Protesters have condemned leaders’ imprisonment and banned public office as an act of political retaliation.
A federal court in Argentina has granted the former President of the House of Representatives Christina Fernandez de Kirchner a sentence of six years on corruption.
On Tuesday, the court found that Fernandez, 72, age and her view as a political figure, was a reasonable option for her captivity.
Just three years ago, in 2022, the popular left-wing leader faced an attempted assassination, where the assailant targeted a pistol in his head. The court cited such dangers in its decision, saying that Fernandez’s safety is “complicated in the circumstances of prison confinement that coexist with all types of prison populations.”
It is not uncommon for Argentine courts to allow housing arrests for senior-age individuals.
The former president’s home arrest must begin immediately, the court ruled. She also explained that she will be subject to electronic monitoring. She is sentenced to share her daughter and granddaughter in an apartment in Buenos Aires.
The court must “remaintain a registered address, which is its obligation to not break except in exceptional circumstances,” the court said. Any future visitors to apartments other than household staff, healthcare workers and other approved individuals must be examined by the court.
The former president’s imprisonment came after the Argentina Supreme Court upheld her conviction last week and barred her from running for office again.
She was found guilty of using a public works project, including roads, in 2022, and provided a beneficial contract to her family’s intimate companion, Lazaro Baez. Prosecutors said the contract awarded to Baez was at a rate of 20% higher than usual.
Other scandals have overthrew her political career, including accusations of bribery and money laundering. Some of these cases continue to be weighed down by the Argentine judicial system.
However, Fernandez dismissed the allegations against her as a political attack. She was preparing to start bidding in this year’s legislative elections, until the ban on candidates.
Fernandez served as president of Argentina from 2007 to 2015, after which she followed her husband, the late Nestor Kirchner.
Four years after she left Casarosada, the presidency’s “pink house,” in 2019, Fernandez returned to executive branch as vice president of another leftist politician, Alberto Fernandez.
Both Fernandez and Alberto Fernandez, who share no family ties, faced sharp criticism of the management of Argentine’s economy, including reliance on government spending and devaluing the country’s peso due to excessive currency printing.
However, Fernandez continues to enjoy considerable popularity, particularly among working-class Argentinians, especially for his investment in social programs to alleviate poverty.
Since 2024, Fernandez has led the legitimist Party, the main pillar of libertarian opposition to current President Javier Mairi’s government. He took office in 2023 and replaced Alberto Fernandez.
Faced with Fernandez’s imprisonment, the former president’s supporters took him to the streets of Buenos Aires, protesting last week, calling the lifelong ban from office an act of political retaliation.
