The Vice President of Argentina, Cristina Kirchner , was sentenced to six years in prison this Tuesday (6) by the country’s Justice. She was found guilty in a lawsuit that investigated her participation in a fraud scheme while she presided over the Latin nation, between 2007 and 2015.
According to the denunciation of the Argentine Public Prosecutor’s Office, Kirchner and several former employees of his government entered into million-dollar contracts for road works that would be incomplete, overpriced and that would also be unnecessary.
The complaint deals specifically with 51 road tenders in the province of Santa Cruz, where her late husband, former president Néstor Kirchner, was from, and where both developed a good part of their professional and political careers before jumping to the national scene.
The former president has previously denied the accusations and said they are part of a persecution against her and the political project she represents. In her words, she pointed out that she is not “before a Constitutional court, but before a media-judicial firing squad” and that the sentence against her was already written.
Although convicted, she should not be imprisoned
Due to her position as vice president, Kirchner has the same constitutional immunity as the president, which legally and civilly protects her in criminal proceedings. Thus, she cannot be arrested unless she is removed by impeachment.
The Constitution establishes that “no senator or deputy, from the day of his election until the day of his dismissal, may be imprisoned; except in the case of flagrante delicto in the commission of a crime that deserves the death, infamous, or other distressing penalty”.
If she has been convicted, does not have privileges and has been forced to serve the sentence, there is also the possibility of house arrest, as one of the situations that the law allows this is for people over 70 years old.
In addition, the vice president will be able to appeal to the Federal Chamber of Criminal Cassation and, ultimately, to the Supreme Court of Argentina. This, however, is a long process.
Kirchner will hold the current position until December 2023, and, if he does not lose political rights by then, he may run again in next year’s elections. If elected, he would remain with immunity.
In addition, there is another situation that could get you out of jail, which we explain below.
Possible presidential pardon
The Argentine Constitution establishes that the president “may pardon or commute sentences for crimes of federal competence”, except in cases where the denunciation is from the Chamber of Deputies.
President Alberto Fernández has already referred to this specific point. In 2019, when he was a candidate, he categorically ruled out the possibility of pardoning his current deputy. “If some idiot is thinking I’m going there [à Presidência] to forgive someone, they are stupid”, he said in an interview with Telenoche.
Fernández, however, classified the Prosecution’s request as judicial persecution and published a statement with his peers in Mexico, Colombia and Bolivia in which they assured that the persecution aims to “remove Cristina Fernández de Kirchner from public, political and electoral life”.
*published by Tiago Tortella, from CNN
*with information from CNN in Spanish
Source: CNN Brasil
Bruce Belcher is a seasoned author with over 5 years of experience in world news. He writes for online news websites and provides in-depth analysis on the world stock market. Bruce is known for his insightful perspectives and commitment to keeping the public informed.
