The surprise choice of Alberto Fernández to lead the presidential ticket alongside Cristina Fernández de Kirchner in 2018 was initially seen as a masterstroke by the former president. In the midst of a deep economic and political crisis that had the Mauricio Macri administration against the ropes, Fernández de Kirchner managed to select a moderate Peronist who could weave alliances throughout their political spectrum, including a majority of leading Peronists who had a very bad opinion of her. At the same time, the fact that Alberto had been very critical of Fernández de Kirchner, and close to the Clarín newspaper, converted him into the perfect antidote in the face of the fiery anti-Kirchnerite crowd who voted Macri into the Casa Rosada a few years earlier but ended up deeply disillusioned with him.
Early into his Presidency, Alberto Fernández became extremely popular, as the global Covid-19 pandemic hit. He was quick to take the centre of the political stage, while Cristina lauded his young Economy Minister Martín Guzmán. But it didn’t take long for things to go downhill for the Fernández-Fernández tandem, with the then-vice-president quickly distancing herself from the president, essentially denying that she was part of the administration despite being its second-in-command. As things went from bad to worse, Alberto was even shoved to the side, with day-to-day operations and the Peronist presidential candidacy handed over to Economy Minister Sergio Massa. It became evident that CFK’s strategic decision was instrumental in putting together an electoral coalition to dethrone Macri, but absolutely deficient when it came to orchestrating an efficient government. To a certain extent, it was the same thing that happened to the Cambiemos coalition, with Macri facing off with the Unión Cívica Radical (UCR) and other sectors of his anti-Kirchnerite coalition, leading to a fragmented front and eventual electoral defeat. Yet, Alberto had left office apparently at peace, without corruption allegations against him or any serious scandals that could come back to bite him. Or so it seemed.
The accusations of domestic assault and battery lodged against the ex-president by former first lady Fabiola Yáñez have generated serious damage to the pan-Peronist front, particularly Kirchnerism, despite their vigorous attempts to excommunicate him. No-one vouched for Alberto, even before pictures of the alleged physical violence against the mother of his youngest son, who accuses him of attacking her even during her pregnancy, emerged. It should come as little surprise that from within the ranks of the fragmented Peronist front, essentially everyone, starting with Fernández de Kirchner, denounced him. It’s also curious that during the early days of his Presidency, Alberto Fernández was consistently accused in the media of being a womaniser who couldn’t contain himself, a version that quickly died down until it was essentially forgotten. The tables have turned and now Alberto is presumed guilty of being a depraved pervert and abusive wife beater who will drag down with him the feminist movement and an important sector of the pan-Peronist front. Not to mention a corrupt president, despite always showing himself materially indifferent. Even his luxurious apartment in the swanky Buenos Aires neighbourhood of Puerto Madero is “borrowed” from friend Enrique ‘Pepe’ Albistur.
The whole situation is weird, which is not to say that there is evidence that indicates the former president didn’t beat the first lady or that the onus of defence is on his side. The information was initially uncovered on the mobile phone of Alberto’s private secretary, María Cantero, in the context of an investigation by Federal Judge Julián Ercolini with regards to a corruption case looking into alleged wrongdoing involving “insurance brokers. After coming across incriminating messages, which were unrelated to the corruption case in which Alberto is accused of favouring friendly insurance brokers who defrauded the state, Ercolini got in touch with Yáñez to see if she wanted to formally accuse her former partner. Initially, she declined the offer.
Days later, the information was leaked to Clarín investigative reporter Claudio Savoia, who described the images and the messages but didn’t publish them. Less than a week later, Fabiola decided to move forward with the accusation, telling the judge that she had lived through “hell,” having been forced to abort a baby, which led to becoming addicted to alcohol and marijuana, while suffering physical and psychological abuse from her partner, who eventually became president. Things got really bad after the infamous “Olivos party” picture was leaked. Fabiola accuses Alberto of kicking her in the belly knowing that she was pregnant.
Yáñez, she says, was also blamed for the pan-Peronist front’s crushing defeat in the 2021 midterm elections, and the situation continues to deteriorate. Even after giving birth to their son, Francisco, Alberto continued to abuse her, she alleges, while at the same time being constantly unfaithful. Fabiola says she received multiple messages from women telling her they had had a sexual encounter with Alberto, and that she had found pictures and videos in an old mobile phone the president had given their son to play with. A recently leaked video of Alberto flirting with influencer Tamara Pettinato, who looks drunk while at a private meeting at the Casa Rosada, could be the tip of the iceberg, Yáñez indicated.
Fernández, on the other hand, denies that he ever physically abused Fabiola and says he can prove it. He told journalist Horacio Verbitsky that his former partner has serious psychiatric issues and was undergone treatment. He defended himself and that the infamous picture of Fabiola with a black eye was the consequence of an aesthetic treatment gone wrong. He also hinted that someone had induced Yáñez to make the accusation against him; Verbitsky reports of a supposed US$3 million offer to the former First Lady and a documentary deal. The former president suggests he’s being “lynched” by the media, especially Clarín given his previous refusal to “give up Cristina.” Alberto had suicidal tendencies, and was even reported dead on social media at one point, but his son convinced him to defend himself, Verbitsky reported.
While all of this is happening, Fernández de Kirchner this week took to the courtroom to testify as a witness in the case investigating her attempted assassination. She also blames the media and the judiciary for her situation, and claims that the real masterminds are being protected by powerful interest groups that want her out of commission. She points to the Caputo family, which supposedly financed fringe right-wing groups that fanned the flames of violence, like Revolución Federal. She suggests Security Minister Patricia Bullrich and her former right hand, Gerardo Millman, are involved in the plot. Millman and his private secretaries allegedly had their phones erased in the immediate aftermath of the attack, while perpetrator Fernando Sabag Montiel’s phone was also apparently deleted and destroyed. It’s unfathomable for Cristina that the three “losers” accused of planning to kill her, Sabag Montiel, Brenda Uliarte, and Nicolás Carrizo, were acting out of their own accord.
In Argentina’s hazy political ecosystem, there should be little doubt that bad actors are always present behind the scenes. However, this doesn’t mean that Alberto is innocent – the evidence seems to suggest he’s not – or that there was an evil master plan to murder CFK. Yet, the hand of the intelligence agencies is always suspect, particularly when information “magically” appears or disappears. Under the Javier Milei administration, star political advisor Santiago Caputo, a freelancer, has restructured the AFI spy agency, bringing back its old name, SIDE, and populating it with some nefarious characters, as Javier Calvo has reported in Perfil. Furthermore, he’s gotten the president to earmark an additional US$100 million in reserved funding, despite the official mantra that “there is no money.” According to Maximiliano Ferraro, deputy for the Coalición Cívica, 80 percent of those funds have already been spent and are completely untraceable. It seems as if this administration, despite claiming it’s in power to eradicate the political caste, is beginning to act like it.
There should also be little doubt that this level of media chatter is beneficial to the Milei administration. While inflation is falling, the voracity of the economic recession is brutal, pushing poverty and unemployment higher. The President retains his popularity, but it is difficult to imagine that society can continue to tolerate a crisis of this magnitude unless the economy quickly begins to rebound – a situation that doesn’t seem likely according to a substantial number of economists, many of them ideologically aligned with the government. There are multiple warning signs regarding the economic model, yet particularly troubling is the lack of foreign exchange reserve accumulation. Having the opposition in absolute disarray, with his predecessor formally accused of domestic assault and battery, and arch-enemy Cristina Fernández de Kirchner speaking of global conspiracies against her, this all plays into Milei’s hands. Not to mention the internal rift within Macri’s PRO party. It’s also great fodder for the libertarian leader’s culture wars. And it’s just going to keep coming.
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