Large crowds protest in support of Argentine ex-President Fernández as she starts house arrest
Her detention marked an ignominious turn for one of the most polarizing and influential political leaders on Latin America's left who served one term as Argentina's first lady (2004-2007), two terms as its president (2007-2015) and one term as its powerful vice president (2019–2023), dominating the country's politics for the last two decades.
Still today, Fernández represents the face of opposition to radical libertarian President Javier Milei. Polls suggest that she and her left-wing brand of Peronism, Argentina's nationalist populist movement championing workers' rights, retains the support of some 30% of the country.
"We will return, and, what's more, we will return with more wisdom, with more unity, with more strength,' Fernández, 72, told her ardent supporters in a speech recorded from home confinement and broadcast through loudspeakers into the streets of downtown Buenos Aires.
The case in which she was first convicted in 2022 found that she defrauded the state in awarding public works contracts to a friendly businessman. She vehemently denies the charges, accusing her opponents of weaponizing the justice system against her.
Before the court decision this month, she had been planning to run for a seat in the Buenos Aires provincial legislature.
'The real economic powers know this model has no future; they know it's collapsing, and that's why I'm in prison,' she said in her speech from her second-floor apartment in the southern Constitución neighborhood of the Argentine capital.
The scene of huge crowds setting off flares and chanting 'We will return" underscored the sharp divisions in this South American nation that has long been shaped by Fernández, who vastly increased welfare and public employment during her tenure in a dramatic expansion of the state that left Argentina with sky-high inflation and massive deficits.
'We are all here to fight for Cristina's freedom. If they restrict her more, we will do more," said Gloria Araya, 64, a retiree protesting on Wednesday.
The economic shambles she bequeathed her successors helped vault her nemesis, political outsider Milei, to the presidency in late 2023.
Milei has succeeded in his flagship campaign promise of lowering inflation. In May Argentina's monthly inflation rate plunged below 2% for the first time in five years, the government statistics agency reported last week.
But while prices have stabilized, the cost of living remains high in a country where wages are comparatively low. Investment has lagged. Many Argentines say they're still waiting to collect on the economic revival that Mieli promised would follow the pain of austerity.
Some analysts say that anger over Fernández's claims of political persecution could add fuel to those economic grievances and help rally an otherwise confused opposition to Milei.
'The conviction and sentencing of Cristina is a unifying force for Peronism,' said Sebastián Mazzuca, an Argentine political scientist. 'If the opposition can link this claim that there was some injustice in her trial with concerns over income and purchasing power, they have an agenda."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hamilton Spectator
28 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
US expands militarized zones to 1/3 of southern border, stirring controversy
COLUMBUS, N.M. (AP) — Orange no-entry signs posted by the U.S. military in English and Spanish dot the New Mexico desert, where a border wall cuts past onion fields and parched ranches with tufts of tall grass growing amidst wiry brush and yucca trees. The Army has posted thousands of the warnings in New Mexico and western Texas, declaring a 'restricted area by authority of the commander.' It's part of a major shift that has thrust the military into border enforcement with Mexico like never before. The move places long stretches of the border under the supervision of nearby military bases, empowering U.S. troops to detain people who enter the country illegally and sidestep a law prohibiting military involvement in civilian law enforcement. It is done under the authority of the national emergency on the border declared by President Donald Trump on his first day in office. U.S. authorities say the zones are needed to close gaps in border enforcement and help in the wider fight against human smuggling networks and brutal drug cartels. The militarization is being challenged in court, and has been criticized by civil rights advocates, humanitarian aid groups and outdoor enthusiasts who object to being blocked from public lands while troops have free rein. Abbey Carpenter, a leader of a search-and-rescue group for missing migrants, said public access is being denied across sweltering stretches of desert where migrant deaths have surged. 'Maybe there are more deaths, but we don't know,' she said. Military expansion Two militarized zones form a buffer along 230 miles (370 kilometers) of border, from Fort Hancock, Texas, through El Paso and westward across vast New Mexico ranchlands. The Defense Department added an additional 250-mile (400-kilometer) zone last week in Texas' Rio Grande Valley and plans another near Yuma, Arizona. Combined, the zones will cover nearly one-third of the U.S. border with Mexico. They are patrolled by at least 7,600 members of the armed forces, vastly expanding the U.S. government presence on the border. Reaction to the military buffer has been mixed among residents of New Mexico's rural Luna County, where a strong culture of individual liberty is tempered by the desire to squelch networks bringing migrants and contraband across the border. 'We as a family have always been very supportive of the mission, and very supportive of border security,' said James Johnson, a fourth-generation farmer overseeing seasonal laborers as they filled giant plastic crates with onions, earning $22 per container. Military deployments under prior presidents put 'eyes and ears' on the border, Johnson said. This version is 'trying to give some teeth.' But some hunters and hikers fear they're being locked out of a rugged and cherished landscape. 'I don't want to go down there with my hunting rifle and all of a sudden somebody rolls up on me and says that I'm in a military zone,' said Ray Trejo, a coordinator for the New Mexico Wildlife Federation and a Luna County commissioner. 'I don't know if these folks have been taught to deescalate situations.' A former public school teacher of English as a second language, Trejo said military trespassing charges seem inhumane in an economy built on immigrant farm labor. 'If the Army, Border Patrol, law enforcement in general are detaining people for reasons of transporting, of human smuggling, I don't have a problem,' he said. 'But people are coming into our country to work, stepping now all of a sudden into a military zone, and they have no idea.' Nicole Wieman, an Army command spokesperson, said the Army is negotiating possible public access for recreation and hunting, and will honor private rights to grazing and mining. Increased punishment More than 1,400 migrants have been charged with trespassing on military territory, facing a possible 18-month prison sentence for a first offense. That's on top of an illegal entry charge that brings up to six months in custody. After that, most are turned over to U.S. Customs and Border Protection for likely deportation. There have been no apparent arrests of U.S. citizens. At a federal courthouse in Las Cruces, New Mexico, on the banks of the Upper Rio Grande, migrants in drab county jail jumpsuits and chains filed before a magistrate judge on a recent weekday. A 29-year-old Guatemalan woman struggled to understand instructions through a Spanish interpreter as she pleaded guilty to illegal entry. A judge set aside military trespassing charges for lack of evidence, but sentenced her to two weeks in jail before being transferred for likely deportation. 'She sells pottery, she's a very simple woman with a sixth-grade education,' a public defense attorney told the judge. 'She told me she's going back and she's going to stay there.' Border crossings Border Patrol arrests along the southern border this year have dropped to the lowest level in six decades, including a 30% decrease in June from the prior month as attempted crossings dwindle. On June 28, the Border Patrol made only 137 arrests, a stark contrast with late 2023, when arrests topped 10,000 on the busiest days. The first militarized zones, introduced in April and May, extend west of El Paso past factories and cattle yards to partially encircle the New Mexico border village of Columbus, and its 1,450 residents. It was here that Mexican revolutionary forces led by Pancho Villa crossed into the U.S. in a deadly 1916 raid. These days, a port of entry at Columbus is where hundreds of children with U.S. citizenship cross daily from a bedroom community in Mexico to board public school buses and attend classes nearby. Columbus Mayor Philip Skinner, a Republican, says he's seen the occasional military vehicle but no evidence of disruption in an area where illegal crossings have been rare. 'We're kind of not tuned in to this national politics,' Skinner said. Oversight is divided between U.S. Army commands in Fort Bliss, Texas, and Fort Huachuca, Arizona. The militarized zones sidestep the Posse Comitatus Act, an 1878 law that prohibits the military from conducting civilian law enforcement on U.S. soil. Russell Johnson, a rancher and former Border Patrol agent, said he welcomes the new militarized zone where his ranch borders Mexico on land leased from the Bureau of Land Management. 'We have seen absolutely almost everything imaginable that can happen on the border, and most of it's bad,' he said, recalling off-road vehicle chases on his ranch and lifeless bodies recovered by Border Patrol. In late April, he said, five armored military vehicles spent several days at a gap in the border wall, where construction was suspended at the outset of the Biden presidency. But, he said, he hasn't seen much of the military in recent weeks. 'The only thing that's really changed is the little extra signage,' he said. 'We're not seeing the military presence out here like we kind of anticipated.' Court challenges Federal public defenders have challenged the military's new oversight of public land in New Mexico, seizing on the arrest of a Mexican man for trespassing through remote terrain to test the legal waters. They decried the designation of a new military zone without congressional authorization 'for the sole purpose of enabling military action on American soil' as 'a matter of staggering and unpreceded political significance.' A judge has not ruled on the issue. In the meantime, court challenges to trespassing charges in the militarized zone have met with a mixture of convictions and acquittals at trial. Ryan Ellison, the top federal prosecutor in New Mexico, won trespassing convictions in June against two immigrants who entered a militarized zone again after an initial warning. 'There's not going to be an issue as to whether or not they were on notice,' he told a recent news conference. American Civil Liberties Union attorney Rebecca Sheff says the federal government is testing a more punitive approach to border enforcement with the new military zones and worries it will be expanded border-wide. 'To the extent the federal government has aspirations to establish a much more hostile military presence along the border, this is a vehicle that they're pushing on to potentially do so. … And that's very concerning,' she said. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Hamilton Spectator
an hour ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Dalai Lama, god-king for Tibetan Buddhists, will have a successor. That decision is consequential
DHARAMSHALA, India (AP) — The Dalai Lama has often called himself a simple monk, but millions of his Tibetan Buddhist followers have worshipped him for decades as a near deity. They also see him as the face of Tibet's aspirations for greater autonomy , but have for years wrestled with the idea that he might be the last person to hold the role. He put that speculation to rest Wednesday, just days before he turns 90 on Sunday. There will be a successor after his death, he announced, and the Dalai Lama's office will lead the search and recognize a successor in accordance with past tradition. The decision is consequential for most Tibetans, who have struggled for decades to keep their identity alive — in Tibet or outside in exile — and rallied behind the Dalai Lama for that cause. It could also irk China, which insists that it alone has the authority to approve the next religious leader, a move seen as Beijing's efforts to strengthen its control over Tibet's overwhelmingly Buddhist population. 'Simple Buddhist monk' hailed as a god-king Recognized worldwide in his red robes and wide smile, the Dalai Lama describes himself as a 'simple Buddhist monk.' But he is also worshipped as living manifestations of Chenrezig, the Buddhist god of compassion, and is the 14th person to hold the title of the Dalai Lama in a tradition stretching back 500 years. As a village boy, Tenzin Gyatso was thrust onto the Tibetan throne to become the Dalai Lama — a god-king to his people — in 1937. Soon after, Chinese troops swept into his homeland in the 1950s and crushed a failed uprising. He escaped with thousands of his followers to India and established a government in exile. Since then, the Dalai Lama has spent more than seven decades in exile, living an austere monastic life in regal isolation in the tiny, Himalayan town of Dharamshala. He has also jetted from capital to capital to try to force the aspirations of his tiny community onto the world agenda, uniting and mobilizing Tibetans inside and outside China. The face of Tibet's struggle for autonomy Tibetans in exile say they were effectively independent for centuries, and accuse China of trying to wipe out Tibet's Buddhist culture and language, and encouraging Chinese to move there from other parts of the country. Beijing insists Tibet is a part of China. While many Tibetans seek full independence, the Dalai Lama has long said that he seeks only substantial autonomy and identity for Tibetan people. He has advocated for a nonviolent 'Middle Way' for autonomy and religious freedom for Tibetan people through peaceful means. Beijing, however, accuses him of making efforts to wrest Tibet's control away from China and inciting rebellion among Tibetans. In the past, Chinese leaders have called him a 'wolf in monk's robes' and the 'scum of Buddhism.' In 1989, the Nobel Peace Prize committee honored him 'for his consistent resistance to the use of violence in his people's struggle.' In 2011, he relinquished his role as head of the self-proclaimed Tibetan government-in-exile and handed over political powers to a democratically elected government. Raging dispute With the Dalai Lama in his twilight years, the question looms about what happens after him. The Dalai Lama has said that his successor will be born in a free country, indicating that the next spiritual leader could come from among Tibetan exiles and not from China. China, meanwhile, is determined to control the succession of the Dalai Lama and insists that the reincarnation must be found in China's Tibetan areas, giving the Communist authorities immense power over who is chosen. Thus, many observers believe there eventually will be rival Dalai Lamas — one appointed by Beijing, and one by senior monks loyal to the current Dalai Lama. China has also sought to elevate other spiritual figures, particularly Tibetan Buddhism's No. 2 figure, the Panchen Lama. A boy recognized by the Dalai Lama as the new Panchen disappeared soon after, and Beijing produced its own successor, whose legitimacy is highly contested. Search for next Dalai Lama The search for a Dalai Lama's reincarnation begins only upon the incumbent's death. Traditionally, the successor has been identified by senior monastic disciples, based on spiritual signs and visions. They interpret signs, consult oracles and send search parties to the Tibetan region for a child who exhibits qualities of the previous Dalai Lama. It can take several years after the next Dalai Lama is identified as a baby and groomed to take the reins. That process might be undone this time as the Dalai Lama has said that he might leave written instructions for finding his reincarnation, or name his successor while still alive. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Fox Sports
an hour ago
- Fox Sports
What to know about Julio César Chávez's arrest by U.S. immigration officials
Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — U.S. immigration officials have arrested famous Mexican boxer Julio César Chávez Jr. — days after his high-profile fight with Jake Paul — for overstaying his visa and lying on a green card application, officials said Thursday. Chávez was detained in front of his home on Wednesday and will be deported to Mexico, where he faces organized crime charges, authorities said. Here's what to know about this arrest: Who is Chávez? The 39-year-old boxer is a former middleweight champion hails from Mexico. His father, Julio César Chávez, is one of the most beloved athletes in Mexican history and a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame. The son has battled drug addiction for much of his lengthy boxing career, failing drug tests, serving suspensions and egregiously missing weight while being widely criticized for his intermittent dedication to the sport. The younger Chavez still rose to the heights, winning the WBC middleweight title in 2011 and defending it three times. Chávez shared the ring with generational greats Canelo Álvarez and Sergio Martinez, losing to both. In 2012, he was convicted of drunken driving in Los Angeles and sentenced to 13 days in jail. Then in January 2024, he was arrested on gun charges. Police said he possessed two AR-style ghost rifles. He was later freed on a $50,000 bond and on condition he went to a residential drug treatment facility. The case is still pending, with Chávez reporting his progress regularly. Chávez was away from the ring for three years before his return late last year, but Paul's invitation brought him back again. Where was he arrested? According to his attorney, Michael Goldstein, Chávez was picked up Wednesday by a large number of federal agents while he was riding a scooter in front of a home where he resides in the upscale Los Angeles neighborhood of Studio City, near Hollywood. Goldstein said officials blocked off the street and took Chávez into custody without informing his family. TV stations staked out his home Thursday afternoon and did not see anyone leave his home. Just days before, Chávez had faced off against influencer-turned-boxer Paul and lost in a highly anticipated fight in Anaheim, California. The Department of Homeland Security said officials had determined Chávez should be arrested June 27, a day before the fight. It was unclear why they waited to act for days after the high-profile event. What is he accused of? Federal officials said in a news release that Chávez overstayed a tourist visa that he entered the U.S. with in August 2023. The visa expired in February 2024, they said. Homeland Security said Chávez submitted multiple fraudulent statements when he applied for permanent residency on April 2, 2024, based on his marriage to a U.S. citizen, Frida Muñoz. She is the mother of a granddaughter of imprisoned Sinaloa cartel kingpin Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman. U.S. officials said he is believed to be affiliated with the powerful Sinaloa Cartel that is blamed for a significant portion of Mexico's drug violence. Mexico's Attorney General's Office said that an arrest warrant against 'Julio 'C was issued in March 2023 in an investigation of organized crime and arms trafficking allegations, and that Mexico initiated extradition proceedings on Thursday. A federal agent who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter confirmed to The Associated Press that 'Julio C' is Chávez. What happens next? Goldstein, Chávez's attorney, said he did not know where Chávez was being detained as of Thursday morning. DHS said Thursday that he was being processed for 'expedited removal' from the country. Chávez's family issued a statement Thursday afternoon in support of him, the Los Angeles Times reported. 'We have full confidence in his innocence,' the statement said. 'We firmly believe that the proper course is to allow the competent authorities to carry out their work without external pressure or speculation.'
