The man who the authorities believe tried to shoot Cristina Fernández de Kirchner showed an interest in a mix of fringe ideologies, including the far right, his social media showed. 

By Jack Nicas, Leonardo Coelho and David Feliba 

Cristina Fernández de Kirchner has been the most prominent politician in Argentina for almost two decades. After an eight-year run as president, she is now the country’s leftist vice president, and political analysts are expecting her to make a bid to return to the top job next year.

So it was a bombshell when Argentine prosecutors announced last week that they would seek a 12-year prison term for Mrs. Kirchner over accusations, which she denies, that she directed taxpayer money to a friend. Since then, hundreds of her supporters have rallied outside her Buenos Aires home every night, calling her a victim of political persecution.

It was that scene Mrs. Kirchner walked into just after 9 p.m. on Thursday, returning home from a long day at work. Flanked by her security detail, she greeted the mass of supporters lining the street. The mood was happy.

Then, just as she placed a hand on the cheek of one supporter, a man rushed up, aimed a pistol inches from her face and pulled the trigger. Mrs. Kirchner ducked and raised her hand. But the gun did not go off.

It was a stunning moment in the tumultuous history of Argentine politics — a man attempting to assassinate the vice president with multiple cameras trained on the scene — that will forever be remembered for how close it was to being much worse. 

“Cristina is still alive because, for reasons that have not been confirmed technically, the weapon, which was loaded with five bullets, did not fire,” President Alberto Fernández said in an address to the nation on Thursday night. “This is the most serious event since we recovered our democracy.”

Mr. Fernández declared Friday a national holiday and called on the country to show its support for Mrs. Kirchner and condemn violence. Tens of thousands of people flooded into Plaza de Mayo in downtown Buenos Aires in a peaceful rally on Friday afternoon.

The federal police arrested Fernando Andres Sabag Montiel, 35, a Brazilian man who has lived in Argentina for more than 20 years. They recovered a gun at the scene, and on Friday, local media said they found 100 bullets in his studio apartment in a working-class suburb of Buenos Aires. By Friday afternoon, the authorities had still had not charged him.