Argentine Vice President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner survived a hit on her luck as a gun that nearly aimed at her failed to fire, according to television reports and statements by the country’s president, Alberto Fernandez.

Around 9:00 pm, Kirchner was returning to her home in the Recoleta neighborhood of Buenos Aires, where a crowd of her followers had gathered. Related videos show the VP getting out of the car and cheering the crowd as a man walks up to her and points a gun at her inches from her head. The man pulls the trigger, but the gun does not fire as Kirchner takes cover.

Presidential Address

“Christina is alive because, for reasons that are not technically established, a pistol loaded with five bullets did not fire,” President Fernandez said in his address to the nation. In the same speech, he spoke of “the most serious event that we have experienced since the restoration of democracy” (in 1983) and declared yesterday a national holiday so that the citizens of Argentina “defend life and democracy in solidarity with the Vice President of us”.

Shortly after the incident, law enforcement officers found the used weapon and detained the suspect. This is 35-year-old Brazilian Fernando Andres Sabag Montiel, who lives in Argentina. Security Minister Aníbal Fernandez said the incident would be analyzed by the forensic service, and that fingerprints and possible motives of the detainee were being examined.

Argentina’s vice president is at the center of sharp political polarization as she faces trial on corruption charges.

Christina Kirchner is by all accounts the most powerful politician in the ruling majority camp. A polarizing personality, he evokes the adoration of many and the hatred of so many. She came to the fore in the period 2003-2007 as the first lady of the country, the wife of President Néstor Kirchner, whom she succeeded to act as president herself from 2007 to 2015. The Kirchners represented the current of leftist Peronism and maintained good relations with all the leftist governments of the continent.

Candidate in 2023

During this period, Kirchner is on trial for corruption as she is accused of securing the transfer of government projects to a company owned by a family friend during her presidency. Her persecution set the country’s political life on fire, as evidenced by the hundreds or even thousands of her followers who gather every night in Recoleta to show their support. The ruling is expected to be handed down in December and could have a decisive impact on the political future of the 69-year-old, who is thought to be highly likely to run for the Senate or even the presidency in the 2023 elections. .

Right-wing opposition leader and Kirchner’s successor as president, Maurizio Macri, “in the most categorical manner” rejected the attacks on his political opponent and called for more light to be shed. The left-wing presidents of Venezuela, Chile and Peru, as well as former Brazilian President Lula, have expressed their support.