Sawt Falasteen - Argentine ex-president Kirchner goes on trial in new corruption case

The center-left Kirchner, a dominant and polarizing figure in Argentine politics for over two decades, served two terms from 2007-2015.

Her latest trial comes as her ailing Peronist movement -- named after iconic post-war leader Juan Peron -- reels from its stinging defeat at the hands of right-wing President Javier Milei's party in last month's midterm elections.

Milei has hailed the result as a vindication of his radical free-market agenda, which the Peronists, champions of state intervention in the economy, vehemently oppose.

The so-called "notebooks" scandal revolves around records kept by a government chauffeur of cash bribes he claims to have delivered from businessmen to government officials between 2003-2015.

Kirchner, 72, was first lady from 2003-2007, when her late husband Nestor Kirchner was president.

She succeeded him after his term ended and then later served as vice president to Alberto Fernandez from 2019 until 2023, when Milei took office.

Kirchner is accused of leading a criminal enterprise that took bribes from businesspeople in return for the awarding of state contracts.

Eighty-seven people are accused in the case, including a former minister and several junior ministers.

Kirchner, who was placed under house arrest with an electronic ankle monitor in June after being convicted of "fraudulent administration" as president, maintains she is the victim of a politically-inspired judicial hounding.

It was not clear whether she will appear at the trial by video-conference from her home in Buenos Aires.

She faces between six and 10 years in prison if convicted at the end of what is expected to be a lengthy trial.

Her lawyers have cast doubt on the credibility of the entries in the chauffeur's notebooks, saying they were changed over 1,500 times.

B.Khalifa--SF-PST