International Desk, (EFE).- Top leaders of Argentina’s Peronist movement gathered Monday at the Justicialist Party (PJ) headquarters in Buenos Aires in anticipation of a potential Supreme Court ruling that could trigger the immediate arrest of former President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner (2007-2015).
The high court is expected to rule this week on whether to uphold a six-year prison sentence and lifetime political disqualification against Fernández for alleged fraudulent istration during her time in office.
The case, known as the Vialidad case, centered on the awarding of 51 public works projects in the southern province of Santa Cruz to businessman Lázaro Báez, a close associate of Fernández and her late husband, former President Néstor Kirchner.
The projects were awarded during their consecutive istrations between 2003 and 2015.
While Fernández was convicted in 2022, her sentencing has not been enforced due to legal appeals and her then-parliamentary immunity.
“We are here not just to Cristina but to send a clear message to the government, the judiciary, and economic powers that the Peronist movement will resist any attempt to criminalize our leader,” said former congresswoman Victoria Dodna, who attended the emergency meeting.
By late afternoon, ers carrying PJ flags and labor union banners had begun gathering outside the party’s central office.
Their message: if Fernández is jailed, massive mobilization will follow. “They’ve persecuted us since the 1950s. If they touch her, they touch all of us,” added Donda, referencing Argentina’s long history of political repression against Peronists.
The decision is expected to come just months before crucial legislative elections in Buenos Aires province, where Fernández recently announced her candidacy.
If the ruling stands, she would be barred from running, fueling accusations of political persecution from her allies.
Trade unions threaten national strike
Argentina’s most powerful labor unions have warned of immediate mobilizations and a nationwide strike should the Supreme Court confirm Cristina Fernández’s conviction.
The threat marks an escalation in the country’s political tensions, as Fernández remains a central figure in opposition to the right-wing government of President Javier Milei.
“The judicial system has become a tool of persecution,” said Abel Furlán, head of the influential metalworkers union UOM. “We won’t stand idly by while democracy is put at risk.”
He confirmed that labor leaders would political figures and social organizations in crafting a t response during Monday’s emergency summit at PJ headquarters.
Other unions, including the powerful SMATA (mechanics), ATE (public workers), APL (legislative staff), and the national banking union, echoed similar sentiments.
SMATA deputy and national lawmaker Mario Manrique told local radio, “What they can’t win at the ballot box, they are trying to accomplish through the courts.”
The unions see Fernández not only as a symbol of resistance but also as a direct challenge to what they describe as an emboldened alliance between Argentina’s judiciary and economic elites.
“This is lawfare, plain and simple,” said Daniel Catalano, head of ATE Capital, invoking the term used to describe politically motivated legal persecution in Latin America.
The unions’ statements coincided with a public address by Fernández, who warned during a rally in Corrientes province over the weekend, “They want me imprisoned or dead.”
She claimed that her recent announcement to run in the September elections had unleashed a wave of hostile media and judicial pressure.
Political stakes soar as Fernández frames legal battle as democratic crisis
At 72, Cristina Fernández remains one of the most polarizing and influential figures in Argentine politics.
Her ers see her as the last stronghold of social justice in a country grappling with economic austerity under libertarian President Javier Milei.
Her detractors claim she used state power to enrich herself and her allies, distorting public procurement to benefit a political inner circle.
The Supreme Court’s decision could sideline Fernández ahead of the Buenos Aires provincial elections scheduled for Sep. 7, where she had planned a political comeback.
For many Peronists, including Governor Axel Kicillof, a former economy minister under Fernández, the case represents a litmus test for Argentina’s democratic institutions.
“We are being bombarded by hate and judicial persecution,” Kicillof said in a video posted to X (formerly Twitter). “Enough is enough, stop persecuting Cristina and the Peronist movement.”
The post coincided with the anniversary of the 1956 execution of Peronist militants, a day known as Peronist Resistance Day, drawing historical parallels between the current legal proceedings and past repression.
Though relations between Kicillof and Fernández had cooled in recent months amid internal party disputes, the two recently met to coordinate strategy ahead of the elections. Still, sources close to the governor have warned that full political unity has yet to be achieved.
In her address on Saturday, Fernández recalled surviving an assassination attempt in 2022, when a gun was fired inches from her face. “They want to silence me through fear, through imprisonment, or worse,” she said. “But the people will always return.” EFE
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