Argentine Vice President Cristina Fernández was convicted and sentenced to six years in prison and a lifetime ban from holding public office on Tuesday for a fraud scheme in which $1 billion was stolen from public works projects during her presidency.

A three-judge panel found the Peronist leader guilty of fraud but dismissed the charge of running a criminal organization, for which he could have received a 12-year prison sentence. It was the first time in Argentine history that a vice president was convicted of a crime while in office.

Fernández criticized the verdict, calling herself the victim of a "judicial mafia." However, she later announced that she would not run for the presidency in 2020, a position she previously held from 2007 to 2015.

The sentence is not final until the appeals process is complete, which could take years. She will not be subject to arrest in the interim.

The supporters of Fernández vowed to paralyze the nation with a nationwide strike. They congested downtown Buenos Aires and marched towards the federal courthouse, beating drums and chanting as they pushed against police barriers.

Fernández vehemently denied all charges. This century's dominant leader of Argentina was accused of improperly awarding public works contracts to a construction magnate with close family ties.

The verdict is certain to deepen divisions in the South American country, where politics can be a blood sport and the populist leader, 69 years old, is either admired or reviled.

President Alberto Fernández, who is unrelated to his vice president, claimed on Twitter that she was innocent and that her conviction was "the result of a trial in which the bare minimum of due process was not observed."

According to prosecutors, Fernández fraudulently awarded 51 public works projects to Lázaro Báez, a construction magnate and early ally of Fernández and her husband Nestor Kirchner, who served as president from 2003 to 2007 and died suddenly in 2010.

Báez and members of Fernández's administration from 2007 to 2015 were among a dozen others accused of conspiracy. The panel also imposed a six-year sentence on Báez and her public works secretary, José López. Most of the others received lighter sentences.

Prosecutors Diego Luciani and Sergio Mola asserted that the Báez company was established to embezzle funds through improperly bid projects with cost overruns and, in many instances, that were never completed. According to them, the company disappeared during the Kirchners' twelve years in power.

In Argentina, judges typically announce verdicts and sentences first and then explain how they arrived at their decision. The panel's decision is expected to be finalized in February. The verdict can then be appealed to the Supreme Court, a lengthy process that can take years.

Fernández announced on her YouTube channel that she will not seek additional office following the expiration of her vice presidential term on December 10, 2023. "I will not be a candidate for any office, including president or senator. My name will not appear on any ballots. "I'm done on December 10 and will return home," she said.

Politicians and analysts had noted that until her appeal is decided, Fernández would be able to run for any elected office, from a congressional seat to the presidency, and obtain immunity from arrest by being elected.

"Cristina consistently surprises, "Roberto Bacman, director of the Center for Public Opinion Studies in Argentina, commented on her announcement. Nonetheless, "she will continue to fight," he added. She places herself in the middle of the conflict and declares that she will not hide.

He stated that it remains to be seen whether the Peronist faction will attempt to convince Fernández to reverse her decision.

Patricio Giusto, director of the consulting firm Diagnóstico Poltico, predicted that Fernández will intensify her "strategy of victimization and equating herself" with Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva, the left-wing Brazilian politician who was recently elected president after a court overturned his corruption conviction.

During the legal proceedings, the vice president referred to herself as a victim of "lawfare" and portrayed the Judiciary as a pawn of the opposition media and Mauricio Macri, who succeeded her as president from 2015 to 2019.

Fernández remains the sole leader of the Peronist movement's leftist faction. 62% of Argentines, according to Bacman's surveys, want her removed, while 38% support her regardless.

Other cases continue to be pending against her, including a money-laundering charge involving her son and daughter.