As soon as it became known that Eduardo Casal had to issue an opinion on the conviction of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner in the Vialidad case, judicial experts agreed on the same diagnosis:
The Attorney General of the Nation would support the position of prosecutors from previous instances, who had requested a 12-year prison sentence for the former president for her alleged role as head of a criminal organization aimed at defrauding the State.
This is exactly what happened. A few weeks ago, Casal submitted his opinion to the Supreme Court, in which he called for that sentence, which would mean doubling the penalty already set by the Oral Court, the Federal Chamber, and the Court of Cassation, also including permanent disqualification from holding public office.
In this context, both in the judicial and political spheres, speculation is growing about what decision the Court might make. Few believe that the judges of the highest court will depart from the criteria adopted by the lower courts. It is a complicated outlook for Cristina, and the big question is when the verdict will be announced.
Until not long ago, it was assumed that the ruling would be issued after the elections, with the argument of avoiding the Judiciary's influence on the "electoral process." In fact, within Kirchnerism, the main concern regarding Cristina's possible disqualification was focused on the progress of the “Ficha Limpia” project.
However, the scenario changed. The legislative initiative that sought to prevent candidacies of people with corruption convictions failed, and the principle of non-judicial intervention during electoral periods began to be questioned. Today, no one dares to set a date for the Court's decision.
