Former President Cristina Kirchner warns that 'democracy is at risk in Argentina'

The Citizens Unity party, led by former Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, issued a public statement in which they warn that opposition leaders are facing judicial persecution.

“In Argentina, the Government of President Mauricio Macri is using the Judiciary to persecute the opposition” the open letter issued this Friday stated. “The objective is to frighten the leaders of the opposition so that they are submissive before the second phase of austerity the administration is seeking to implement.”

“Argentina's democracy is going through a delicate situation, whereby the rule of law and the division of powers is being violated (or terminated).”

The open letter comes days after the arrest and imprisonment of Congressman Julio de Vido and former Vice President Amado Boudou - neither of whom were under formal investigation by the courts (a necessary requisite for arrest in Argentina).

Boudou, 54, was dogged by influence peddling allegations during his 2011-15 tenure over the 2010 federal bailout of a printing contractor. He was arrested on Friday not on any charges but instead on a presumption of “possible future obstruction of justice” - a concept so novel in Argentine jurisprudence, Judge Ariel Lijo could only cite de Vido's arrest on the same grounds a week earlier as precedent.

De Vido, who served as Public Works Minister from 2003 to 2015, faced malfeasance allegations regarding the construction of a coal-fired plant in Patagonia as well as for natural gas import contracts.

Three court-appointed experts had found nothing unusual or fraudulent in the contracts - but Judge Claudio Bonadío, a close ally of the right-wing Macri administration, relied on the opinion of a fourth expert to order his arrest.

“The judge had twice said that there was no cause for an investigation,” de Vido's attorney, Maximiliano Rusconi, said. “But the House (controlled by Macri's 'Let's Change' coalition) orders him to rule against his convictions and the judge complies.”

“The concept of judicial independence was violated.”

De Vido, who's 67 and diabetic, was denied the benefit of house arrest - a benefit Macri and close allies like Congresswoman Elisa Carrió, who spearheaded de Vido's expulsion from the House, have been actively seeking for the 733 officers convicted of human rights atrocities during the 1976-83 dictatorship.

While politicized expulsions from Congress were a fixture of Argentine political life in the 1920s and '30s, de Vido is the first sitting lawmaker to be expelled since 1974.

Double standards

Numerous lawmakers and public figures, including some of Macri's allies, have pointed out that a double standard is being applied.

They point out that while de Vido was expelled from Congress and jailed without so much as a formal investigation, Macri's Energy Minister Juan José Aranguren was acquitted within months after his offices were raided on conflict of interest charges over ordering 600% gas rate hikes without arranging ​​prior public hearings as required by law, and over natural gas imports from a Shell Argentina subsidiary in Chile rather than from Bolivia (which are 56% cheaper).

Both moves favored Shell Argentina, which Aranguren led as CEO for 12 years and in which his family trust remains a significant shareholder.

Macri himself has, since he took office two years ago, faced at least six cases ranging from influence peddling to tax evasion and money laundering. The Macris have faced string of corruption and tax evasion charges which since the 1980s have totaled around $1 billion.

So far none of the cases - including his documented role in the Panama Papers offshoring scandal - has resulted in charges against the president, and he denies wrongdoing.

Laura Alonso, the Macri loyalist appointed to head the office tasked with investigating current officials implicated in corruption (a total of 22, facing 70 charges among them), calls the cases “complicated.”

A onetime lobbyist for vulture fund head and GOP megadonor Paul Singer, Alonso's alleged stonewalling led pro-Kirchner lawmakers to file a complaint against her in June 2016 for collusion.

That too was dismissed by the courts.

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Former Vice President Amado Boudou and Congressman Julio de Vido. No charges; but jailed “just in case.”