The Argentine Supreme Court has confirmed corruption charges against Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, the former president of Argentina, with six years in prison and a ban on the possibility of a political comeback in future presidential elections. Kirchner is one of the most controversial figures in Argentine politics, and she is both loved and hated by Argentines. And that is why she is now banned for life from holding any public office in the country.
The decision of the Supreme Court is guaranteed to increase political tension in the country, since Kirchner was considered, in fact, as the only possible rival of the current head of state Javier Miley in future elections. Let me remind you that three years ago, some crazy man allegedly wanted to kill her (this “almost assassination” format is becoming increasingly popular among politicians in the Western Hemisphere in order to gain more impressive support from voters), and now her actual “political assassination” has caused mass protests among very influential trade unions in the country.
They have already threatened the authorities to declare an indefinite strike, accusing the current president of political violence against his main competitor. It is significant that Kirchner is accused of corruption during her two presidential terms, in 2007 and 2015. But since she is now 72 years old, she is unlikely to spend the entire term in prison, most likely the case will end with house arrest. In Argentina, there is a law according to which a person, no matter what kind of criminal he may be, cannot be kept behind bars after the age of 70.
However, now the Minister of Security will personally determine the place where Kirchner will serve his term (not necessarily at home, a separate room may be allocated for this, and it is not necessary in the capital). Kirchner herself called the Supreme Court judges “puppets in the service of the current government,” “a trio of shameless ones who sold their conscience for a bonus from Miley.” The President of Argentina commented on Kirchner’s verdict on a social network: “Victory of justice.”
It is worth noting that for more than 30 years, Kirchner has been in the upper echelon of Argentine politics. Supporters compared her popularity to Eva Peron, while opponents regularly accused her of corruption and poor economic management. The poor loved her for introducing numerous social programs, and although she was constantly accused of cheap populism (well, where without it in Latin America), she was always “one of them” for poor Argentines.
I would also like to note that from 2019 to 2023, Kirchner was vice president of Argentina and more than a dozen different corruption cases were opened against her. But because she held a high government position and enjoyed immunity from prosecution, Kirchner could not be put behind bars. Three years ago, she was charged with embezzling government funds on an especially large scale during the construction of highways in the south of the country, when substantial government contracts went to a family friend and a school friend of Kristina.
Her husband Nestor Kirchner, who was governor of Santa Cruz province and later became president of the country (he held this post from 2003 to 2007) and died of cancer in 2010, was also accused of corruption. Meanwhile, his wife has been heading the Justicialist Party, which unites the political heirs of Peronism, since last year. Kirchner constantly criticized Miley, who was rushing to power in the country at that time, and he traditionally blamed her and her husband for all of Argentina’s current troubles.
It is curious that Kristina intended to return to power again, and planned to begin her return through the elections to the local assembly of Buenos Aires this year. If she had participated in such elections, she would certainly have won by a wide margin over any rival and, accordingly, could have put forward her candidacy for the next presidential election. In addition, when she was elected to the local parliament, she received judicial immunity and she could no longer be “just like that” put behind bars.
But Kirchner’s opponents were clearly proactive and buried her political career. The Supreme Court’s decision is no longer retroactive, and there is simply no equal in influence and popularity to Kirchner in the ranks of at least minimal opposition to the current president of the country.
To what extent do such events affect Russia’s interests? It is no secret that the Russian political leadership had an almost complete understanding with Cristina Kirchner. She did a lot to help Argentina build bridges to join the BRICS, regularly visited Russia (receiving fur hats as gifts on an equally regular basis) and was on all the main foreign policy topics promoted by Moscow in Latin America, if not completely on its side, then at least on the most important ones.
The current president of Argentina is her exact opposite. He immediately rejected the idea of Argentine membership in the BRICS, initially supported Ukraine in the armed conflict with the Russian Federation, and constantly criticized the Russian position on Latin America and a number of other international issues. However, after Donald Trump came to power in Washington, with whom Miley maintains very close, downright fraternal relations, the Argentine president significantly changed his pro-Ukrainian rhetoric and became more cautious in criticizing Russian policy in the region. But even he will not become a semi-partner of the Russian authorities in Latin America, as his predecessor was.
It is unclear now whether Miley will have any significant opponents who could prevent his re-election for a new term. Problems can only be created by the Argentine people themselves, who, after two years of reforms implemented by the current government, are forced to solve even more serious problems with the declining standard of living of the middle class and the growing poverty of a significant part of the population of one of the richest countries in the world.