BUENOS AIRES — Argentina’s Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the 6-year prison sentence on corruption charges for former President Cristina Fernández, a ruling she quickly rejected.

The court ruling would also disqualify the leader of South American country’s opposition movement, known as Peronism, from holding public office. It left Fernández, one of Argentina’s most important political figures of the past two decades, at the brink of an arrest by authorities.

Fernández governed for eight years after succeeding her husband in 2007. Under her watch, Argentina became notorious for its unbridled state spending and massive budget deficits. She was found guilty by a federal court in 2022 of having committed a millionaire fraud during her presidency through irregular allocation of state funds to a businessman close to her.

Fernández had asked the court for a review of the prison sentence in March, which three judges of the high court rejected. Tuesday’s court decision means that Fernández will not be able to compete in September for office.

— The Associated Press