Cristina Fernández de Kirchner: Argentines rally after botched assassination attempt

After the vice president of Argentina narrowly escaped an attempted assassination, thousands of her supporters gathered to condemn political violence.

In allusion to Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, crowds shouted “We are all Cristina” in the capital city of Buenos Aires.

On Thursday night, while the shooter was aiming at the 69-year-old, his firearm jammed, allowing her to escape unharmed.

Ms Fernández de Kirchner waved to fans on Friday as she left her residence, even though she hasn’t spoken about it in public yet.

Thousands of admirers gathered with flags in hand on the storied Plaza de Mayo in the nation’s capital, near the presidential buildings.

We can’t imagine that Cristina could go through something like that, said Claudia, a 37-year-old who asked to remain unnamed.

Cristina Fernández de Kirchner served as Argentina’s first lady for four years before becoming president from 2007 to 2015. She is a divisive professional politician. She was made vice president in 2019.

Ms Fernández de Kirchner was in front of her Buenos Aires residence, surrounded by a crowd of people who supported her defence against corruption allegations.

The pistol can be seen emerging from the crowd as she meets them. She initially displays signs of confusion as she ducks to pick up something that has been dropped to the ground.

Videos taken from several perspectives appear to show crowd members attempting to shield the politician from the alleged shooter, who was just centimetres away.

The gun was loaded with five rounds, according to President Fernández, but it did not fire when it was pulled back.

Prosecutors have asked that she serve 12 years in prison and be barred from politics for the rest of her life if found guilty at trial.

However, because she is the president of the Senate, Ms Fernández de Kirchner is protected by legislative immunity. She wouldn’t go to prison until the nation’s Supreme Court upheld her conviction or she lost her Senate seat in the upcoming elections at the end of 2023.

After leaving office as president, Ms Fernández de Kirchner was involved in several other corruption cases. It may take several months for this trial’s verdict.