Argentina’s former president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner has reached the end of her political road after the country’s Supreme Court upheld her six-year prison sentence for corruption.
The ruling, issued on June 10, 2025, also permanently bars the 72-year-old from holding public office, effectively ending her decades-long influence over Argentine politics.
The case, known as the “Vialidad” scandal, centered on allegations that Fernández de Kirchner directed dozens of public works contracts to a close associate during her presidency from 2007 to 2015
The contracts, awarded in her home province of Santa Cruz, were found to be overpriced and fraudulently managed. The court cited an “abundance of evidence” in affirming the original conviction.
Despite the severity of the sentence, Fernández de Kirchner will not serve time in a traditional prison. A federal court has granted her request to serve the sentence under house arrest in her Buenos Aires apartment, citing her age and security concerns following a failed assassination attempt in 2022
She will be monitored electronically and is prohibited from leaving the premises except under exceptional circumstances.
The ruling has sparked a wave of protests from her supporters, who view the conviction as politically motivated. Fernández de Kirchner herself denounced the court’s decision as a tool of “concentrated economic power,” accusing the judiciary of acting on behalf of her political rivals, particularly President Javier Milei.
The verdict also disqualifies her from running in the upcoming Buenos Aires legislative elections, just days after she had announced her candidacy.
While some analysts believe her political influence is waning, others argue that the ruling could galvanize her base and reignite support for her populist Peronist movement.
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