Presidents of four countries express support for Argentine vice president and denounce persecution

In a statement of support for Argentine Vice President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, the presidents of Argentina, Bolivia, Mexico, and Colombia have condemned as “unjustified judicial persecution” the proceedings against the political leader for alleged irregularities in the awarding of public contracts during her term as president of the country (2007-2015).

The Argentine presidency released the communiqué, which was signed by the presidents of Argentina, Alberto Fernández; Bolivia, Luis Arce; Colombia, Gustavo Petro; and Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

The text states that the “persecution aims to remove Cristina Fernández de Kirchner from public, political and electoral life, as well as bury the values and ideals she represents, with the ultimate goal of implementing a neoliberal model.”

“The Argentine vice president is being victimized by accusations against her political opponents, journalistic headlines, and judicial irregularities that violate due process and legal guarantees. In recent years, the judiciary has initiated numerous cases against her, many of which have had to be dropped for lack of valid evidence,” the statement said.

They pointed out that in the oral hearing against Fernández de Kirchner before the Federal Oral Tribunal 2 (TOF2), the right to defend the political leader was violated and rejected “the bad procedural practices that led to removing Fernández de Kirchner from political life.”

“We express our strongest support for Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and strongly condemn the strategies of judicial persecution to eliminate political opponents,” the leaders’ text continues.

On August 22, federal prosecutor Diego Luciani requested TOF2 to sentence Fernández de Kirchner to 12 years in prison and bar her from public office.

The former Argentine president denied the charges, saying that this was a trial against Peronism (Justice Party) and popular governments the day before.

The case involves alleged irregularities in the awarding of 51 public works contracts to the companies of contractor Lázaro Báez in Santa Cruz province (south). The damage to the Argentine state amounts to US$5.321 billion, according to the prosecutor’s office.

Also charged are businessman Báez, former Federal Planning Minister Julio De Vido, former Public Works Minister José López, and other former officials.

All are accused of the crime of illegal association and fraud against the public administration for allegedly awarding 80 percent of national public works in Santa Cruz province to companies belonging to the Báez group, paying inflated prices, and failing to perform the job correctly.

Tuesday, Argentina’s vice president said that “nothing, absolutely nothing of what they said has been proven. Not only was it not confirmed, but it was proven to be precisely the opposite of what they said, and we could see it from the testimony of the witnesses who were subpoenaed.

After Prosecutor Luciani’s plea on August 22, the TOF2 ordered the fourth recess until September 5, when the defense plea phase began.

In this context, the Argentine government has expressed its “solidarity with the Vice President in the face of this persecution and the search for an ostracism that is part of similar attempts made against other popular leaders when justice is put at the service of those in power.”