Argentina Vice President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner was
found guilty of corruption charges and sentenced to six years in
prison by a federal court on Tuesday in a landmark case that’s
likely to intensify political battles in the South American nation,
Trend reports
citing Bloomberg.
While Fernandez de Kirchner won’t need to serve the term for the
foreseeable future given her immunity as vice president and head of
the senate, the court decision comes less than 11 months before
presidential elections, with her having hinted about a possible
run. The Buenos Aires-based court also banned her from holding
political office in the future.
Kirchner, 69, has the option to appeal the decision to the
supreme court, dragging the process along further. To strip
Kirchner of her current senatorial immunity, two-thirds of
lawmakers in the upper chamber of congress would have to vote to
remove it, which isn’t expected to happen given the government’s
hold on the chamber.
Kirchner, one of Argentina’s most powerful and polarizing
figures, was accused of graft and of allegedly leading an “illicit
association” together with a construction magnate in the years she
was president between 2007 and 2015, with prosecutors asking for a
12-year prison sentence. She repeatedly denied wrongdoing and has
denounced the case as a political maneuver by the opposition and
members of the justice to oust her from power.
The sentencing is poised to increase political tensions in a
deeply divided country and will likely galvanize the fragmented
ruling coalition ahead of next year’s elections. President Alberto
Fernandez, who was handpicked by Kirchner to lead the coalition
despite having less political clout, sided with his vice president,
calling the probe a “political” investigation.
Social and union groups linked to the ruling coalition also
protested across downtown Buenos Aires on Tuesday ahead of the
court’s decision.
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