Thousands march in Buenos Aires as ex-president starts her sentence

19/6/2025 6:13

Tens of thousands of

Argentines marched in the streets of Buenos Aires on Wednesday,

banging drums and chanting in a show of support for ex-president

Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner as she started a six-year

sentence under house arrest for corruption.



Kirchner, a two-term president from 2007-2015, is the

country's most prominent politician in recent decades, though

her leftist brand of populism sharply divides opinion. She is

the nemesis of current libertarian President Javier Milei.



Supporters from her Peronist movement took to the streets

with flares, giant posters with her image, and banners saying

"Always With Cristina", a reflection of how she retains popular

backing with her core supporter base. Kirchner, 72, claims the

allegations against her are politically driven.



"It was what they needed to get rid of her, so she wouldn't

be in the (election) running. They knew she could beat them,"

said Laura Abal, 66, a pedicurist who took part in the march,

referring to Kirchner's foiled plans to run as a local lawmaker.



Kirchner has some 20% voter support, polls show, though is

opposed by many who recall her interventionist policies. She

still holds huge sway over the opposition Peronists, Argentina's

dominant political bloc in the last half century.



Argentina's Supreme Court last week upheld a 2022 conviction

against Kirchner related to a fraud scheme involving public

projects in the southern Patagonia region. That also included a

lifetime ban from holding public political office.



Some analysts say the detention could, though boost her

image by making her a political martyr, adding she could

potentially exercise influence from her Buenos Aires apartment

where the judge ordered that she serve out her sentence due to

her age.



"Can I go out on my balcony or not?" Fernández humorously

asked on Wednesday on the social network X, a reference to how

she could rouse the crowds in the streets below in potential

violation of court orders not to cause disruption.



Presidential spokesman Manuel Adorni on Wednesday avoided

crowing over the sentence, though hailed the fact that "justice"

had prevailed.



"The arrest of a former president is not pleasant for any

democracy, although, of course, it is a source of joy that

justice exists and puts some things right," he said.