Alberto Fernandez, cornered –

BUENOS AIRES (AP).— The accusation of gender violence that former first lady Fabiola Yáñez made against former Argentine President Alberto Fernández has had a direct impact on Peronism, the main opposition force, leaving many of its members in a state of shock and estranged from the Peronist leader.

Peronists are torn between anger, disappointment and stupor after Fabiola Yáñez’s complaint to a federal judge came to light on Tuesday, in which she claimed she was physically assaulted by Fernández.

The beatings are believed to have occurred several times during his term in office between 2019 and 2023.

Fernández denied the allegations in a statement and said he would provide evidence of his innocence before the courts, but he has not been seen in public for several days.

The former first lady, who lives in Madrid with their young son, is expected to make a more detailed statement via video conference shortly.

Added to all this was the revelation, in the last few hours, of some videos that generated a new scandal for Fernández.

The videos, which were allegedly recorded by Fernández himself with his cell phone, show a woman named Tamara Pettinato drinking beer in an office at the Casa Rosada while chatting with him and writing a “love letter” to the then president.

Cristina Fernandez

After several days of silence, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, vice president during Alberto Fernández’s government and president in two successive terms, yesterday took aim at her former political partner, whom she herself chose to return to power and with whom she ended up facing off during the administration.

Mrs. Fernández de Kirchner referred to the images that some media outlets have published in recent hours, in which Fabiola Yáñez’s face and arm can be seen with marks that appear to have been caused by blows.

The politician stated on her X account that the “bruises on her body and face along with the published chats not only show the beating she received, but also reveal the most sordid and dark aspects of the human condition.”

In her long post, Fernández de Kirchner also said that “they allow us to confirm, once again and dramatically, the situation of women in any relationship, whether it takes place in a palace or a hut.”

The top representative of Kirchnerism —a center-left current of Peronism— also said that she herself has been the object of “the worst verbal and political violence, up to the maximum experience of physical violence,” and mentioned the assassination attempt she suffered in 2022.

Axel Kicillof, governor of the province of Buenos Aires and another important figure in Peronism, said that Fabiola Yáñez’s accusation is very serious and that “everyone” in that space is “very shocked by this situation, hoping that justice will act quickly.”

Since the accusations against Fabiola Yáñez, 43, came to light, Fernández, 65, has not appeared publicly.

The former ruler is believed to be confined to the apartment where he lives in Buenos Aires, accompanied by a few close associates and isolated from the majority of his coreligionists.

Fernández is prohibited from leaving the country by order of federal judge Julián Ercolini, who in a resolution ordered the president “to cease any acts of disturbance or intimidation that he directly or indirectly carries out towards Fabiola Andrea Yañez, both in the analog and digital space.”

A group of deputies from the Peronist Union for the Homeland have expressed their concern and supported the former first lady. Meanwhile, the women who make up La Cámpora, the youth group of Kirchnerism, also attacked the former president and referred to “the violence he himself exercised against Cristina.”

Other Peronist leaders close to Fernández have stayed away from the microphones, not supporting the former president, whose image had already been suffering a strong deterioration since 2023, the last year of his mandate. The former president requested a leave of absence as head of the Peronist Justicialist Party a few months ago.

The bombshell generated by Fabiola Yáñez’s accusation was capitalized on by the current president Javier Milei, who pointed out the “hypocrisy” of his predecessor for raising the flag of feminism during his administration.

“The solution to the violence that psychopaths exercise against women is not to create a Ministry of Women, it is not to hire thousands of unnecessary public employees, it is not to take gender courses and it is definitely not to assign responsibility to all men just because they are men… The only solution to reduce crime is to be tough on those who commit it,” said Milei, who has dismantled that ministerial portfolio, generating the repudiation of feminist movements.

Fabiola denounced Fernández two days after alleged chats that she exchanged on her cell phone with María Cantero, the former president’s private secretary, came to light, in which the former first lady allegedly told her about the acts of violence. These conversations were detected by the courts in the context of a case for alleged corruption in the contracting of insurance for state agencies that implicates Fernández and his former assistant.

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