Argentina's Politicians to be Investigated

Argentine prosecutors launched an investigation on April 11 of former President of Argentina, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, on charges of money laundering and corruption, as reported by The Guardian. The financial irregularities noted by the prosecutors include the sale of futures at below-market rates that may have cost Argentina $5 billion, and attempts to shelter payments for public work contracts ‘won’ by Lázaro Báez, a close family friend of the Kirchners, in offshore accounts. While judge Sebastián Casanello believes there is sufficient evidence to indict Fernández, her supporters believe her the victim of an unfair case of political prosecution by the former opposition bloc, currently in power. Fernández de Kirchner and her late husband and predecessor Nestor Kirchner held the Argentine presidency since 2003 and presided over an unstable and increasingly isolated economy characterized by a boom-and-bust pattern of growth and isolation from global trade. Regardless, support for government programs such as a universal child allowance has made Fernández de Kirchner popular among the working class. Her administration has also earned international praise for her human rights record, including the reopening of trials against abusive officers belonging to the military junta under the rule of which nearly 30,000 dissidents went missing between 1976 and 1983.

The opposition, led by Buenos Aires mayor Mauricio Macri, won the October 2015 presidential election on a platform of greater transparency and market-oriented reform. However, Macri’s first few months in office have proven difficult: Bloomberg reports that the Argentine Peso has lost a third of its value since the beginning of Macri’s term, and his public approval barely hovers above 50 percent, according to the Buenos Aires Herald. Since the release of those ratings, Macri’s approval has likely dipped further. BBC reports that the Panama Papers leaks have named him as having benefitted from sheltering a Bahamas-based shell company that he reportedly owned. He now faces investigation.

On the other hand, it appeared clear that Fernández de Kirchner had not lost support when large, enthusiastic crowds greeted her upon returning to Buenos Aires for her court hearing. This represented her first public appearance since handing over the presidency.

Sebastián Casanello will hear both the Fernández and Macri cases in a scandal that may severely tarnish the images of the two largest political forces in Argentina.