Australia and the World Past and Present

Former President of Argentina, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, will serve 6 years under house arrest.

She had previously been convicted of corruption.

In Argentina, courts can consider house arrest for those convicted of crime if they are over the age on 70. Kirchner is 72.

The state would have had difficulty in assuring Kirchner’s safety within prison. First of all, she is a high-profile figure who would attract attention. If she were held in jail and attacked, there would be a public outcry in the country – certainly among her political supporters. Solitary confinement within prison would be out of the question. It can’t be used simply as a means of separating one prisoner from others. Prolonged solitary confinement can have serious health implications. It was not viable to have the former President of the country languishing in an isolated cell.

She is also banned from holding public office for the rest of her life.

When details of her house arrest became known, her supporters rallied in the streets of Buenos Aires.

Kirchner hails from the left side of Argentinian politics.

Together with her late husband, Néstor Kirchner, she developed a political movement known as Kircherism.

Many of Argentina’s poor are supportive of her.

Many of Kirchner’s supporters believe that her convictions are politically motivated.

Her time in office saw money printing as government policy, budget deficits and high inflation.

Some of her critics allege that she presided over a bloated bureaucracy.

In 2022 she was found guilty of corruption in awarding public contracts to Lázaro Báez at significantly above market rates.

As part of her house arrest, Kirchner will also be subject to electronic monitoring.

She has been told that visitors will have to be approved by the court.

This has become a point of contention because while the court has been able to take away her right to movement, it is less clear on what basis it can restrict her freedom to receive visitors.