Argentina’s Vice President, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, was found guilty of corruption in federal court in a case dating back to when she was President.
Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, a prominent figure in Latin America who served two terms as President of Argentina, was convicted Tuesday December 6, on corruption and sentenced to six years in jail.
The six-year sentence was less than the 12 years that had been sought by prosecutors. However, the sentence is not firm until all of her appeals are used up. Most likely, the case will eventually be heard by Argentina’s Supreme Court.
According to prosecutors, she worked with others to get nearly $1 billion from fake contracts and bogus construction of 51 public works projects to Lázaro Báez, a construction magnate when she was President. In the livestreamed sentencing, judges also found her guilty as the “criminally responsible author of the crime of fraudulent administration to the detriment of the public administration.”
Vice President Kirchner, served as Argentina’s President between 2007 and 2015 and masterminded a political comeback in 2019, running for vice president with Alberto Fernández
Báez and members of her 2007-2015 Presidential administration are among a dozen others accused of joining Fernández in the conspiracy.
Prosecutors, Diego Luciani and Sergio Mola, disclosed that the Báez company was created to embezzle revenues through improperly bid projects that suffered from cost overruns and in many cases were never completed. The company disappeared after her 8 years in power, they noted.
The Argentine Vice President, has also been banned from public office for life, but will continue in her role as vice-president while the case goes through higher courts.
Cristina Fernández denied all the accusations. She has some immunity via her government roles and is expected to launch a lengthy appeals process.
Aftermath Of Sentence
Just like thousands gathered in the streets after she survived an assassination attempt early this year, huge crowds also formed outside the courtroom where she was being sentenced.
Vice President Fernández’s supporters vowed to paralyze the country with a nationwide strike. They bloked downtown Buenos Aires and marched on the federal court building, beating drums and shouting as they pressed against police barriers.
President Alberto Fernández, who is not related to his vice president, disclosed on Twitter that she was innocent and that her conviction was “the result of a trial in which the minimum forms of due process were not taken care of.”
Fernández went on her YouTube channel to say that she will not seek further office after her vice presidential term expires on December 10, 2023. “I’m not going to be a candidate for anything, not President, not for senator. My name is not going to be on any ballot. I finish on December 10 and go home,” she emphasized.
“It is clear that the idea was always to condemn me,” Fernandez de Kirchner noted in a live video on YouTube after the sentencing.
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