By Sebastián Lacunza
Editor-in-Chief
Editor-in-Chief
Former president faces serious charges but her game is not over
After a flight from El Calafate, former president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner landed in BA City’s Aeroparque last night, with groups of supporters gathered to welcome her. Her daughter’s birthday this week is the official excuse for the trip, but some judicial proceedings and attempts for a political revival could also explain her landing in the city.
A déjà vu of her previous visit, on April 11, could be seen last night. Almost three months ago, the former president had been summoned by Federal Judge Claudio Bonadio to be questioned in the case of the dollar futures case.
Although the arrival of CFK might seem part of a ritual, the current conditions are not the same. Back then, CFK faced dubious charges — the Central Bank under the previous government had sold dollar futures in October maturing in March, assuming a devaluation rate of about 13 percent, which ended up being much lower than the 50 percent rate mandated by her successor, Mauricio Macri.
CFK took advantage of a case that many — even opponents — said looked like a hoax produced by a judge without prestige. The former president used the opportunity to make a show of strength once again. She had left office five months earlier with a massive rally in Plaza de Mayo just to start a period of silence only broken by statements statements in the social networks. On that occasion, CFK headed another massive rally only days after the Panama Papers broke, a scandal that affected Mauricio Macri much more than the Kirchners. The consequences of the devaluation as the utility rates soared helped CFK to realign the political stage.
Many things happened between that rainy week in April and last rainy night. For example, the former secretary of Public Works José López trying to hide bags packed with dollars in a convent in General Rodríguez, west of Great Buenos Aires. It’s not as if anyone is shocked after knowing that public works had prompted illicit enrichment granted by bribery or embezzlement during the Kirchners’ years, but US$ 9 million in the trunk of López’s car represented a piece of evidence which left no room for real or imaginary conspiracies theories. CFK has something to explain before the Argentine people and, likely, the courts.
Not only did López change the scenario for CFK. Days ago, a federal appeals court ordered Federal Judge Sebastián Casanello to focus on the ties between the former chief of state and public works tycoon Lázaro Báez — today incarcerated at the Ezeiza prison. Beyond the always controversial members of the appeals court, whoever disagrees with them should make their best to challenge “the most elementary logic” described in the ruling that links the former president with an entrepreneur who came from nowhere and ended up being a king of the Patagonia and tax havens.
CFK has an opportunity, based on three elements.
I - Some of her current opponents — including staunch allies until last December — rushed to trumpet the end of the Kirchnerite era. It is more an expression of desire than reality. Even her fiercest enemies admit CFK embodies an uncanny ability to turn the tables and emerge stronger from crises. However, never before had the corruption charges against her figure been so many (and so clear).
II - It is a fact that the lawyer from Santa Cruz does not enjoy the privilege of ruling anymore. The Kirchners could start afresh in other opportunities when they decisively used their role to launch public policies and reshaped the horizon. However, the weakness of CFK (who left the Casa Rosada to an opponent with 40-45 percent approval ratings, according to polls) could become significant if the government of Mauricio Macri takes flight. For now, the hard numbers of the economy (employment, inflation, poverty, debt, fiscal deficit, growth) did nothing but worsen since CFK left the Pink House last December. If the measures taken by Macri were due to “sincerity,” just a bitter pill that will give impetus to a flourishing and lasting growth, the former president will be prey to a story just for the faithful. But if it was an accumulation of dogmatic decisions to further consolidate economic niches at the expense of the working classes, CFK will have a chance to take advantage of the ashes of ther rival’s promises. It will be clearer in the coming months.
III - Some cases and suspicions against CFK and Kirchnerite officials have a legal basis while others seem nothing more than mere revenge. Several arbitrary decisions seem to have been taken by courts with a blatant partisanship that does not respect any legal guarantees while others try to hide some key responsibilities. If the democratic regeneration is carried out by judges who have served the worst causes under all the previous governments, while their rulings are celebrated by union leaders who look more like gangsters than workers, CFK will be the first to take advantage of the situation.
Meanwhile, the Macri government moves forward with projects and apparently minor administrative measures that lift controls on public works and capital flight. If public works were a murky Pandora box during Kirchnerism, the best way to enhance corruption would be to erase controls even from the letter of the law.
@sebalacunza