The true face of Pichetto, the Kirchnerist who covered Cristina's back through a pragmatic farce
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With a discourse of "pragmatism" that today seems more like a farce than a conviction, this former running mate of former president Mauricio Macrihas requested a visit to the corrupt and convicted Cristina Kirchner at her house arrest. This gesture, which reveals a loyalty that never stopped being K, highlights the essential role he played for more than a decade to ensure that theformer president was not stripped of her parliamentary immunity and, therefore, did not end up in prison.
For years, Miguel Ángel Pichetto remained immovable in the Senate, blocking any attempt to strip Cristina Kirchner of her immunity. Despite requests from the judiciary, his argument was always the same: the presumption of innocence. "It is not appropriate to remove parliamentary immunity from the former president", he insisted, even after the Supreme Court confirmed her pretrial detention in the case regarding the memorandum with Iran.
Miguel Ángel Pichetto cubrió a CFK y cuidó sus fueros durante más de una década
Pichetto maintained that immunity should only be removed when there was a "final sentence." However, this position was nothing more than an excuse to shield one of the most investigated people for corruption in the country. The former leader of the Justicialist bloc made it clear that "the criminal process can be carried out until the very sentence without any kind of impediment". With rhetoric that now sounds empty, he promised that "when there is a final sentence, the removal of immunity will proceed". This argument allowed him to buy time and, in practice, guarantee impunity.
Pichetto's protection was not a solitary act, but a silent pact with Kirchnerism to prevent the judiciary from acting. To strip Cristina Kirchner of her immunity, 48 votes were needed, that is, two-thirds of the Senate. With Macri's Cambiemos bloc holding 25 senators, the ruling party needed the support of Pichetto's group, which also had 25. His refusal to support the removal of immunity became the main obstacle to Cristina Kirchner's detention, despite requests from Judge Claudio Bonadio.
Although the Senate voted unanimously, with 67 votes in favor, to search the former president's properties in the notebooks bribery case, her immunity from arrest remained unchanged. The supposed "state vision" of Pichetto, the man who defines himself as "Peronist, republican, and capitalist", was in reality a strategy to protect the interests of a political sector that now feels threatened by the judiciary. This is a clear example that, for Pichetto, justice is only valid when it doesn't affect his "companions."
Miguel Ángel Pichetto cubrió a CFK y cuidó sus fueros durante más de una década
Pichetto's loyalty to the Kirchner family was reflected not only in the Senate, but also in a gesture that revealed his true intentions. According to media reports, Pichetto used his "close judicial relationships" to alert Cristina Kirchner that her daughter, Florencia, could be taken to prison, since she did not have immunity. Pichetto's message, "There is a real risk that the girl will be taken to prison", was the reason why the former president sent her to Cuba. An act of "loyalty" that she never forgot.
This revelation completely dismantles the farce that Pichetto was an "institutionalist" who acted on principle. His "loyalty" to the "codes" and to protecting his own is what truly guides his actions. Meanwhile, he publicly distanced himself from Cristina Kirchner, in private he pulled the strings so that the judiciary would not reach the family. Today, his request to visit the former president at her house arrest confirms what many already knew: Miguel Ángel Pichetto never stopped being the unconditional supporter of the corrupt Cristina Kirchner.
