Latest news with #JusticialistParty
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
'Argentina with Cristina': Thousands rally for convicted ex-president
Tens of thousands of Argentines took to the streets Wednesday in support of former president Cristina Kirchner, who vowed to make a comeback as she serves a six-year fraud sentence under house arrest. In a recorded speech played for supporters amassed on Buenos Aires's Plaza de Mayo square, Kirchner said: "We will be back with more wisdom, more unity, more strength." Backers of the polarizing leftist massed on the square and spilled into surrounding streets for a demonstration called by the 72-year-old's Justicialist Party. Under the slogan "Argentina with Cristina," protesters sang and beat drums, waving national flags and banners with messages such as "The motherland is not for sale." "We came because it's an attack on democracy to outlaw someone like Cristina who the people want to vote for," Rocio Gavino, a 29-year-old public employee, told AFP. Kirchner supporters had been holding a vigil outside her home in Buenos Aires since the Supreme Court last week upheld her conviction and sentence for "fraudulent administration" while president, along with a lifelong ban on her holding public office. On Tuesday, a court ruled she could serve her sentence at home under electronic surveillance. She will be allowed limited visits, principally from family members, lawyers and doctors. In 2022, Kirchner's conviction sparked demonstrations in several cities, some of which ended in clashes with police. - 'Justice. End.' - Kirchner rose to prominence as one half of a political power couple with her late husband Nestor Kirchner, who preceded her as president. Both are associated with the center-left Peronist movement founded by post-war president Juan Peron. After two terms at the helm herself between 2007 and 2015, Kirchner served as vice president from 2019 to 2023 in the last center-left administration before the presidency of libertarian Javier Milei, whose austerity policies she has criticized. Milei had welcomed the court's dismissal of her appeal, writing on X: "Justice. End." Kirchner and her backers claim the case was a plot to end her career and unravel her legacy of protectionist economics and social programs. "We are here because the national government, together with the judiciary, made the decision to ban Cristina from elections," protester Federico Mochi, a Peronist youth leader, told AFP. Lara Goyburu, a political scientist from the University of Buenos Aires, told AFP that Wednesday's protest "demonstrates that the broader Peronist movement still retains some capacity for street mobilization" in a time of deep political polarization. - 'Harassment' - In preparation for the protests, police set up checkpoints on major roads to the capital, searching cars and buses -- much to the annoyance of citizens. Under a special protocol adopted Tuesday, they also erected barriers at the main train station and performed identity checks on anyone carrying pro-Kirchner placards or other political paraphernalia. The protocol allows police to detain any citizen without an ID document for up to 10 hours without a court order. "It's harassment that makes no sense," Daniel Catalano, a leader of the state workers' union, told Radio El Destape. Correpi, an NGO fighting police repression, said the measures amounted to the "destruction of the country's democratic freedoms." Presidential spokesperson Manuel Adorni defended the operation. "When you detect there might be some additional danger to society, you try to neutralize it. And that doesn't go against the Constitution or the rule of law," he told reporters. lm/mlr/sst
France 24
12 hours ago
- Politics
- France 24
'Argentina with Cristina': Thousands rally for convicted ex-president
In a recorded speech played for supporters amassed on Buenos Aires's Plaza de Mayo square, Kirchner said: "We will be back with more wisdom, more unity, more strength." Backers of the polarizing leftist massed on the square and spilled into surrounding streets for a demonstration called by the 72-year-old's Justicialist Party. Under the slogan "Argentina with Cristina," protesters sang and beat drums, waving national flags and banners with messages such as "The motherland is not for sale." "We came because it's an attack on democracy to outlaw someone like Cristina who the people want to vote for," Rocio Gavino, a 29-year-old public employee, told AFP. Kirchner supporters had been holding a vigil outside her home in Buenos Aires since the Supreme Court last week upheld her conviction and sentence for "fraudulent administration" while president, along with a lifelong ban on her holding public office. On Tuesday, a court ruled she could serve her sentence at home under electronic surveillance. She will be allowed limited visits, principally from family members, lawyers and doctors. In 2022, Kirchner's conviction sparked demonstrations in several cities, some of which ended in clashes with police. 'Justice. End.' Kirchner rose to prominence as one half of a political power couple with her late husband Nestor Kirchner, who preceded her as president. Both are associated with the center-left Peronist movement founded by post-war president Juan Peron. After two terms at the helm herself between 2007 and 2015, Kirchner served as vice president from 2019 to 2023 in the last center-left administration before the presidency of libertarian Javier Milei, whose austerity policies she has criticized. Milei had welcomed the court's dismissal of her appeal, writing on X: "Justice. End." Kirchner and her backers claim the case was a plot to end her career and unravel her legacy of protectionist economics and social programs. "We are here because the national government, together with the judiciary, made the decision to ban Cristina from elections," protester Federico Mochi, a Peronist youth leader, told AFP. Lara Goyburu, a political scientist from the University of Buenos Aires, told AFP that Wednesday's protest "demonstrates that the broader Peronist movement still retains some capacity for street mobilization" in a time of deep political polarization. 'Harassment' In preparation for the protests, police set up checkpoints on major roads to the capital, searching cars and buses -- much to the annoyance of citizens. Under a special protocol adopted Tuesday, they also erected barriers at the main train station and performed identity checks on anyone carrying pro-Kirchner placards or other political paraphernalia. The protocol allows police to detain any citizen without an ID document for up to 10 hours without a court order. "It's harassment that makes no sense," Daniel Catalano, a leader of the state workers' union, told Radio El Destape. Correpi, an NGO fighting police repression, said the measures amounted to the "destruction of the country's democratic freedoms." Presidential spokesperson Manuel Adorni defended the operation. © 2025 AFP
Int'l Business Times
13 hours ago
- Politics
- Int'l Business Times
'Argentina With Cristina': Thousands Rally For Convicted Ex-president
Tens of thousands of Argentines took to the streets Wednesday in support of former president Cristina Kirchner, who vowed to make a comeback as she serves a six-year fraud sentence under house arrest. In a recorded speech played for supporters amassed on Buenos Aires's Plaza de Mayo square, Kirchner said: "We will be back with more wisdom, more unity, more strength." Backers of the polarizing leftist massed on the square and spilled into surrounding streets for a demonstration called by the 72-year-old's Justicialist Party. Under the slogan "Argentina with Cristina," protesters sang and beat drums, waving national flags and banners with messages such as "The motherland is not for sale." "We came because it's an attack on democracy to outlaw someone like Cristina who the people want to vote for," Rocio Gavino, a 29-year-old public employee, told AFP. Kirchner supporters had been holding a vigil outside her home in Buenos Aires since the Supreme Court last week upheld her conviction and sentence for "fraudulent administration" while president, along with a lifelong ban on her holding public office. On Tuesday, a court ruled she could serve her sentence at home under electronic surveillance. She will be allowed limited visits, principally from family members, lawyers and doctors. In 2022, Kirchner's conviction sparked demonstrations in several cities, some of which ended in clashes with police. Kirchner rose to prominence as one half of a political power couple with her late husband Nestor Kirchner, who preceded her as president. Both are associated with the center-left Peronist movement founded by post-war president Juan Peron. After two terms at the helm herself between 2007 and 2015, Kirchner served as vice president from 2019 to 2023 in the last center-left administration before the presidency of libertarian Javier Milei, whose austerity policies she has criticized. Milei had welcomed the court's dismissal of her appeal, writing on X: "Justice. End." Kirchner and her backers claim the case was a plot to end her career and unravel her legacy of protectionist economics and social programs. "We are here because the national government, together with the judiciary, made the decision to ban Cristina from elections," protester Federico Mochi, a Peronist youth leader, told AFP. Lara Goyburu, a political scientist from the University of Buenos Aires, told AFP that Wednesday's protest "demonstrates that the broader Peronist movement still retains some capacity for street mobilization" in a time of deep political polarization. In preparation for the protests, police set up checkpoints on major roads to the capital, searching cars and buses -- much to the annoyance of citizens. Under a special protocol adopted Tuesday, they also erected barriers at the main train station and performed identity checks on anyone carrying pro-Kirchner placards or other political paraphernalia. The protocol allows police to detain any citizen without an ID document for up to 10 hours without a court order. "It's harassment that makes no sense," Daniel Catalano, a leader of the state workers' union, told Radio El Destape. Correpi, an NGO fighting police repression, said the measures amounted to the "destruction of the country's democratic freedoms." Presidential spokesperson Manuel Adorni defended the operation. "When you detect there might be some additional danger to society, you try to neutralize it. And that doesn't go against the Constitution or the rule of law," he told reporters. Supporters of Cristina Kirchner have been holding a vigil outside her home in Buenos Aires since Argentina's Supreme Court upheld her conviction and sentence for 'fraudulent administration' while president AFP Cristina Kirchner has been convicted for fraud committed when she was Argentina's president AFP Cristina Kirchner is a divisive figure in Argentina, inspiring love and loathing in equal measure AFP
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ex-Argentinian President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner given house arrest
A federal court in Argentina has granted former President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner house arrest to serve her six-year sentence for corruption charges. On Tuesday, the court decided that the 72-year-old Fernandez's age and visibility as a political figure made house arrest a reasonable option for her confinement. Just three years ago, in 2022, the popular left-wing leader faced an assassination attempt, wherein an assailant aimed a pistol at her head. The court cited such dangers in its decision, saying Fernandez's safety 'would become complex in a situation of prison confinement in coexistence with any type of prison population'. It is not uncommon for courts in Argentina to permit house arrest for individuals of advanced age as well. The former president's house arrest must begin immediately, the court ruled. It also explained that she would be subject to electronic monitoring. She will serve out her sentence at her apartment in Buenos Aires that she shares with her daughter and granddaughter. Fernandez, the court said, 'must remain at the registered address, an obligation that she may not break except in exceptional situations'. Any future visitors to the apartment — outside of household staff, healthcare workers and other approved individuals — will have to be vetted by the court. The former president's incarceration comes after Argentina's Supreme Court last week upheld her conviction and barred her from running for public office ever again. She was found guilty in 2022 of using public works projects, including roadways, to give beneficial contracts to a close associate of her family, Lazaro Baez. Prosecutors said the contracts awarded to Baez had rates 20 percent higher than normal — a sum that could translate to millions of dollars. Other scandals have dogged her political career, including accusations of bribery and money laundering. Some of those cases continue to be weighed by Argentina's judicial system. But Fernandez has dismissed the allegations against her as political attacks. She had been preparing to launch a bid in this year's legislative elections, until the ban on her candidacy. Fernandez served as Argentina's president from 2007 to 2015, after succeeding her husband, the late Nestor Kirchner. In 2019, four years after she left the Casa Rosada — the 'Pink House' of the presidency — Fernandez returned to the executive branch as vice president to Alberto Fernandez, another left-wing politician. Both Fernandez and Alberto Fernandez — who share no familial relation — faced sharp criticism for their management of Argentina's economy, including their heavy reliance on government spending and their devaluation of the country's peso through the printing of excess currency. But particularly among working-class Argentinians, Fernandez continues to enjoy substantial popularity, particularly for her investments in social programmes to alleviate poverty. Since 2024, Fernandez has led the Justicialist Party, the main pillar of opposition against the government of current President Javier Milei, a libertarian. He took office in 2023, succeeding Alberto Fernandez. Faced with Fernandez's incarceration, supporters of the former president took to the streets in Buenos Aires to protest over the past week, calling her lifetime ban from public office an act of political retribution.
