpetual disqualification

Combative, temperamental and astute, Kirchner, 69 years old and a lawyer by profession, denounced the trial as a political persecution from the first minute and denied the prosecutors’ accusation by assuring that during more than three years of hearings “no evidence was presented” of crimes, despite the fact that the prosecutors affirmed it.

President for two terms between 2007 and 2015, Kirchner was tried for corruption in the award of public works tenders in the province of Santa Cruz (south), her political cradle. She is the leader of a center-left sector of Peronism.

Her privileges and safe appeals keep her from going to prison until there is a final sentence from the Supreme Court. The vice president has not yet revealed her intentions before the 2023 general elections.

The sentence includes her perpetual disqualification from holding public office for considering her the author of the crime of fraudulent administration.

The trial took place amid intense political polarization and a deteriorating economic situation in the country.

Days after the Prosecutor’s Office requested 12 years in prison and permanent disqualification for her, she was attacked by a man who triggered a pistol very close to her head twice, but the weapon did not go off.

The attacker mixed with hundreds of supporters who, as a sign of solidarity, kept vigil every night outside his house in Buenos Aires.

“I feel that I am alive by God and by the Virgin,” she said in her first public appearance.

– The “Ks” –

Widow of former President Néstor Kirchner (2003-2007), who died in 2010, the couple’s style was registered as the “K” brand, the name by which Argentines refer to both the marriage and its supporters.

Cristina married Néstor Kirchner when they were law students at the University of La Plata (about 60 km from Buenos Aires). Since then they have shown themselves to be an indissoluble couple. They had two children: Máximo, a parliamentarian, and Florencia, a filmmaker who has never been involved in politics.

“Since we met Néstor, we have never been separated again,” he wrote in his autobiographical book “Sincerely.”

Peronist university militants, Néstor and Cristina Kirchner were detained for 17 days in January 1976, shortly before the coup that established the last military dictatorship (1976-1983).

From that episode, they concentrated on a law firm in the city of Río Gallegos (south). The former president said it was very successful and she gave them the foundation of a fortune by buying more than 20 properties in Patagonia.

After the dictatorship they began their political career. The two reached the presidency in a concerted plan. “We thought about the need to ensure a virtuous political process of transformation over time,” he wrote in his book.

– Differences with Fernández –

In 2019, he elected Alberto Fernández to the presidency, but later distanced himself, sometimes with harsh public criticism of him and his collaborators.

The difficult economic crisis in Argentina, with inflation that can close 2022 at 100% per year, and her resistance to an agreement with the International Monetary Fund have increasingly distanced her from the president.

His two terms in office, at the height of the commodity boom, were characterized by protectionist policies and social assistance programs, which increased public spending.

He confronted the real power, such as the owners of the fields, the big media and the international financial institutions, although he also supported like-minded businessmen.

He approached the leaders of the Latin American left. Kirchner affectionately evokes Fidel Castro and Hugo Chávez. He also prides himself on his relationship with Pope Francis.

During his tenure, equal marriage and a gender identity law were passed. As president of the Senate, she supported the abortion law in 2020.

Daughter of a bus driver and a housewife, Cristina Kirchner claims her class origins.

Source: Elcomercio

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I am Jack Morton and I work in 24 News Recorder. I mostly cover world news and I have also authored 24 news recorder. I find this work highly interesting and it allows me to keep up with current events happening around the world.