He previously lost his reelection bid in 2019, despite the IMF’s ‘endorsement’. He recently decided that, given his slim chances, he will not seek a second presidential term in the 2023 elections, a decision that has been lauded as noble in the media. Macri, for his part, enjoys freedom and good health. The media showed little interest at the time. The convictions they did receive were overturned by other judicial bodies, including the Supreme Court of Justice, which stretched the time limits until the statute of limitations expired. Menem and De la Rúa died decades after the events in question, as free men. The second-to-last ‘hypothetical’ refers to Fernando De la Rúa, who briefly served as president (1999-2001) for the right-wing Radical party, succeeding Menem with a mandate to reverse the austerity and corruption of his predecessor. The last question refers to one of the many scandals attributed to Carlos Menem, president in a right-wing Peronist coalition from 1989 to 1999. Indeed, former right-wing president Mauricio Macri (2015-2019), son of the founder of the powerful economic group that bears his surname, is the person behind the first six ‘questions’. Similar parallels can be found throughout Latin America. This selective fight against corruption has given the judiciary a bad name and contributed to suspicions of judicial and journalistic bias, at the very least, and at the worst has strengthened ‘armed’ opposition to the leadership of Argentina’s popular camp. None of them involve Cristina Fernández de Kirchner (CFK), but presidents who served before her. A one-sided fight against corruptionĪll these crimes remain unpunished, though many have been proven in court. The answer to all of these questions, which are not hypothetical but historical facts, is ‘nothing’ – or next to nothing, with only the slightest appearance of something. Imagine if a president were to be accused of bribing senators and repressing protests in which 38 people were killed by state forces? Finally, what would happen to someone who smuggled 6,500 tons of arms to war regions in violation of UN resolutions, and whose apparent attempt to conceal it caused seven deaths and wounded hundreds when a military factory exploded in 1995? Or if he were to set up a ‘judicial roundtable’ to interfere in the justice system, ‘shield’ himself and persecute opponents, or when the responsible official remains at large for two years? Or if he were to voice support for a minister who retains shares in the company he headed before taking office, as well as for an official with millions of dollars of contracts with the government, and only accept their resignation in the face of a mounting scandal while still refusing to investigate them? Or if he were to seek the largest loan in the history of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), a US$57 billion bailout – intended to help him win reelection, according to his own officials – during an election year and with strong capital flight, contrary to the rules of the IMF and the constitution? Worse still, what would happen if, in a scandal reminiscent of Watergate, he were to use state intelligence for illegal internal espionage against opponents and allies, even relatives of victims of the worst military tragedy in peacetime. What would happen if this person, once in office, forgave other massive debts held by family businesses? What would happen if a person, previously prosecuted for large-scale smuggling and tax fraud, whose economic conglomerate benefited from the nationalisation of millions of dollars in debt during the last military dictatorship – three and four decades ago, respectively – were to be elected president? This incident is just one more in a long series of political and economic shockwaves that have rocked the country and its government. In an allusion to the failed assassination attempt against her, which is currently under investigation and potentially implicates members of the intelligence community, political leaders and the founders of right wing hate campaigns, Kirchner labelled the judiciary and media as a ‘firing squad’. Kirchner, who led the polls prior to her conviction, has since ruled out her candidacy. In October 2023, Argentina will elect a president. Its grounds were not explained at the time, and Kirchner’s position grants her privileges that prevent her arrest. Her conviction, which some have hailed as historic, remains subject to appeal. On 6 December, an Argentinian court sentenced current vice-president and former two-term president (2007-2015) Cristina Fernández de Kirchner to six years in prison and lifelong disqualification from holding public office.
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