Thousands of Argentines took to the streets of Buenos Aires, this Saturday (27), to demonstrate in defense of the country’s vice president, Cristina Kirchner, accused of fraud and corruption. Protesters clashed with local police, and the Argentinian leader had to call for a halt to the protests.
On Monday (22), the Argentine Public Ministry asked Cristina for a 12-year prison sentence. Prosecutor Diego Luciani also requested that the vice president be disqualified from running for public office for the rest of her life and that 5.3 billion pesos (R$ 190 million) be returned to the public coffers. Cristina is accused of leading a scheme of illicit association and fraud against the State during the period in which she was president of the Republic (2007-2015).
This Saturday’s demonstrations brought together public officials and political, union and social leaders. Other cities in the country also registered protests in defense of the vice president.
The militancy’s idea was to walk to the building where the Peronist leader lives, in the Recoleta neighborhood. But the Buenos Aires mayor’s office, controlled by the right-wing opposition Horacio Larreta, ordered police to surround the site early in the morning and stop the protests from advancing.
There was an uproar when protesters met security agents and the police repressed the acts with water jets and tear gas. Two people were arrested and seven police officers were injured, according to Reuters. Even so, the vice president’s supporters managed to break the siege and arrived at the door of Cristina’s residence.
“There was a lot of blood in Argentina,” the vice president told thousands of supporters, criticizing the barrier put in place by local authorities. “In a democracy, the right to freedom of expression is fundamental. I want to thank you and ask you to get some rest. It’s been a long day,” she said.
Earlier, the former president had already attributed the clashes to what she called hatred against Peronism. “It’s incredible the degree of cynicism and perversion of not assuming what they want: exterminating Peronism,” she said. Cristina accuses prosecutors of leading a persecution and an attack on her political camp.
Argentine President Alberto Fernández wrote on Twitter that “the police operation, far from contributing to tranquility, generated a climate of insecurity and intimidation”. The Argentine president, by the way, has a power struggle with Cristina within the government.
The mayor of Buenos Aires said that the police siege was necessary and that “the demonstration turned into a situation of violence”.
The country’s former president, the liberal Mauricio Macri, of course, also criticized Cristina and her supporters: “The one responsible for this overflow and alteration of the peace is the CFK [iniciais do nome de Cristina], which once again tramples the institutions, believing to be above the law. She victimizes herself to promote chaos. I send my support to the security forces and the city hall and my solidarity with the neighbors,” he wrote on Twitter.
In addition to the charges against the vice president, the Argentine prosecutor’s office asked for the arrest of 12 other people, including former minister Julio De Vido and businessman Lázaro Báez, who benefited from the concession of works without bidding in the governments of Cristina and her predecessor and husband, Néstor Kirchner.
Among the evidence against the businessman, Luciani showed evidence of his quick enrichment and with flimsy explanations. “All the bids were a farce. There was cartelization organized by the state,” he said.
The possibility of disqualification from running for public office could complicate Cristina’s plans for next year, when Argentina has elections to renew part of Parliament and to succeed Fernández – she is tipped to run for the Senate or even the presidency.
