The vice-president of Argentina, Cristina Fernández, has taken for granted that the sentence to be announced this Tuesday in relation to the ‘Vialidad case’ will be a conviction, which may imply a sentence of up to twelve years in prison and a first step towards her possible disqualification from holding public office.
Fernandez has sat in the dock as an alleged participant in an illegal scheme to defraud the State through the concession of public works in Santa Cruz, along with more than a dozen defendants, although she has always defended that she is the victim of political persecution.
The vice-president explained in an interview with the Brazilian newspaper ‘Folha de Sao Paulo’ that on December 7 the newspapers will carry on their front page: «Cristina, condemned». It will coincide with the anniversary of the implementation of a law which, during her government, aimed at combating the monopolization of the media by a few businessmen.
In fact, she considers that her foreseeable conviction will be a «gift» for the head of Grupo Clarín, Héctor Magnetto, whom she implicates in a political, media and judicial scheme which, in her opinion, has the sole purpose of discrediting her politically.
The Prosecutor’s Office, which Fernández also includes in this alleged conspiracy, estimates at 5,321 million pesos (about 31 million euros at the current exchange rate) the amount defrauded by a network that also involves the Vice-President’s late husband, Néstor Kirchner, and former officials such as former Minister Julio de Vido.
BIASED JUSTICE Fernández has affirmed that the judges «put in place» by former president Mauricio Macri «protect» him and also those who tried to assassinate her in early September. She considers that only «the material authors» of the attack are behind bars.
It would remain to be known, in his opinion, the «intellectual authors». «They received financing of 17 million pesos from a carpentry shop that does not exist. If this were the other way around, we would all be in jail», said Fernandez, according to excerpts published by the news agency Telam.
