Mayra Mendoza: “Alberto Fernández betrayed the militants and Cristina, she does not support a situation like this”

Mayra Mendoza crossed paths with Alberto Fernández, once the complaint for gender violence was known

Fabiola Yañez’s complaint against Alberto Fernández for gender violence continues to generate internal noise in Kirchnerism. The mayor of Quilmes, Mayra Mendoza, once again confirmed her position on the case, and not only did she target the former president, but she also came out against those who criticize Cristina Kirchner for sharing the presidential formula between 2019 and 2023.

“Alberto Fernández betrayed Cristina and the militants, as Ofelia (Fernández) said. We are militants, we talk about him, we trust him to make Argentina what we had proposed,” said the Kirchnerist leader in communication with Radio con vos. And she added: “We never, ever imagined that he would be so responsible and, while I say it, I am outraged, by something as irresponsible as exercising physical violence. Knowing that he was a person who could work within a collective project, and be such a despicable being as he ends up being, knowing more about him.”

In this regard, Mendoza defended the former vice president from those who accuse her of knowing about the situation and not intervening. “No one can support violence, as Cristina never supported, nor does she support a situation of violence like the one we are seeing today. And in some cases they want to link her to the idea that she knew that the President could have these attitudes.”

“He has the behaviour of a violent man, of not respecting women. And what I do have evidence of is the political violence he exercised against Cristina and she may not recognise it, because she cannot even see herself as a victim. But I and my generation, because of the education we have, can see it,” she said about the former president.

Mayra Mendoza with Alberto Fernández, the 2019 electoral campaign (Credit: Frente de Todos)

And he asked himself: “Is that really what they want to go to? A woman who they wanted to kill and who today is not even investigating the most immediate perpetrators or anything related to the attempted murder. Are they going to try to make things so tense and overthink things to the point of wanting to blame her?”

“We cannot blame Cristina for all the evils that happen in Argentina,” he said in defense of the former president.

Likewise, the mayor of Quilmes explained that she is against any type of gender violence, regardless of who exercises it, and that it has nothing to do with political speculation. “One is in public life, as one is in private life and vice versa. My opinion is not political speculation against Alberto Fernández, or whether it is Macri, Milei or the closest companion at my side. If someone exercises violence against women, I will always be on the side of women. And this is not a comfortable position, this should not be romanticized,” she explained.

Mayra Mendoza came out against those who criticize Cristina Kirchner for Alberto Fernández’s complaint

“I have a very high cost for my opinion, because there is a society that is very resistant to begin to rethink all the patriarchal practices that we have daily in our society. It resists stopping to naturalize this violence. This makes you rethink, because sometimes the attack is stronger on you, on the situation of violence that is exercised and by those who exercise it. And the truth is that I don’t care about the cost, I am here to debate it,” Mendoza added.

On this, she added: “The comments I received for having expressed an opinion on a situation of which we are victims, was of a level of political violence that can no longer be accepted. That the opinion of a woman is judged more than the act itself.”

On the other hand, the leader referred to the situation that Alberto Fernández’s ex-partner had to live through and the importance of reporting these events, regardless of the position of the aggressor. “What Fabiola (Yañez) has gone through, at the moment she was able to report, is very painful for her. But well, welcome the debate and let no one have privileges, be it the president, a businessman, owner of communication or whoever the hell. If he exercises violence, he has to be denounced and repudiated by society, but for this, responsibility is needed from everyone and, on the part of women, more gender solidarity,” she said.

Mayra Mendoza also explained the strong statement that La Cámpora shared to support the former first lady, Fabiola Yañez, in her denunciation of Alberto Fernández. “It expresses very clearly what we as an organization and as a women’s front in particular are expressing at this moment, as we have done in various situations. One is what one is based on one’s history, one’s militancy, one’s journey and the organization.”

“This statement speaks of what we have been doing for many years and in the different cases in particular that have occurred within our political force, which are diametrically different from those people, we never cover up a situation of harassment or abuse. We have always spoken out, something that they deny about us and the organization in particular,” she said.

And he clarified: “We have done it with all the cases that have been public, the most recent ones in this time: Espinoza, Alperovich… We have had situations within our organization, because the truth is that our organization does not escape a problem that exists in our society, which is violence.”