The president-elect, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), spoke on social networks regarding the conviction of the Argentine vice-president, Cristina Kirchner, this Wednesday (7). The day before, she received a six-year prison sentence for fraudulent management.
In the post, the petista compared the convictions that led him to be detained for 580 days in Curitiba —annulled due to, among other technical reasons, the partiality of former judge Sergio Moro— to that received by politics. He also mentioned “lawfare”, that is, when the Judiciary pursues an investigated person for political reasons. Crstina’s defense hits the key that she is a victim of the practice.
“My solidarity with the Vice President of Argentina. I saw her statement that she is a victim of lawfare and we know well here in Brazil how much this practice can cause damage to democracy. I support an impartial and independent justice for all and for the people of Argentina” , wrote Lula.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office accused Cristina of having led an “extraordinary array of corruption”, setting up and managing, alongside 12 other defendants, a scheme to divert funds in the form of public works concessions in the province of Santa Cruz to the company of a friend of the Kirchner family, Lázaro Báez—who was also sentenced to 6 years in prison.
In August, the prosecution conducted by prosecutors Diego Luciani and Sergio Mola had asked the vice president for 12 years in prison, the maximum sentence for the crime of criminal association. He also requested that she be barred from running for public office for life and that she return 5.3 billion pesos (R$200 million) to public coffers. Cristina was cleared of the allegation of illicit association, but found guilty of fraud.
Tuesday’s conviction doesn’t mean Cristina will be arrested anytime soon, however. Due to the positions she holds —in addition to vice president, she is leader of the Senate—, politics has a special jurisdiction, which can only be overthrown through an impeachment process in Parliament. Even so, this would only happen when all instances of appeal were exhausted, the Supreme Court being the last of them.
Cristina denies irregularities during the period in which she held the Presidency —the accusation also refers to the mandate of her husband and predecessor, Néstor (1950-2010), who was also governor of Santa Cruz.
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