If the Public Ministry's complaint is accepted by the courts, vice-president Cristina Kirchner – current vice-president – could lose her political rights.
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Kirchner has political immunity for his current positions as vice-president and president of the Senate, but he faces accusations – alongside twelve other people – of having guided the awarding of public works tenders in the province of Santa Cruz (south), his birthplace politician, to favor businessman Lázaro Báez.
Understand the case
Prosecutor Sérgio Mola opened the ninth and final arraignment hearing with a review of the details of the case, in which more than a hundred witnesses gave testimony.
“There were systematic irregularities in 51 tenders over twelve years. The evidentiary framework conclusively demonstrates the illicit maneuvers. It is not credible that Cristina Fernández (Kirchner) didn’t discover anything in the solitude of his office”, said the prosecutor in his closing argument.
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The case also covers the period of the previous government, from 2003 to 2007, when Cristina's husband, Néstor Kirchner, who died in 2010, was president.
The other side
The Argentine government condemned the MP's position, calling it “judicial and media persecution” against vice-president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.
“None of the acts attributed to the former president have been proven and all accusations against her refer only to the role she played during that period, which regrettably degrades the most elementary principles of modern criminal law,” added the official statement.
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Source: AFP
