The Argentine justice resumes the trial for corruption against Cristina Kirchner after the attack

Cristina Fernández de Kirchner greets her followers on September 3 in Buenos Aires.LUIS ROBAYO (AFP)

The assassination attempt against Cristina Fernández de Kirchner has shaken Argentine politics, but has not altered the schedule of the trial for alleged corruption that has the Argentine vice president as the main defendant.

This Monday, four days after the attack, the hearings resumed and the arguments of the defenses of the 13 defendants began.

Each of them has three days to refute the accusations made by the prosecution, which argued before the court that throughout her eight years as president Kirchner headed "one of the most extraordinary matrices of corruption that unfortunately and sadly have developed in the country".

The defense of the vice president will speak in sixth place, so it is expected to take place between the end of the month and the beginning of October.

The Vialidad case judges the creation of an alleged illicit association aimed at defrauding the State through the diversion of public funds that should have been destined for road infrastructure in the province of Santa Cruz, the cradle of Kirchnerism.

The Public Prosecutor's Office requested 12-year prison sentences for Kirchner and for the businessman Lázaro Báez, at the head of a business holding that was awarded almost eight out of ten public road works tendered in Santa Cruz under the Kirchner presidency.

In addition, he requested sentences of ten years in prison for the former Minister of Federal Planning Julio de Vido and the former Secretary of Public Works José López and disqualification for life from public office.

The defendants state that the alleged crime of which they are accused has already been investigated.

The reference is a similar file that was tried in Santa Cruz and was filed without charges.

That was one of the lines of argument of the defense of Héctor Garro, former president of the General Administration of Roads of the aforementioned Patagonian province.

In his statement this Monday before the Federal Oral Court 2, Garro's lawyer harshly criticized the actions of prosecutors Diego Luciani and Sergio Mola, whom he accused of "abusing circular fallacies and affirming non-existent issues."

Kirchner's lawyers keep their defensive strategy in reserve and it is unknown if the former president will speak.

Even so, one of her arguments is that she did not participate in the decisions on provincial public works or on the modifications of the budget items, which depend on the chiefs of Cabinet.

Those who held that position during her presidency testified as witnesses, including the current president of Argentina, Alberto Fernández, and the Minister of Economy, Sergio Massa.

Both denied having found irregularities and also denied that Kirchner participated in any illegal maneuver.

Apart from the defense that he will put forward in court, outside of it Kirchner claims to be the victim of a judicial persecution orchestrated by his political rivals to stop a possible presidential candidacy in the 2023 elections. His supporters support that theory and throughout the two In recent weeks they gathered every day in front of the doors of his house to express their support for him.

Last Thursday, the Brazilian Fernando André Sabag Montiel camouflaged himself among the Kirchnerist demonstrators to reach the vice president and try to assassinate her with a shot.

He aimed the gun at his face and pulled the trigger, but no bullet came out, saving his life.

If there are no setbacks, the verdict of the trial of the Vialidad case will be known before the end of the year.

Whether Kirchner is acquitted or convicted, she will have consequences for the presidential race that will dominate Argentina's political agenda next year.

Seven out of ten Argentines believe that Kirchner is guilty, according to an Opinaia poll, but a judicial conviction would not land her in jail.

The vice presidency grants her immunity from arrest and removal from office requires an impeachment trial.

Subscribe here to the EL PAÍS América newsletter and receive all the key information on current affairs in the region.