Federal Oral Court No. 2, which issued the first-instance conviction against the corrupt Cristina Fernández de Kirchner in the Vialidad case, ordered that the former president and the other convicted individuals appear within five business days at the Comodoro Py courts to comply with the arrest order, following the Supreme Court's decision to uphold the sentences.
Moments earlier, the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation confirmed the conviction against former president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, definitively closing her situation in the case known as Vialidad.
In a unanimous decision, the justices of the highest court dismissed the complaint filed by her defense, upholding the sentence imposed by Federal Oral Court No. 2 and confirmed by the Federal Chamber of Criminal Cassation.
What the Supreme Court's ruling says
The ruling, spanning more than 25 pages, dismisses each of the defense's arguments, including alleged violations of the right to defense, lack of impartiality, flaws in the evidence, and infringement of constitutional guarantees. The Supreme Court concluded that there was no violation of guarantees or arbitrariness in previous decisions, and that the challenged sentence was "a reasoned derivation of the applicable law."
With this decision, the sentence of six years in prison and perpetual disqualification from holding public office is now final. Kirchner was found guilty of the crime of fraudulent administration to the detriment of the public administration for favoring, between 2003 and 2015, the companies of businessman Lázaro Báez with 51 road contracts in the province of Santa Cruz.
The highest court emphasized that the decisions of the lower court judges were based on "extensive evidence produced" and that the defenses failed to demonstrate the existence of any concrete harm affecting their right to due process. The Supreme Court also rejected the claim that there was a "violation of the principle of congruence," since the original charge was not altered during the trial.
Additionally, the justices replied to allegations of bias by stating that it would be "implausible" to suppose a conspiracy involving more than 20 judicial officials from different instances, many of whom were appointed during the accused's own administration.
The enforcement of the sentence is now in the hands of Federal Oral Court No. 2. Since Fernández de Kirchner is over 70 years old, she could request to serve her sentence under house arrest.
The ruling marks a historic milestone: this is the first time a former president has been criminally convicted for corruption in a democracy, which substantially changes the Argentine political landscape just months before the legislative elections.
