Two Argentine prosecutors on Monday (22/8) sought sentences of up to 12 years in prison and the forfeiture of their right to hold public office for Argentine vice-president Cristina Kirchner. government (2007-2015).
The former president is accused of fraudulent administration and having an illegal relationship with her late husband, former president Néstor Kirchner, during their government from 2003 to 2015.
Disorders could occur in the public administration of business in the Kirchner stronghold of Santa Cruz, Patagonia. The complaint cites that the Kirchners founded a construction company called Austral Construcciones before taking over the presidency, and that the couple received offers to run 79% of the businesses in Santa Cruz during their tenure. The company ceased operations in December 2015, when Cristina Kirchner left the presidency.
According to prosecutors, during Kirchners’ tenure, the contractor favored large increases in the prices paid in the context of the bids. The former presidents put indicted Lázaro Báez, along with eleven other former Kirchnerist employees, a partner to serve as the “iron front man”.
Prosecutor Diego Luciani assured the public coffers more than US$1 billion (R$5 billion) that it was “the biggest corruption maneuver in the country”. condemnation case.
Cristina Kirchner, whose lawyer will present her defense in September, denied all accusations, saying she was her victim.legal remedy(abuse and abuse of legal procedures for political persecution. In a live stream on YouTube on Tuesday, 23/8), the vice president assured that “nothing the prosecutors said has been proven.”
Shortly after the news that prosecutors sought Kirchner’s conviction, Argentine President Alberto Fernández sent a message of support to the vice president: “Today is a very ungrateful day for those like me who were brought up in the family of a judge. He has been trained in the legal world and has spent over thirty years in Criminal Law. I once again convey my deepest love and solidarity to the vice president.”
Many other leaders of the ruling coalition demonstrated in the networks in favor of the former president.
But there were also many others waving flags and punching crucibles, both online and in the streets, to celebrate the Kirchnerist leader’s arrest warrant. In front of the vice president’s office in Buenos Aires, some events took place for and against the leader.
What will happen now?
This is the first time the vice president is responding to a criminal act. Previous investigations into alleged corruption crimes had been shelved due to lack of evidence.
The trial of the so-called “Vialidad case” began in May 2019, during Mauricio’s presidency. The senator at the time appeared in court three days after announcing that he would run for vice president on Alberto Fernández’s ticket. At the time, Kirchner refused to answer questions about the case, accusing the judges of already having a sentence. “Among the works condemned by the Presidency are national and provincial administrative organs,” the senator of the time wrote on Twitter.
Image: Reuters
This Tuesday, the vice president said that the Justice of Santa Cruz is already investigating the affairs in question and the suspects have been cleared.
The expectation is that three Federal Justice judges will announce the sentence by the end of the year, after all parties have had several weeks of closing arguments.
If the vice president is found guilty, he cannot be arrested for having privileged jurisdiction until his term expires on December 9, 2023. In any case, lawyers assure that in case of conviction, there will be an appeal and the process will likely end in the Supreme Court. Therefore, it may take years for a final conviction to be rendered, and only then can Cristina Kirchner remain in public office and be placed under house arrest as she will be over 70 years old (she is 69 today).
– This text has been published actually inside https://www.bbc.com/portuguese/internacional-62654749
source: Noticias
