Argentina's top news magazine publisher denounces "sole objective is to jail Cristina Kirchner" [View all]
Politics in Argentina were rocked this week by allegations from the nation's top news magazine publisher that a federal judge close to President Mauricio Macri has as a "sole objective to jail Cristina Kirchner."
Jorge Fontevecchia revealed in an interview with Carlos Pagni of La Nación that Judge Claudio Bonadío, who presides over four out of the five ongoing cases against former President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, routinely directs witnesses to testify against her.
"I have testimony from businessmen who say that when they start talking, Bonadío says 'stop, stop, stop' - and that in reality the only objective is for Cristina to go to prison but nobody else," Fontevecchia said.
Fontevecchia, like Pagni, is a prominent conservative figure in Argentine news media, and through his popular weekly Noticias was an outspoken opponent of the left-leaning Kirchner during her 2007-15 administration.
His statement has been echoed by other conservatives - notably Mariano Cúneo Libarona, one of Argentina's most prominent defense attorneys.
"Witnesses are coerced in some cases, and encouraged to lie," Cúneo Libarona said.
In Macri's pocket
Kirchner's chief counsel, Carlos Beraldi, has called on Fontevecchia, Pagni, and radio host Romina Manguel to testify as to possible coercion revealed to them by federal contractors subpoenaed by Bonadío as witnesses against Kirchner.
Bonadío, however, barred Beraldi from calling witnesses. Beraldi was likewise barred from obtaining copies of the contractors' testimony, or from witnessing a raid on her home on August 23-24.
No evidence was uncovered. But Kirchner's housekeeper and two others were hospitalized on August 26 after being exposed to what doctors described as a contact poison left behind in her bedroom by police during the search.
Bonadío, known as Macri's "napkin" (pocket) judge, currently oversees many of the cases involving former President Kirchner or her former officials, despite requirements that federal cases be radomly assigned by lot.
Macri, like Bonadío, has repeatedly expressed his desire to see Kirchner behind bars - though as Bonadío admitted last year, in over six years of investigations no offshore accounts, undeclared assets or other evidence of corruption has surfaced against her.
The same, critics note, cannot be said for Macri, who has been materially linked to 50 undeclared offshore accounts since the 2016 Panama Papers scandal, and whose family retains a large stake in electric utilities - chief beneficiaries of rate hikes of up to 1400% decreed by Macri himself.
Macri is currently grappling with the worst crisis since the 2001-02 collapse. Kirchner, who has not declared her candidacy, is eligible to run for president again next year and would, according to recent polls, defeat Macri by up to 10 points.
At: https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.perfil.com%2Fnoticias%2Fpolitica%2Fjorge-fontevecchia-el-unico-objetivo-de-bonadio-es-que-cristina-vaya-presa-pero-nadie-mas.phtml&edit-text=
Publisher Jorge Fontevecchia and former President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.
As Argentina's leading news magazine publisher, the conservative Fontevecchia has seldom agreed with the left-leaning Kirchner - except in that she's the target of lawfare meant to jail her and thus preclude her potential 2019 candidacy.
Polling shows Mrs. Kirchner besting Macri by 6 to 10 points in a hypothetical runoff matchup.
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