Lula visits Kirchner, wishes her 'strength to continue fighting'
The former Argentine president, sentenced to house arrest for corruption, thanked him for the gesture and stressed that "it was much more than a personal gesture: it was a political act of solidarity."
Lula consoles Cristina Kirchner at the funeral of her husband, Nestor Kirchner
Brazil's president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, wished "strength to keep fighting" to Argentina's former president Cristina Kirchner, after visiting her in the Buenos Aires apartment where she is serving house arrest for corruption. Lula met with Kirchner at the end of his participation in the Mercosur summit in the Argentine capital.
"I visited today comrade and former President Cristina Kirchner. ... I wished her all the strength to continue fighting with the same strength that has marked her trajectory in life and in politics," Lula said on X.
"Much more than a personal gesture: it was a political act of solidarity"
Kirchner, 72, said the visit "was much more than a personal gesture: it was a political act of solidarity." She affirmed that Lula was also imprisoned and "they tried to silence him," but "he came back with the vote of the Brazilian people."
Kirchner, twice president (2007-2015) and once vice president (2019-2023), leads the Citizen's Unity Party and is the main opponent of the government of Javier Milei. Her conviction, which also includes perpetual disqualification from holding public office, was ratified days after she announced her candidacy for legislator for the province of Buenos Aries.
No photo together
Lula entered Kirchner's home in the neighborhood of Constitución amid dozens of people waiting for him and left almost an hour later without making a statement. Those gathered expected a photo of both together that ultimately did not take place. The court authorized the visit after a request from Kirchner, who can only be visited by family members, doctors and her lawyers, according to the conditions of arrest imposed by the court.
Lula had previously expressed his solidarity over the phone after her sentencing. "I happily noticed the serene and determined way that Cristina is facing the adverse situation," the Brazilian leader said in June.
Brazil's own president was imprisoned between 2018 and 2019 in a corruption conviction later overturned by the Supreme Court. At that time, he received a visit from former President Alberto Fernández (2019-2023), then a candidate alongside Kirchner.
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