Yáñez set to expand on Fernández gender violence testimony

Argentina’s news cycle continues to be dominated by former first lady Fabiola Yáñez’s accusations of gender violence against ex-president Alberto Fernández.

Yáñez, 45, addressed the subject in an exclusive interview with the Infobae news website over the weekend, though she remained tight-lipped on details of the allegations.

The actor and journalist, who lives in Madrid, denounced her former partner for gender violence last week, sparking a flood of reporting on the scandal. 

Photographs of the former first lady and alleged WhatsApp chat messages from the casefile were then published by local news outlets and social networks. The images showed bruises on Yáñez’s arm and face.

Fernández, 65, was formally placed under investigation last week and had his mobile phone seized in a court-ordered raid on an apartment in the Puerto Madero neighbourhood of Buenos Aires where he resides.

It emerged Monday that Yáñez is preparing to expand on her testimony to Federal Judge Julián Ercolini, which is leading the investigation into the allegations.

The former first lady, who has appointed a new defence lawyer, Mariana Gallego, is due to attend a virtual hearing via Zoom video conference software with federal prosecutor Ramiro González on Tuesday morning.

Ercolini has imposed restrictions on Fernández, such as a ban on him leaving the country, limits on communications and the impositions of his proximity to the former first lady.

Breaking her silence, Yáñez said in the Infobae interview that she fears for her safety. She accused Fernández of harassing her and blaming her for the failure of his 2019-2023 government.

 "This person [Alberto Fernández] was for two months – all the chats are there and there are many people who know about it – threatening me every other day that if I did this or that, he was going to commit suicide," she said.

The former first lady spoke about her life in Madrid, fears for her safety and the impact of the emergence of the images on her life.

"I have taken care of this man for so many things. Those videos that appeared the other day are nothing compared to what he did," Yáñez said, referring to another leaked video in which the voice of Fernández, whose image is not seen, can be heard joking with a female media personality nearly half his age.

Yáñez also complained that she did not receive help from a top government official at the former Women, Gender & Diversity Ministry despite the fact that "many people" apparently knew about the alleged violence between the couple.

The alleged violent incidents are believed to have taken place while the presidential pair were living together in the Olivos presidential residence on the outskirts of Buenos Aires.

Fernández has remained within his 12-floor flat in Puerto Madero since the scandal broke. He has appointed lawyer Silvina Carreira as the head of his defence team.

The veteran Peronist leader, who has been roundly condemned by many of his former political allies, denies the allegations against him and last week said he would not make  public statements out of respect for Yáñez and Francisco Fernández, their young son.

Nevertheless, Fernández did speak with journalist Horacio Verbitsky, who later revealed some of their conversation in an article on his website, El Cohete a la Luna. 

According to Verbitsky, the ex-president still denies the allegations of violence put forward by Yáñez and stated that the former first lady has an alcohol problem.

Fernández reportedly highlighted that he has had two long-term relationships previously and had never been accused of gender violence.

"I lived 17 years with Marcela Luchetti [the mother of his first son Estanislao] and 10 with Vilma Ibarra, and there was not a single episode in which I assaulted them," he said.

The former president also stated that Yáñez underwent fertility treatment in order for them to have a child and that she would not have done so if he had been violent as a partner.

He also suggested that one of the leaked photographs, which showed Yáñez with a black eye, was the result of a cosmetic treatment to smooth out wrinkles.

The allegations have rocked Argentina, not least the opposition Peronist movement, which has been in disarray since losing last year’s election to outsider economist Javier Milei.

Fernández's former president and vice-president, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, said on the X social network that her ex-partner in government "was not a good president.”

She also considered that the images that were revealed about the case "reveal the most sordid and darkest aspects of the human condition.”

The beneficiary of the scandal is the new government led by President Milei, who last week condemned the “progressive hypocrisy” of the Peronist movement in a series of posts online.

Defence Minister Luis Petri said Monday that Fernández should be jailed until the case is ready to go to trial.

"Pre-trial detention should be ordered, then the process should be carried out. But under the same circumstances, with the same assumptions, preventive imprisonment is dictated in view of the danger of flight risk and the danger of hindering the case," Petri argued in an interview with Radio Rivadavia.

"It is striking and even more surprising in this case, taking into account that there is an asymmetry of power and the possibility of hindering the clarification of these facts,” he added.

Vice-President Victoria Villarruel lashed out at both Yáñez over the weekend, saying the former first lady’s interview “means nothing.”

The former first lady, who revealed she will tell her story in a documentary that will be released in the coming months, made her own social media post on Sunday, in which she thanked those who had sent her messages of solidarity in recent days.

"Thanks for the solidarity, I understand those who still have not managed to forgive me, know that I understand you," read the message.

"All my recognition and respect for the security personnel who accompanied us until today, they are great people, they have been very important for my son and for me,” she wrote.

– TIMES/NA/PERFIL