Large crowds protest in support of Argentine ex-President Fernández as she starts house arrest

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Vowing that a conviction on corruption charges and a permanent ban from public office would not end her decades-long political career, Argentina’s former President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner began serving a six-year sentence under house arrest as tens of thousands of her supporters rallied in the streets.

Her detention marked an ignominious turn for one of the most polarizing and influential political leaders on Latin America’s left who served one term as Argentina’s first lady (2004-2007), two terms as its president (2007-2015) and one term as its powerful vice president (2019–2023), dominating the country’s politics for the last two decades.

Still today, Fernández represents the face of opposition to radical libertarian President Javier Milei. Polls suggest that she and her left-wing brand of Peronism, Argentina's nationalist populist movement championing workers' rights, retains the support of some 30% of the country.

"We will return, and, what’s more, we will return with more wisdom, with more unity, with more strength,” Fernández, 72, told her ardent supporters in a speech recorded from home confinement and broadcast through loudspeakers into the streets of downtown Buenos Aires.

The case in which she was first convicted in 2022 found that she defrauded the state in awarding public works contracts to a friendly businessman. She vehemently denies the charges, accusing her opponents of weaponizing the justice system against her.

Before the court decision this month, she had been planning to run for a seat in the Buenos Aires provincial legislature.

“The real economic powers know this model has no future; they know it’s collapsing, and that’s why I’m in prison,” she said in her speech from her second-floor apartment in the southern Constitución neighborhood of the Argentine capital.

The scene of huge crowds setting off flares and chanting “We will return" underscored the sharp divisions in this South American nation that has long been shaped by Fernández, who vastly increased welfare and public employment during her tenure in a dramatic expansion of the state that left Argentina with sky-high inflation and massive deficits.

“We are all here to fight for Cristina’s freedom. If they restrict her more, we will do more," said Gloria Araya, 64, a retiree protesting on Wednesday.

The economic shambles she bequeathed her successors helped vault her nemesis, political outsider Milei, to the presidency in late 2023.

Milei has succeeded in his flagship campaign promise of lowering inflation. In May Argentina’s monthly inflation rate plunged below 2% for the first time in five years, the government statistics agency reported last week.

But while prices have stabilized, the cost of living remains high in a country where wages are comparatively low. Investment has lagged. Many Argentines say they're still waiting to collect on the economic revival that Mieli promised would follow the pain of austerity.

Some analysts say that anger over Fernández's claims of political persecution could add fuel to those economic grievances and help rally an otherwise confused opposition to Milei.

“The conviction and sentencing of Cristina is a unifying force for Peronism,” said Sebastián Mazzuca, an Argentine political scientist. “If the opposition can link this claim that there was some injustice in her trial with concerns over income and purchasing power, they have an agenda."

A supporter of Argentina's former President Cristina Fernandez holds a sign that reads in Spanish "Innocent" during protest in her defense after she began serving a six-year prison sentence under house arrest for corruption, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, June 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

The forehead of a supporter of Argentina's former President Cristina Fernandez reads in Spanish: "Milei out," referring to current President Javier Milei, during a march in support of Fernandez, who has begun serving a six-year prison sentence under house arrest for corruption, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, June 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Gustavo Garello)

Supporters of Argentina's former President Cristina Fernandez protest in her defense after she began serving a six-year prison sentence under house arrest for corruption, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, June 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Gustavo Garello)

Supporters of Argentina's former President Cristina Fernandez hold flares as they protest in her defense after she began serving a six-year prison sentence under house arrest for corruption in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, June 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

Supporters of Argentina's former President Cristina Fernandez protest in her defense in Plaza de Mayo after she began serving a six-year prison sentence under house arrest for corruption in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, June 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Gustavo Garello)

Supporters of Argentina's former President Cristina Fernandez leave at the end of a protest in her defense after she began serving a six-year prison sentence under house arrest for corruption, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, June 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

A supporter carries a puppet depicting Argentina's former President Cristina Fernandez after taking part in a protest in her defense after she began serving a six-year prison sentence under house arrest for corruption, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, June 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

Supporters of Argentina's former President Cristina Fernandez leave at the end of a protest in her defense after she began serving a six-year prison sentence under house arrest for corruption, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, June 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

Supporters of Argentina's former President Cristina Fernandez embrace at the end of a protest in her defense after she began serving a six-year prison sentence under house arrest for corruption, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, June 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Richard “Dick” Codey, a former acting governor of New Jersey and the longest serving legislator in the state's history, died Sunday. He was 79.

Codey’s wife, Mary Jo Codey, confirmed her husband’s death to The Associated Press.

“Gov. Richard J. Codey passed away peacefully this morning at home, surrounded by family, after a brief illness,” Codey's family wrote in a Facebook post on Codey's official page.

"Our family has lost a beloved husband, father and grandfather -- and New Jersey lost a remarkable public servant who touched the lives of all who knew him," the family said.

Known for his feisty, regular-guy persona, Codey was a staunch advocate of mental health awareness and care issues. The Democrat also championed legislation to ban smoking from indoor areas and sought more money for stem cell research.

Codey, the son of a northern New Jersey funeral home owner, entered the state Assembly in 1974 and served there until he was elected to the state Senate in 1982. He served as Senate president from 2002 to 2010.

Codey first served as acting governor for a brief time in 2002, after Christine Todd Whitman’s resignation to join President George W. Bush’s administration. He held the post again for 14 months after Gov. Jim McGreevey resigned in 2004.

At that time, New Jersey law mandated that the Senate president assume the governor’s role if a vacancy occurred, and that person would serve until the next election.

Codey routinely drew strong praise from residents in polls, and he gave serious consideration to seeking the Democratic nomination for governor in 2005. But he ultimately chose not to run when party leaders opted to back wealthy Wall Street executive Jon Corzine, who went on to win the office.

Codey would again become acting governor after Corzine was incapacitated in April 2007 due to serious injuries he suffered in a car accident. He held the post for nearly a month before Corzine resumed his duties.

After leaving the governor’s office, Codey returned to the Senate and also published a memoir that detailed his decades of public service, along with stories about his personal and family life.

“He lived his life with humility, compassion and a deep sense of responsibility to others,” his family wrote. “He made friends as easily with Presidents as he did with strangers in all-night diners.”

Codey and his wife often spoke candidly about her past struggles with postpartum depression, and that led to controversy in early 2005, when a talk radio host jokingly criticized Mary Jo and her mental health on the air.

Codey, who was at the radio station for something else, confronted the host and said he told him that he wished he could “take him outside.” But the host claimed Codey actually threatened to “take him out,” which Codey denied.

His wife told The Associated Press that Codey was willing to support her speaking out about postpartum depression, even if it cost him elected office.

“He was a really, really good guy,” Mary Jo Codey said. “He said, ‘If you want to do it, I don’t care if I get elected again.’”

Jack Brook contributed reporting from New Orleans.

FILE - New Jersey State Sen. and former Democratic Gov. Richard Codey is seen before New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy delivers his State of the State address to a joint session of the Legislature at the statehouse, in Trenton, N.J., Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)