MÉRIDA, Mexico – Former Argentine President Alberto Fernández He was accused earlier this week by Fabiola Yáñezformer first lady and her ex-partner, of “physical and mental violence.”
Following the complaint, filed by Yáñez from Spain, measures have been taken to prevent Fernández from approaching the complainant, and the Peronist has been prohibited from leaving Argentina.
Judge Julián Ercolini requested that the former president “cease any acts of disturbance or intimidation that he directly or indirectly carries out towards Fabiola Yáñez.”
After the news was made public, Fernández issued a statement in which he asserted that “the truth of the facts is different.”
“I will only say that it is false and that what I am now accused of never happened. For the sake of my children’s safety, my own safety, and also that of Fabiola herself, I will not make media statements, but I will bring before the courts the evidence and testimonies that will show what really happened,” reads the statement released on X.
The victim’s lawyer, Juan Pablo Fioribello, who until recently also represented Fernández, said that Yanéz was very distressed, could not bear the situation any longer and decided to file a complaint.
Chats and photos of bruises
A few days after the news spread, which has shaken up the Argentine public scene, chats between Yañez and Fernández have emerged in which the former first lady complains about the violence she has received, as well as photos of the woman with bruises and traces of violence on her face and arm.
The images and chats spread by the Argentine press are part of the complaint file.
“This isn’t how it works, you hit me all the time. It’s unbelievable. I can’t let you do this to me when I didn’t do anything to you. And all I try to do with my mind focused is defend you and you hit me physically. There’s no explanation,” reads one of the chat screenshots.
On Friday, Argentine prosecutors ordered a search of Fernández’s home in the Puerto Madero neighborhood of Buenos Aires.
The former president’s phone was confiscated in order to determine whether he continued to harass his ex-partner after being notified that he could not be in contact with the victim.
The Peronist political scene, for its part, has been shocked by the accusations.
Former President Cristina Fernández, a supporter of Alberto, said that the events “reveal the most sordid aspects of the human condition” and that “machismo has no party banner.”
“They allow us to see, once again and dramatically, the situation of women in any relationship, whether it takes place in a palace or a hut,” added.
Evidence of violence had already come to light as part of the corruption case over the alleged purchase, during his term in the Casa Rosada, of overpriced insurance policies from brokers with whom he had previous relationships.
