Argentina’s Kirchner to be banned from politics after graft conviction upheld
Argentina’s Kirchner to be banned from politics after graft conviction upheld

Argentina’s Kirchner to be banned from politics after graft conviction upheld

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Argentina’s top court upholds six-year prison sentence for ex-president Kirchner

Argentina’s Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the fraud conviction of former president Cristina Kirchner. She received a six-year prison sentence and was banned for life from holding public office. The decision brings the curtain down on the career of one of Argentina’s most polarizing leaders, who has loomed large over the country’s political landscape for two decades.

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Argentina’s former president, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, in Buenos Aires on May 25, 2025.

Three years after her initial fraud conviction, former Argentine president Cristina Kirchner on Tuesday saw her six-year prison sentence and lifelong ban from holding public office upheld by the Supreme Court, ending a controversial political career that spanned two decades.

Argentina’s Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the fraud conviction of former president Cristina Kirchner, for which she received a six-year prison sentence and was banned for life from holding public office.

“The sentences handed down by the previous courts were based on the abundance of evidence produced,” the Supreme Court wrote in its ruling, adding that Kirchner’s leave to further appeal her conviction “is dismissed.”

The ruling makes 72-year-old Kirchner’s conviction and sentence definitive.

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Read moreArgentine court sentences VP Cristina Kirchner to six years in prison for graft

The decision brings the curtain down on the career of one of Argentina’s most polarizing leaders, who has loomed large over the South American country’s political landscape for two decades, inspiring admiration on the left but revulsion on the right.

Due to her age, she can potentially avoid jail by requesting to serve her sentence under house arrest.

Kirchner has five days to turn herself over to the authorities.

“Justice. End,” he wrote on X.

Read more on FRANCE 24 English

Read also:

Argentine court sentences VP Cristina Kirchner to six years in prison for graft

Couple formally charged over attempt to assassinate Argentina’s vice president

Source: Uk.news.yahoo.com | View original article

Cristina Kirchner: divisive left-winger tainted by fraud

Cristina Kirchner has five days to present herself to authorities for arrangements to be made for serving her sentence. She was found guilty of fraudulently awarding public works contracts during her time as president in her southern Patagonian stronghold of Santa Cruz. The 72-year-old has made several comebacks over the years — even escaping unscathed from an assassination attempt. She may ask to convert to house arrest given her age, but her critics say she is a corrupt, overbearing interventionist who steered the country toward economic ruin and rampant inflation with her debt-fueled spending sprees. She announced she would seek election to the government of Buenos Aires province in September elections. A win would have given her immunity for the duration of her term, but she is now banned from holding public office.

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During two decades at the forefront of Argentine politics, Cristina Kirchner inspired love and loathing in equal measure, but rarely indifference.

She has made several comebacks over the years — even escaping unscathed from an assassination attempt — but may now have come to the end of her political tether.

On Tuesday, the country’s Supreme Court upheld Kirchner’s six-year prison sentence for a graft conviction and confirmed a lifetime ban on her holding public office.

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The 72-year-old has five days to present herself to authorities for arrangements to be made for serving her sentence.

Kirchner was born in 1953 in the small town of Tolosa, just outside the Argentine capital Buenos Aires.

The daughter of a bus driver and a housewife, she often played up her lower middle-class roots, though she could never hide her love of luxury brands and travel.

She first came to prominence as one half of the ultimate political power couple with husband Nestor.

The pair met at university when they were both law students passionate about Peronism — a leftist ideology based on the legacy of former ruler Juan Peron.

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Nestor Kirchner became president in 2003, serving one term, before Cristina was elected in 2007. They expected to continue their term-for-term tango, but he died of a heart attack in 2010.

Together, the couple served a collective 12 years in the Casa Rosada, the pink presidential palace, with Cristina exiting the top office for the last time in 2015.

She later served as vice-president to her former chief of staff Alberto Fernandez.

– Protectionist policies –

To their working-class base, the Kirchners were saviors after Argentina’s 2001 economic meltdown and the social unrest that followed the largest debt default in history.

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They were seen as standing up for the little guy against bullies both foreign and domestic.

Addressing supporters outside her party headquarters after the Supreme Court ruling, she depicted her tenure as a golden era, when Argentine workers “had the highest salaries in Latin America and pensioners had the highest pensions.”

Her two terms, during a commodities boom, were characterized by protectionist trade policies and major investments in social programs and subsidies, which caused public spending to spiral.

Under her stewardship Argentina became a regional bastion of LGBTQ rights, allowing gay marriage in 2010 and passing a gender identity law in 2012.

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For her detractors, however, Kirchner is a corrupt, overbearing interventionist who steered the country toward economic ruin and rampant inflation with her debt-fueled spending sprees.

One of her major critics is incumbent President Javier Milei, whose budget-slashing austerity policies Kirchner has in turn slammed as inhumane.

– Botched assassination bid –

In December 2022, Kirchner was found guilty of fraudulently awarding public works contracts during her time as president in her southern Patagonian stronghold of Santa Cruz.

Just months earlier, at a pro-Kirchner demonstration, a man pointed a revolver in Kirchner’s face and pulled the trigger.

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The gun did not fire.

On Tuesday, after Argentina’s Supreme Court upheld Kirchner’s conviction on appeal, and confirmed a six-year prison sentence that she may ask to convert to house arrest given her age.

Kirchner has been defiant throughout, accusing the justice system of persecuting Peronism.

Just a week ago, she announced she would seek election to the government of Buenos Aires province in September elections. A win would have given her immunity for the duration of her term.

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Source: Uk.news.yahoo.com | View original article

Supreme Court revising Cristina Fernández de Kirchner’s corruption conviction

Cristina Fernández de Kirchner was convicted of fraudulent administration. She was sentenced to six years in prison and handed a lifetime ban from public office. Prosecutors have since requested that the prison term be increased to 12 years. The veteran politician denies the allegations, which centre on irregularities in the awarding of public works contracts during her presidency. She is seeking to stand as a candidate for the provincial legislature, though the Supreme Court’s decision will determine whether she is eligible to run. A Supreme Court ruling confirming her sentence would remove her from the race and reshape the Peronist opposition ahead of both provincial and national elections.

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Argentina’s Supreme Court is reviewing former president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner’s conviction in the so-called ‘Vialidad’ corruption trial, with a decisive ruling that could define the opposition leader’s political future drawing near.

Fernández de Kirchner, 72, has begun campaigning ahead of the September elections in Buenos Aires Province. She is seeking to stand as a candidate for the provincial legislature, though the Supreme Court’s decision will determine whether she is eligible to run.

According to judicial sources quoted by the Noticias Argentinas news agency on Saturday, the country’s highest tribunal has begun reviewing the case files involving Fernández de Kirchner, who was convicted in 2022 of fraudulent administration to the detriment of the public administration.

She was sentenced to six years in prison and handed a lifetime ban from holding public office. Prosecutors have since requested that the prison term be increased to 12 years.

The veteran politician, who led Argentina from 2007 to 2015, denies the allegations, which centre on irregularities in the awarding of public works contracts during her presidency.

Prosecutors have also asked the Supreme Court to overturn her earlier acquittal on the charge of “unlawful association” and to convict her on that count as well.

There is no set deadline for a ruling.

The original verdict was issued by Federal Oral Tribunal No. 2 and later upheld by the Federal Chamber of Cassation. Fernández de Kirchner appealed to the Supreme Court on March 31 and is now awaiting its decision.

On Wednesday, Supreme Court justices rejected a motion from her legal team to recuse Justice Ricardo Lorenzetti from the case. Her lawyers argued that he lacked impartiality, citing past public statements and his involvement in earlier rulings. However, the justices found that the challenge was filed out of time and lacked sufficient legal basis.

Following that decision, the court – led by Chief Justice Horacio Rosatti – is now in a position to issue a final ruling on the Vialidad case, which could definitively uphold the sentence against Fernández de Kirchner.

If the conviction is confirmed, it would have immediate consequences for her political future and the wider electoral landscape. While she would likely qualify for house arrest due to her age, the lifetime ban from public office would disqualify her from the upcoming provincial vote.

In May, Argentina’s Senate rejected a proposed “Ficha Limpia” (“Clean Slate”) bill that sought to bar candidates with corruption convictions from standing for office. A Supreme Court ruling confirming her sentence would, however, remove her from the race and reshape the Peronist opposition ahead of both provincial and national elections.

In a television interview last Monday, Fernández de Kirchner confirmed her intention to run in the province’s Third Electoral Section – a Peronist stronghold that has traditionally backed her and the broader movement.

– TIMES/NA

Source: Batimes.com.ar | View original article

Cristina Fernández de Kirchner: divisive figure tainted by fraud

Argentina’s Supreme Court upheld Cristina Fernández de Kirchner’s six-year prison sentence for a graft conviction. The court also confirmed a lifetime ban on her holding public office. The 72-year-old has five days to present herself to authorities for arrangements to be made for serving her sentence. She was born in 1953 in the small town of Tolosa, just outside the capital Buenos Aires City. She often played up her lower middle-class roots, though she could never hide her love of luxury brands and travel. She first came to prominence as one half of the ultimate political power couple with husband Néstor Kir chner.Together, the couple served a collective 12 years in the Casa Rosada, the pink presidential palace, with Cristina exiting the top office for the last time in 2015.

Read full article ▼
During two decades at the forefront of Argentine politics, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner has inspired love and loathing in equal measure, but rarely indifference.

She has made several comebacks over the years – even escaping unscathed from an assassination attempt in 2022 – but may now have come to the end of her political tether.

On Tuesday, the country’s Supreme Court upheld Fernández de Kirchner’s six-year prison sentence for a graft conviction and confirmed a lifetime ban on her holding public office.

The 72-year-old has five days to present herself to authorities for arrangements to be made for serving her sentence.

Fernández de Kirchner was born in 1953 in the small town of Tolosa, just outside the capital Buenos Aires City.

The daughter of a bus driver and a housewife, she often played up her lower middle-class roots, though she could never hide her love of luxury brands and travel.

She first came to prominence as one half of the ultimate political power couple with husband Néstor Kirchner.

The pair met at university when they were both law students passionate about Peronism – a leftist ideology based on the legacy of former ruler Juan Perón.

Néstor Kirchner became president in 2003, serving one term, before Cristina was elected in 2007. They expected to continue their term-for-term tango, but he died of a heart attack in 2010.

Together, the couple served a collective 12 years in the Casa Rosada, the pink presidential palace, with Cristina exiting the top office for the last time in 2015.

She later served as vice-president to her former Cabinet chief Alberto Fernández.

Protectionist policies

To their working-class base, the Kirchners were saviours after Argentina’s 2001 economic meltdown and the social unrest that followed the largest debt default in history.

They were seen as standing up for the little guy against bullies both foreign and domestic.

Addressing supporters outside her party headquarters after the Supreme Court ruling, she depicted her tenure as a golden era, when Argentine workers “had the highest salaries in Latin America and pensioners had the highest pensions.”

Her two terms, during a commodities boom, were characterised by protectionist trade policies and major investments in social programs and subsidies, which caused public spending to spiral.

Under her stewardship Argentina became a regional bastion of LGBTQ+ rights, allowing gay marriage in 2010 and passing a gender identity law in 2012.

For her detractors, however, Fernández de Kirchner is a corrupt, overbearing interventionist who steered the country toward economic ruin and rampant inflation with her debt-fuelled spending sprees.

One of her major critics is incumbent President Javier Milei, whose budget-slashing austerity policies Kirchner has in turn slammed as inhumane.

Botched assassination bid

In December 2022, Fernández de Kirchner was found guilty of fraudulently awarding public works contracts during her time as president in her southern Patagonian stronghold of Santa Cruz.

Just months earlier, at a pro-Kirchner demonstration, a man pointed a revolver in Kirchner’s face and pulled the trigger.

The gun did not fire.

On Tuesday, after Argentina’s Supreme Court upheld Fernández de Kirchner’s conviction on appeal, and confirmed a six-year prison sentence that she may ask to convert to house arrest given her age.

Fernández de Kirchner has been defiant throughout, accusing the justice system of persecuting Peronism.

Just a week ago, she announced she would seek election to the government of Buenos Aires Province in September elections. A win would have given her immunity for the duration of her term.

Source: Batimes.com.ar | View original article

Argentina top court draws curtain on Cristina Kirchner’s political era

Argentina’s top court effectively banned two-term former president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner from office and upheld a six-year jail sentence. She was convicted by a trial court in 2022 for a fraud scheme that steered public road work projects in the Patagonia to a close ally while she was president. The ruling scuppers her plans to run in Buenos Aires provincial legislative elections, but could galvanize her divided Peronist opposition coalition. “A triumverate of unpresentables,” she said of the Supreme Court judges after the ruling, speaking before thousands of supporters who rallied in downtown Buenos Aires. “Her words resonate with many groups,” an expert on Peronism said. “She’ll lose time with time,” a government source said, adding that it was unclear if she’ll lose the clear leadership she’s held for the last several years. “The fact that she goes to jail and can’t be a candidate doesn’t eliminate her political movement,” said political analyst Carlos Fara.

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Former President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner looks at supporters from the balcony of her home after Argentina’s Supreme Court upheld her guilty verdict for defrauding the state, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, June 10, 2025. REUTERS/Pedro Lazaro Fernandez Purchase Licensing Rights , opens new tab

Item 1 of 8 Former President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner looks at supporters from the balcony of her home after Argentina’s Supreme Court upheld her guilty verdict for defrauding the state, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, June 10, 2025. REUTERS/Pedro Lazaro Fernandez

Summary Supreme Court dismisses Kirchner’s appeal, upholds 6-year jail sentence

Supporters protest in Buenos Aires, blocking roads and rallying

Kirchner’s conviction could galvanize divided Peronist opposition

Kirchner’s influence persists despite legal challenges, analysts say

BUENOS AIRES, June 10 (Reuters) – Argentina’s top court effectively banned two-term former president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner from office and upheld a six-year jail sentence, likely drawing a curtain on one of the country’s most flamboyant and divisive political careers.

Kirchner, 72, a polarizing opposition figure and leftist president from 2007 to 2015, was convicted by a trial court in 2022 for a fraud scheme that steered public road work projects in the Patagonia to a close ally while she was president.

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The ruling scuppers Kirchner’s plans to run in Buenos Aires provincial legislative elections, but could galvanize her divided Peronist opposition coalition, which has been licking its wounds since being ousted in 2023 by current libertarian President Javier Milei.

The Supreme Court’s three judges rejected Kirchner’s appeal and left in effect an appellate court decision that had upheld the guilty verdict. A lower court will decide whether to grant Kirchner house arrest due to her age.

“The complaint is dismissed,” the Supreme Court said in a ruling. Kirchner has denied wrongdoing and claims she is a victim of political persecution.

In Buenos Aires, her supporters blocked roads across the city. Some banged on drums. Others carried banners with the image of Evita Perón, the wife of Juan Perón, the founder of the political movement who was known as a defender of the poor.

“A triumverate of unpresentables,” Kirchner said of the Supreme Court judges after the ruling, speaking before thousands of supporters who rallied in downtown Buenos Aires outside the headquarters of her Peronist Justicialista party.

Kirchner’s shadow looms large over the Peronist movement, which needs to identify a new generation of leaders.

“The fact that she goes to jail and can’t be a candidate doesn’t eliminate her political movement,” said political analyst Carlos Fara. “Obviously though it won’t be the same.”

A government source said that it could both weaken or strengthen the opposition. Peronism “can either entrench itself or break into a thousand pieces,” the person told Reuters.

JUSTICE?

Prosecutors accused Kirchner of directing hundreds of millions of dollars to construction magnate Lázaro Báez. During her government and that of her late husband, Néstor Kirchner, companies tied to Báez were awarded dozens of government contracts for roadwork projects in Patagonia but nearly half of them were abandoned, prosecutors said.

Báez and other officials were sentenced to prison terms.

Peronism and Kirchner’s popularity have suffered in recent years. She served as vice president in 2019 under President Alberto Fernández, whose government oversaw a slide into economic crisis by overprinting pesos that led to sharp spike in inflation.

But she has still been able to maintain a hardcore support base, particularly from working-class voters who relied on government subsidies under her and her husband’s governments.

“As a figure she’s not been overshadowed on the political scene by anyone,” said Carolina Barry, an expert on Peronism at the Universidad Nacional de Tres de Febrero in Buenos Aires. “Her words resonate with many groups.”

Kirchner has been sharply critical of Milei’s austerity, accusing him of cutting pensions and defunding public education. Milei has shot back that he would “love to bang the last nail in the coffin of Kirchnerismo, with Cristina Kirchner inside.”

Alejandro Carrió, a constitutional and criminal law expert in Buenos Aires, said that even if Kirchner serves the sentence under house arrest, it was unclear “if with time she’ll lose the clear leadership she’s held for years”.

Kirchner faces charges in several other criminal cases and is scheduled to stand trial in November on accusations that she led a large-scale bribery scheme.

She’s not the first Argentine president to face a criminal conviction, joining, among others, former President Carlos Menem, who was sentenced to over four years in prison for embezzlement of public funds during his presidency in the 1990s. As a senator, congressional immunity protected him from prison.

Reporting by Lucila Sigal and Leila Miller; Additional reporting by Eliana Raszewski; Editing by Adam Jourdan and Shri Navaratnam

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Source: Reuters.com | View original article

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