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On Tuesday afternoon, it was clear where the focus of the news was. The historic ruling that sentenced Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner to six years in prison and perpetual disqualification from holding public office was on all the front pages.
The Federal Oral Court 2 found the former president of Argentina for the crime of defrauding the State. She had been accused of directing public works in favor of the businessman Lázaro Báez during his presidential administration. Although the sentence did not make it impossible for her to participate as a candidate in 2023 (she can still appeal), her symbolic relevance was not less: it is the first time that an acting vice president has been sentenced.
However, several searchlights changed direction that same night. The expected release of the leader came with a new information bomb. “In 2023 I will not be a candidate for anything. They are going to be able to put me in jail, ”she said in a fiery speech where she presented herself as a victim of a “judicial mafia.”
Lawfare? Judicial party? Mafia and parallel state. https://t.co/5jDZk9oZJh
— Cristina Kirchner (@CFKArgentina) December 6, 2022
The unexpected announcement recast the electoral board of the presidential elections of the next year. For the political analyst Roberto Starke, from Infomedia Consulting, the first and foremost affected by this revelation is the ruling bloc Frente de Todos. “There has been a lot of confusion in this sector. Cristina del partidor’s bullfight has also left a feeling of emptiness between them, since, if there was a natural candidate, it was her”reflect.
“A very uncertain game opens”, mentions Martín Rodríguez Yebra, editorial secretary of the newspaper “La Nación”. He considers that other potential candidates of the Peronist alliance, a priori, would not arouse great expectations. Axel Kicillof, current governor of the province of Buenos Aires, would prioritize a re-election in that jurisdiction. “Then Sergio Massa appears, the current Minister of the Economy, who is an ally but is not someone from the Kirchnerist bosom. In addition, if he does not manage to tame the current inflation he loses any electoral possibility ”says Rodríguez Yebra.
Finally, the letter of the re-election of Alberto Fernandez, who in recent months had an open confrontation with the vice president over management management. This time, the president aligned himself with the discourse of a political persecution orchestrated between different sectors.
More ongoing processes
One day before the reading of the sentence, the president issued a message in which he questioned a trip by judges, prosecutors and media businessmen carried out in October and whose details would have been known through illegal espionage.
“This case suited the government like a glove. It is expected that, in this last year of management, the government will go after the strategy of confrontation with the Supreme Court and economic groups “the journalist refers.
The ruling in the Highway case would be the first chapter of a complex judicial scenario for the former president. Among other processes, the case of the so-called “bribery notebooks” will come to trial in 2023 and, after this week’s conviction, in the corridors of Justice the reopening of the Hotesur and Los Sauces case is already glimpsed, for being linked to corruption in public works and money laundering.
For analysts, having a conviction for illegal acts is a heavy backpack for their political project. “One of the big concerns for her is having appeared on all the international covers as a political leader who has been convicted of corruption. It must be one of the things that annoys her the most, disturbs her. That’s why she adopted an untimely speech.”says Starke.
How is the opposition reordered?
The departure of Cristina Fernández from the electoral race also impacts the offer of the rest of the parties. For Rodríguez Yebra, the eventual candidacy of the former president would have made work easier for Together for Change, the main opposition alliance. “Cristina’s figure is very divisive and would have overwhelmed the entire block in a clearer and sharper way”refers.
In this new panorama, his absence will condition the type of candidate that the opposition presents as the best card. “If she was a candidate, it was very likely that former President Mauricio Macri would have competed, who is the other side of the crack”mentions.
For specialists, with the current scenario, the tendency would be to put a less extreme candidate in ideological terms. In this case, the opposing bet would lean towards the profile of Horacio Rodriguez Larretacurrent mayor of the City of Buenos Aires.
While CFK’s announcement advances the 2023 electoral discussion within the parties, the pulse of the streets demands other types of decisions, more linked to day-to-day life.
“Citizens showed indifference to the sentence. There were no mass demonstrations. People have an agenda with daily concerns. The end of the month is not reached with the salary, prices increase and annual inflation is already at 100% ”, comments analyst Starke.
With some delayed effect, the government and sectors of the hard core of Kirchnerism were preparing a conclave of the Puebla Group in Buenos Aires for this Monday as a show of support for Cristina Fernández. Because the former president caught Covid, the event was postponed to December 19. Leaders from the region such as Evo Morales, Rafael Correa, Pepe Mujica, Ernesto Samper and President Alberto Fernández himself will participate in this meeting.
Source: Elcomercio
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.
