On September 1, in Argentina, a rare scene in the country's political history, Vice President Christina Kirchner was stabbed to the head by a man near her home in full view of the public, and if it were not for the unexplained failure of the gun to fire, Christina would probably have been assassinated on the spot. After the incident, tens of thousands of Argentines held a rally in the capital Buenos Aires on the 2nd to condemn the violence and express solidarity with Cristina. As a strong woman in Argentine politics, Cristina has multiple identities - former first lady, former president, current vice president, and therefore the turmoil.
The "husband and wife file" in the political arena
Cristina, 69, was born in la Plata, in the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and is a descendant of Spanish immigrants. Influenced by her parents, Christina was interested in politics from an early age, but interestingly, her parents had different political views, her mother was a supporter of Peronism, and her father was opposed to Peronism. Peronism refers to the slogan of "political sovereignty, economic independence, social justice" put forward by Juan Perón, who was the president of Argentina in the 1940s, who adopted a series of policies in favor of the working class after coming to power, but was later overthrown due to economic problems and high corruption and exiled abroad.
To speak of Cristina, one has to mention one person – her husband, the late former President of Argentina, Néstor Carlos Kirchner. In the 1970s, Christina studied at the University of La Plata, first in psychology for a year and then in law. What's more, she met Kirchner, who was also studying at the university, in 1973. The two participated in many political debates together, and Argentina was in a period of political turmoil at the time, with many issues worth debating, such as the military government that launched the coup, the return of former president Perón in exile, and the briefly in power president, Ektor José Campola. Deeply influenced by Peronism, Cristina joined the Argentine Justice Party, which Perón once led, at the age of 20, and began a life of inextricable ties with left-wing politics.
Christina with Kirchner
In 1975, Christina married Kirchner, not only as a couple, but also as a political partner. The Justice Party was suppressed by the junta, and the year after their marriage they moved to Kirchner's hometown, the province of Santa Cruz in southern Argentina, to start a private law firm. In 1987, Kirchner became mayor of Rio Gallegos, the capital of Santa Cruz, won the presidential election by the Justice Party in 1989, and was elected governor of Santa Cruz at the end of January 1991, where he was re-elected twice in 1995 and 1999.
In addition to helping her husband organize her campaign, Christina also made her mark in politics, being elected to the Santa Cruz Provincial Assembly in 1989 and a member of Parliament four times in 1995. During this time, they gave birth to a son and a daughter, the son Maximo was born in 1977 and served as chairman of the ruling caucus of the Argentine House of Representatives; Daughter Florencia was born in 1990.
"Please call me the first citizen"
In 2003, Kirchner was elected president of Argentina, and Cristina played an indispensable role. She often participated in various campaigns with Kirchner, cheered on her husband, and repeatedly used her eloquence to promote Kirchner's campaign platform. There is a theory that she is called Kirchner's "chief adviser", and there are even reports that Christina is Kirchner's "soul", and that Kirchner's every campaign step and every speech is finalized by her.
When Kirchner took office, Christina did not sit in the first lady's seat, but appeared in the parliamentarian seat and continued to serve as a parliamentarian. She didn't like to be called "someone's wife", "I'm not the first lady of Argentina, you can call me the first citizen of Argentina." "It is said that she has a tough style in parliament, is not afraid of attacks, sharp in her words, can directly hit the other side's key points when debating, and always adheres to her own political views.
In Argentine politics, "husband and wife" like Kirchner and Cristina are not uncommon. For example, Isabelle Perón, Argentina's first female president, was Juan Perón's third wife. In 2007, as Kirchner's term drew to a close, he decided not to run for re-election, but instead Christina announced her candidacy for president with the support of her husband. That year, she was elected, taking over the scepter from her husband and becoming Argentina's first democratically elected female president.
In October 2010, Kirchner died of a sudden heart attack, accompanied by Christina. Kirchner's death also triggered a "vote effect", when Christina ran for re-election in 2011, argentines remembered kirchner's economic upturn in power, and sympathized with Christina, who lost her husband, and eventually she was re-elected by a large margin. After winning the election, she said with tears: "At this time, Kirchner is with me."
He has been accused of corruption on several occasions
During her presidency, Christina continued her tough style and pushed for reforms, drawing resentment from opposition parties. Moreover, the United States, which has always regarded Latin America as a "backyard", does not want to see such a left-wing leader contradictory. In 2009, during her tenure, Christina was investigated for allegedly doing business illegally. After stepping down as president, Christina was embroiled in multiple charges, including corruption, money laundering, illicit enrichment and fraud. In addition, after entering her second term of office, she had problems with her health, underwent head surgery, and was hospitalized for an intestinal infection in her absence from the G20 summit.
In 2015, Argentine right-wing politician Macri was elected president, and left-wing political forces entered a period of dormancy. Four years later, Christina announced her return to politics by forming a running mate with her old subordinate, Former Chief Cabinet Minister Alberto Fernandez, running for vice president herself and the latter for president. During the campaign, they put forward ideas such as controlling financial risks, ensuring public services, and improving the welfare of the people, which quickly won the support of the middle and lower classes.
In the face of various corruption allegations, Christina insisted that she was innocent, accusing prosecutors of persecuting dissidents alongside Macri's government in an attempt to divert attention from Argentina's economic downturn and prevent her from making a comeback. In October 2019, Christina won the election with Fernandez, and she was successfully elected vice president.
Cristina and Fernandez
Even so, the allegations against Christina have not stopped. Just at the end of August, an Argentine prosecutor accused her of embezzling public funds and defrauding more than 5.2 billion Argentine pesos (about 1.789 billion yuan) during her presidency, and demanded that she be sentenced to 12 years in prison and banned from public office for life.
At present, it is not known what the motives for the recent assassination attempts were and whether they were linked to these allegations. But this thrilling scene is enough to add another ink to Christina's legendary life.
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