An Argentine appeals court on Wednesday upheld the corruption conviction of ex-president Cristina Kirchner, who was sentenced to six years in prison and declared ineligible to hold elected office in 2022.

Kirchner, who was president from 2007 to 2015, can appeal her conviction for “fraudulent administration” to the Supreme Court.

The 71-year-old center-left politician, a highly polarizing figure in Argentina, is considered unlikely to serve jail time even if the verdict is confirmed by the country’s top court.

She was convicted over the awarding of public works contracts while president, but claims she was the target of a political witch hunt.

Kirchner rose to prominence as part of a political power couple with her late husband Nestor Kirchner, who preceded her as president between 2003 and 2007.

After two terms as president Cristina Kirchner was vice-president from 2019 to 2023.

In 2022, she was the target of an assassination attempt outside her home when a man pointed a gun at her head and pulled the trigger. The gun misfired.

Wednesday’s appeals court ruling came as she prepared to make a return to frontline politics, as the only candidate to lead the main opposition party in an internal election set for November 17.

She can continue to hold political roles until she has exhausted all avenues of appeal.

Kirchner has been a staunch opponent of libertarian President Javier Milei’s policy of deregulation and slashing public spending.

Milei came to power on a tide of disaffection with Kirchner’s center-left Peronist movement, which has dominated Argentine politics for most of the country’s post-war history and was blamed for an economic crisis that saw three-digit inflation.

Her detractors accuse her of being a corrupt interventionist who ruined the economy through overspending.

Kirchner’s working-class base, however, sees her as a hero for boosting social welfare programs.

AFP