Former Argentine President Alberto Fernández has been charged with “abuse of authority” and “violating a public official’s duties” for allegedly extending the COVID-19 lockdown between 2020 and 2021 for political gain.

Federal prosecutor Carlos Stornelli formally accused Fernández of “extending [the quarantine] for wrongful reasons.” The case was opened after the economy minister at the time, Martín Guzmán, recently stated that the lockdown “was longer than it should have been,” hinting that it was because the government was benefitting from that.  

Guzmán made the remarks during an interview with streaming channel Cenital on Sunday. Speaking about his tenure as minister, he said he thought the quarantine was “affecting people’s economic opportunities” and increasing inequality. According to him, he kept asking other government authorities when it would end, or at least be softened.

“For a long time, all they said was, ‘no, we can’t do that.’ And then I think it became a more political issue,” Guzmán said, adding that it became a “political banner” because the handling of the pandemic strengthened the government.

“Given the technical information I had, [lockdown] was longer than it should have been,” he added.

Guzmán left Fernández’s administration on bad terms after unexpectedly resigning from his position in 2022. He has been critical of the ex-president’s government since then. In the Sunday interview, he said that they had blamed him for losing the 2021 elections for his “supposed fiscal cuts.”

Stornelli ordered all laws issued by the Fernández administration regarding COVID-19-related restrictions be compiled. He also requested the World Health Organization information on how other countries managed the pandemic. He also asked officials from the government if there is any documentation on potential surveys conducted by the former administration to know the citizenship’s opinion on the quarantine.

This new judicial chapter for Fernández comes as he is facing accusations of domestic violence after his ex-partner Fabiola Yáñez filed a complaint against him in early August. Several witnesses have already testified, and the former president of the presidential medical team is set to do so on Thursday.

Fernández is also accused of improperly handling state insurance contacts during his presidency.