Argentina’s Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the sentence of former President Cristina Kirchner to six years in prison and lifetime ban to hold public office for fraud, rejecting a resource presented by the powerful peronist leader opposition to the court, local media said.
In rejecting Kirchner’s appeal, Supreme Court judges maintained a 2022 lower court and confirmed Kirchner’s penalty by the Federal Chamber of Criminal Cassation, which had maintained the guilty verdict.
Kirchner, 72, a controversial figure who fulfilled two terms as president from 2007 to 2015 and was vice president from 2019 to 2023, was convicted in a case known as “Vialidad”, in which he was accused of favoring businessman Lázaro Báez when granting him public works projects in Patagonia.
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Since she is over 70 years old, a separate court will decide whether to grant her the benefit of house arrest.
Kirchner, who denies the accusations, said he was the victim of political persecution, days after announcing his plans to run for Congress in the September legislative elections in an important district of Buenos Aires province, due to the number of voters and being a bastion of Peronism.
Judgment is expected to unite peronists, the center-left movement that represents the strongest opposition to Argentina’s libertarian president, Javier Milei.
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With the news of an imminent decision, dozens of activists and parliamentarians gathered in the morning at the Justicialist Party headquarters in downtown Buenos Aires, where Kirchner was, while some unions and supporters blocked several highways.
“It’s an absolutely failure decision on all aspects of the process,” said a source close to Kirchner.
“The Supreme Court has released the content of the decision to the media 10 days ago. She warned the press in advance, which is exceptionally serious. It’s a shame and that is why we denounce persecution and prospecting,” he added.
