Arrest will limit Cristina Fernández's prominence

BUENOS AIRES (AP) — Former Argentine President Cristina Fernández will be able to water her plants and walk on the balcony of the apartment where she is serving house arrest for corruption in Buenos Aires , but she will have to be careful not to turn the space into a political committee.

Since the Supreme Court of Justice upheld the sentence against the former center-left leader last week, imprisoning her for six years and permanently banning her from holding public office for fraudulent administration, dozens of supporters have gathered outside her apartment in an old building south of the capital to offer their support.

She appeared on the balcony several times, smiling, to greet her supporters and even danced despite the judicial ordeal. On Tuesday, a court ordered her to serve her sentence at home, and she has not been seen in public since.

“I'm firm and calm. Of course, I'm prohibited from going out onto the balcony. Thank goodness I don't have potted plants, because I wouldn't even be able to water them. My God, what useless junk they are,” said Fernández, 72, referring to the judges in a recorded message to his supporters who mobilized Wednesday in the historic Plaza de Mayo to demand their freedom.

On Thursday, the court that sentenced her in 2022 and ordered the conditions under which she must serve her sentence ruled on the balcony affair in response to a request from the former president's defense team.

"The court has not prohibited... in principle, the use and enjoyment of any specific space in the architecture of the property in which he lives," according to the ruling.

But the judges set a limit: "The applicant is expected to have sufficient judgment, prudence, and common sense to discern in which context the use of the balcony will be a harmless action and in which it may imply a disturbance to the tranquility and coexistence of the neighborhood."

Although they didn't specify it, the reference suggests that the leader shouldn't, for example, lead a political event from the balcony of the apartment she shares with her daughter, Florencia, and her minor granddaughter.