Cristina Fernández may not go to jail but verdict upends Argentina’s politics

The powerful - and polarising - vice-president was sentenced to six years for fraud and now will not seek the presidency next year

For decades, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner dominated Argentina's political landscape: as a senator, first lady, president and then vice-president. But on Tuesday she was sentenced to six years in prison in a verdict, which if upheld on appeal, will also ban her from holding public office for the rest of her life.

Fernandez immediately announced that she would not run for president, or any other kind of elected office, in the 2023 elections. The court's ruling appeared to have abruptly sidelined the country's most powerful - and most polarising - politician since Juan and Eva Peron, leaving many Argentinians wondering: what will come next?