Buenos Aires, Argentina – Former President of Argentina, Alberto Fernández, has been accused by his ex-partner, Fabiola Yañez, of domestic violence, including incidents which allegedly took place before and during his presidential term from 2019 to 2023.
Yañez also accused the former president of multiple incidences of adultery with women who allegedly visited him at the official presidential residence in Olivos, Buenos Aires.
Fernández has rejected all accusations against him and said that he will defend his version in court.
On August 4, Argentine newspaper Clarín reported that a court was investigating the accusations of domestic violence against the Peronist leader. The investigation apparently originated after a cellphone from Fernández’s secretary, María Cantero, was seized by authorities in a separate influence peddling investigation. Chats between Cantero and Yañez reportedly included photos of Yañez with bruises on her eye and arm, allegedly caused by Fernández.
“I would never have wanted a photo like that to appear. What woman wants to see herself on all the television shows and in the media of the world like that?” Yañez told Infobae. During that interview, released on August 10, she defined Fernández’ behavior towards her as “psychological terrorism.”
Yañez currently lives in Madrid with her and Fernández’s young son, Francisco. She has reportedly requested that she be the plaintiff in he case against the ex-president. She denounced her former partner for “serious injuries doubly qualified by the link and perpetrated in the context of gender violence with abuse of power and authority” since 2016. That same year, Fernández forced her to have an abortion, she said.
“We had argued before, a lot, as usual, and to end the argument he hit me with a terrible punch from his side of the bed. I screamed and said to him ‘what did you do to me?’ But nothing, he turned around and with that punch the argument ended,” she said.
Yañez also accused Fernández’s doctor and head of the Presidential Medical Unit, Federico Saavedra, of having concealed one of the attacks.
She also said that she “went to look for help to the Women, Genders and Diversity Ministry,” which was headed by former Minister Ayelén Mazzina.
“I felt like she was making fun of me,” said Yañez of her meeting with Mazzina. “I asked myself, ‘How could she possibly believe that the first lady would appear in front of the building that was the flagship and greatest political achievement of my partner, the president, to say what I was going through?”
On August 13, former Minister Mazzina responded on X saying, “I was never aware of the violent situation reported by the former first lady. I will put myself at the disposal of [the courts] because I cannot allow a falsehood about what happened or the trivialization of gender violence,” she said.
Alberto Fernández: “I never hit a woman”
On Monday, Fernández told El País, “I am being accused of something I have not done. I have not hit Fabiola. I have never hit a woman.”
He did however admit that the arguments with Yañez were frequent, and there could be “verbal violence” and it was “mutual.” Fernández believes that “someone is motivating Fabiola to other means.”
The former president added that through all his past relationships he never used physical violence towards anyone. “I was with the mother of my eldest son [Estanislao] for 18 years and with Vilma Ibarra [former Legal and Technical Secretary during his presidency] for 11 years and I have never had an episode of that nature. I have seen the photographs in the media, but I have not had access to the case [files] yet. They never came to my attention through any means. What I am going to do is wait, go to court and let the court decide,” he said.
He added, “For four years I was president of this country and I promoted gender policies and I know that in cases like this the burden of proof is reversed and the man is presumed guilty and has to prove his innocence. I will prove it.”
Reactions
Current President Javier Milei, an outspoken critic of Fernández, remarked via his X account regarding his predecessor’s situation.
“The case involves former President Alberto Fernández, champion of feminism, beating his wife Fabiola Yáñez,” the head of state said. He continued: “This does NOT mean that Fabiola Yañez has not been complicit (especially during the pandemic) in many of the aberrations of the appalling government of Kirchnerism.”
Milei also denounced a “complicit silence” of Argentine journalists, which allegedly “were funded by the state.”
“All these events occurred while the media explained to us that they were the good guys and those of us who wanted a free Argentina were the bad guys,” he said.
Cristina Kirchner, former vice president under Fernández, also criticised him. “Alberto Fernández was not a good President,” she began her statement on X. “The photos of Mrs. Fabiola Yañez with bruises on her body and face, along with the published chats that reveal the dialogue between her and the former president, not only show the beating she received, but also reveal the most sordid and dark aspects of the human condition. 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 shack,” she wrote.
