Latest news with #CristinaFernández
Yahoo
04-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lula visits former Argentinian president under house arrest in snub to Milei
Brazil's president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has eschewed a one-on-one meeting with the Argentinian president, Javier Milei, during a trip to Buenos Aires, instead opting to visit Milei's political rival, former president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, who is under house arrest. Lula was in the Argentinian capital on Thursday to attend the Mercosur summit. He arrived at Kirchner's flat – which in recent weeks has become something of a pilgrimage site for her supporters – at about 12.30pm and spent roughly 45 minutes there. There had been speculation that the two might appear together on the balcony from which Kirchner, 72, often waves to sympathisers, but that moment never came. Kirchner, who served as Argentina's president from 2007 to 2015, was convicted over the irregular awarding of public road contracts to a businessman close to her family – a scheme that, according to the courts, cost the public purse an estimated $500m. The ruling also barred her from running for any political office. Kirchner, who denied all the charges against her, was sentenced to six years in prison for corruption in June. Due to her age, judges granted her house arrest, but with a series of restrictions, including the requirement that all visits be authorised in advance – as was the case with Lula, whose visit was approved by a judge the day before. Shortly after 1pm, Lula, 79, left the residence without speaking to reporters, greeting a few dozen supporters waiting outside before departing for the Brazilian embassy. Kirchner, who claims to have been the target of political persecution, posted photos of the meeting and wrote: 'Lula was also persecuted, they also used lawfare to put him in prison, they also tried to silence him. They couldn't. He returned with the vote of the Brazilian people and his head held high. That's why today his visit was much more than a personal gesture: it was a political act of solidarity.' Related: Former Argentinian president Cristina Fernández allowed to serve corruption sentence at home Earlier in the day, he had formally received the rotating presidency of Mercosur – the regional trade bloc whose full members are Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, with Bolivia in the process of joining and Venezuela currently suspended – from Milei. The near-total absence of a relationship between Lula and Milei was summed up in the closing moment of the summit: after shaking hands, Lula moved in for a hug, which Milei only registered belatedly – resulting in a stiff, uncomfortable embrace. The two, who delivered opposing speeches at the summit and hold conflicting positions on issues ranging from climate change – which Milei denies – to the Israel-Palestine conflict, have never held private talks. Milei has in the past called Lula a 'communist' and 'corrupt', and the Brazilian did not attend his inauguration. In 2024, Milei left the Mercosur summit in Paraguay early to travel to Brazil and meet Lula's main political rival, former president Jair Bolsonaro, during a Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) event. Within Lula's circle, the visit to Kirchner was seen both as a response to Milei's gesture in 2024 and a symbolic act of solidarity, echoing the 580 days Lula spent in prison on corruption charges that were later overturned by the supreme court. While Kirchner never visited Lula in prison, he was visited in 2019 by Alberto Fernández, who went on to win that year's presidential election with her as his running mate.
The Guardian
03-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Lula visits former Argentinian president under house arrest in snub to Milei
Brazil's president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has eschewed a one-on-one meeting with the Argentinian president, Javier Milei, during a trip to Buenos Aires, instead opting to visit Milei's political rival, former president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, who is under house arrest. Lula was in the Argentinian capital on Thursday to attend the Mercosur summit. He arrived at Kirchner's flat – which in recent weeks has become something of a pilgrimage site for her supporters – at about 12.30pm and spent roughly 45 minutes there. There had been speculation that the two might appear together on the balcony from which Kirchner, 72, often waves to sympathisers, but that moment never came. Kirchner, who served as Argentina's president from 2007 to 2015, was convicted over the irregular awarding of public road contracts to a businessman close to her family – a scheme that, according to the courts, cost the public purse an estimated $500m. The ruling also barred her from running for any political office. Kirchner, who denied all the charges against her, was sentenced to six years in prison for corruption in June. Due to her age, judges granted her house arrest, but with a series of restrictions, including the requirement that all visits be authorised in advance – as was the case with Lula, whose visit was approved by a judge the day before. Shortly after 1pm, Lula, 79, left the residence without speaking to reporters, greeting a few dozen supporters waiting outside before departing for the Brazilian embassy. Kirchner, who claims to have been the target of political persecution, posted photos of the meeting and wrote: 'Lula was also persecuted, they also used lawfare to put him in prison, they also tried to silence him. They couldn't. He returned with the vote of the Brazilian people and his head held high. That's why today his visit was much more than a personal gesture: it was a political act of solidarity.' Earlier in the day, he had formally received the rotating presidency of Mercosur – the regional trade bloc whose full members are Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, with Bolivia in the process of joining and Venezuela currently suspended – from Milei. The near-total absence of a relationship between Lula and Milei was summed up in the closing moment of the summit: after shaking hands, Lula moved in for a hug, which Milei only registered belatedly – resulting in a stiff, uncomfortable embrace. The two, who delivered opposing speeches at the summit and hold conflicting positions on issues ranging from climate change – which Milei denies – to the Israel-Palestine conflict, have never held private talks. Milei has in the past called Lula a 'communist' and 'corrupt', and the Brazilian did not attend his inauguration. In 2024, Milei left the Mercosur summit in Paraguay early to travel to Brazil and meet Lula's main political rival, former president Jair Bolsonaro, during a Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) event. Within Lula's circle, the visit to Kirchner was seen both as a response to Milei's gesture in 2024 and a symbolic act of solidarity, echoing the 580 days Lula spent in prison on corruption charges that were later overturned by the supreme court. While Kirchner never visited Lula in prison, he was visited in 2019 by Alberto Fernández, who went on to win that year's presidential election with her as his running mate.
The Guardian
03-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Lula visits former Argentinian president under house arrest in snub to Milei
Brazil's president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has eschewed a one-on-one meeting with the Argentinian president, Javier Milei, during a trip to Buenos Aires, instead opting to visit Milei's political rival, former president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, who is under house arrest. Lula was in the Argentinian capital on Thursday to attend the Mercosur summit. He arrived at Kirchner's flat – which in recent weeks has become something of a pilgrimage site for her supporters – at about 12.30pm and spent roughly 45 minutes there. There had been speculation that the two might appear together on the balcony from which Kirchner, 72, often waves to sympathisers, but that moment never came. Kirchner, who served as Argentina's president from 2007 to 2015, was convicted over the irregular awarding of public road contracts to a businessman close to her family – a scheme that, according to the courts, cost the public purse an estimated $500m. The ruling also barred her from running for any political office. Kirchner, who denied all the charges against her, was sentenced to six years in prison for corruption in June. Due to her age, judges granted her house arrest, but with a series of restrictions, including the requirement that all visits be authorised in advance – as was the case with Lula, whose visit was approved by a judge the day before. Shortly after 1pm, Lula, 79, left the residence without speaking to reporters, greeting a few dozen supporters waiting outside before departing for the Brazilian embassy. Kirchner, who claims to have been the target of political persecution, posted photos of the meeting and wrote: 'Lula was also persecuted, they also used lawfare to put him in prison, they also tried to silence him. They couldn't. He returned with the vote of the Brazilian people and his head held high. That's why today his visit was much more than a personal gesture: it was a political act of solidarity.' Earlier in the day, he had formally received the rotating presidency of Mercosur – the regional trade bloc whose full members are Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, with Bolivia in the process of joining and Venezuela currently suspended – from Milei. The near-total absence of a relationship between Lula and Milei was summed up in the closing moment of the summit: after shaking hands, Lula moved in for a hug, which Milei only registered belatedly – resulting in a stiff, uncomfortable embrace. The two, who delivered opposing speeches at the summit and hold conflicting positions on issues ranging from climate change – which Milei denies – to the Israel-Palestine conflict, have never held private talks. Milei has in the past called Lula a 'communist' and 'corrupt', and the Brazilian did not attend his inauguration. In 2024, Milei left the Mercosur summit in Paraguay early to travel to Brazil and meet Lula's main political rival, former president Jair Bolsonaro, during a Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) event. Within Lula's circle, the visit to Kirchner was seen both as a response to Milei's gesture in 2024 and a symbolic act of solidarity, echoing the 580 days Lula spent in prison on corruption charges that were later overturned by the supreme court. While Kirchner never visited Lula in prison, he was visited in 2019 by Alberto Fernández, who went on to win that year's presidential election with her as his running mate.
Al Arabiya
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Brazil's Lula Visits Fernández de Kirchner Under House Arrest in Argentina
Brazil President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva visited former Argentina President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner at her home Thursday, where the former leader is serving her six-year sentence for corruption under house arrest. Fernández had asked the courts' permission to receive Lula, a longtime political and ideological ally. Lula was in Buenos Aires for the summit of the regional Mercosur trade alliance and made the short trip to Fernández's home in Argentina's capital after the meeting concluded. Lula was inside with Fernández for just under an hour, and they did not appear publicly together. It was not Lula's first show of support for Fernández since Argentina's Supreme Court upheld her sentence last month. He had called her to express his support after her conviction. Fernández had been convicted of directing state contracts to a friend while she was first lady and president. The sentence also permanently bans her from holding public office. Fernández dominated Argentine politics for two decades and forged the country's main left-wing populist movement known as Kirchnerism after her and her husband, former President Néstor Kirchner. Lula has also faced imprisonment. While he was held in a police station in Curitiba in 2019, also for corruption, he received then-Argentinian presidential candidate Alberto Fernández, a political ally of Cristina Fernández who is not related to her. Lula's conviction was later overturned.
Washington Post
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Brazil's Lula visits Fernández de Kirchner under house arrest in Argentina
BUENOS AIRES — Brazil President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva visited former Argentina President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner at her home Thursday, where the former leader is serving her six-year sentence for corruption under house arrest. Fernández had asked the court's permission to receive Lula, a longtime political and ideological ally. Lula was in Buenos Aires for the summit of the regional Mercosur trade alliance and made the short trip to Fernández's home in Argentina's capital after the meeting concluded.
