Dictator Lula will visit Cristina Kirchner under house arrest tomorrow.

The Argentine judiciary authorized this Wednesday the president of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, to visit Cristina Fernández de Kirchner at the apartment where she is serving house arrest for the Vialidad case.

The meeting will take place this Thursday, July 3, at the residence located at San José 1,111, Monserrat neighborhood in Buenos Aires.

A political visit during the Mercosur Summit

Lula da Silva will arrive in Argentina to participate in the Mercosur Summit along with other regional leaders. In that context, the former vice president requested special authorization from Federal Oral Court No. 2 to receive the Brazilian leader, which was granted by Judge Jorge Gorini.

"The court authorizes the visit of the president of the Federative Republic of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, to the residence where Mrs. Fernández de Kirchner is serving her house arrest," states the judicial resolution. No time or duration limit was set for the meeting.

Restrictions and warnings

The authorization included a clear warning: Cristina Kirchner must "refrain from engaging in behaviors that disturb the peace of the neighborhood," according to one of the conditions imposed when she was granted the benefit of house arrest last June 17.

It should be noted that the visitation regime approved by the court allows entry without authorization only for immediate family members, doctors, security personnel, and lawyers.  Meanwhile, any other person wishing to enter the residence must have express judicial permission, as in Lula's case.

A gesture of "closeness" that already had precedents

Several days ago, Lula publicly revealed that he had called Cristina Kirchner by phone to express his solidarity. "She even cried," the Brazilian leader said in an interview. "My friendship with Cristina is not because we were presidents, but because we are people," he said.

Lula's will be the first international political visit received by the former president during her house arrest.

Judicial dispute over the conditions of the arrest

Cristina Kirchner's defense, led by Alberto Beraldi and Ary Llernovoy, appealed the visitation restrictions imposed by the court.  They stated that there is no regulation limiting visits in the context of house arrest and that this requirement is not applied in other cases.

The Federal Criminal Cassation Chamber called a hearing for this Monday, in which Judges Mariano Borinsky, Gustavo Hornos, and Diego Barroetaveña will hear the parties before deciding whether to uphold the decision of the Oral Court or relax the conditions.

Additionally, prosecutors Diego Luciani and Sergio Mola appealed the house arrest itself, requesting that Cristina Kirchner serve her sentence in a regular penitentiary facility, or failing that, at another residence. They also opposed the continued use of the electronic bracelet, a point that was also challenged by the defense.