Argentine court hears dueling appeals in ex-president's graft case

Argentine court hears dueling appeals in ex-president's graft case

An Argentine court on Monday started hearing simultaneous appeals against the graft conviction and six-year sentence pronounced against ex-president Cristina Kirchner for irregular public works contracts awarded on her watch.

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The prosecution is seeking a doubling of her sentence and the reversal of her acquittal on an additional charge of criminal association, while Kirchner, 70, wants the court to throw out her conviction altogether.

The defense is expected to present its case on March 7 in the hearings programmed until April 4 in Buenos Aires, with a ruling expected within weeks.

Adored and reviled in equal measure by millions of Argentines, the divisive politician was found guilty in December 2022 of "fraudulent administration" during her time as president between 2007 and 2015.

The court banned Kirchner -- also a former first lady and former vice president -- from public office after a trial she dismissed as a political witch hunt.

Kirchner was charged with 12 others for involvement in fraud with public works contracts in her political fiefdom of southern Santa Cruz province.

The period investigated includes Kirchner's eight years in office and the preceding four years when her late husband Nestor Kirchner, who died in 2010, was president.

During the trial, the prosecutor denounced what he called "a system of institutional corruption" and "probably the largest corruption operation" in the country, with "systematic irregularities in 51 calls for tenders" over 12 years.

Eight of Kirchner's co-accused were found guilty and sentenced to between three and six-and-a-half years in jail.

If the appeal goes against her, Kirchner is not expected to head to jail any time soon, as she still has other legal avenues left, including the Supreme Court.

Last year, when she was serving as vice president, Kirchner announced she would not seek election to the presidency or other high office again.

To her working-class base, Kirchner and her husband were saviors after Argentina's 2001 economic meltdown and the social unrest that followed the largest debt default in history, standing up for the little guy against bullies both foreign and domestic.

Her detractors see her as a corrupt, overbearing interventionist who steered the country back toward economic ruin through debt-fueled spending sprees.

She is also the target of other investigations for alleged money laundering and obstruction of justice.

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