Guillermo Ferraro, the future Minister of Infrastructure, had a health episode that forced him to be admitted to the Cemic hospital on Avenida Coronel Díaz. Apparently, he had suffered from intestinal cramps the day after the electoral victory. His entourage speaks of “a great stress” for having shouldered the national oversight of the election, which he took care of on the side of La Libertad Avanza and José Torello, along with him, on the PRO side.
The point is that, while he was hospitalized, the patient Ferraro saw the first communication sent by the new “Office of the President-Elect”, which reported that “there will be no announcement of appointments regarding future government positions until the day of the assumption”. A decision without consultation on the part of Milei’s small board, which unleashed a storm of rumors and left the door open to speculation about possible ministers, even for those places where there were already people working. On the morning of Monday the 20th, before making the decision not to give more names, Milei had said in an interview with Eduardo Feinmann that Mariano Cúneo Libarona would be the Minister of Justice, that the psychologist Sandra Pettovello would be the Minister of Human Capital and that Diana Mondino would be in charge of the Foreign Ministry. He had said nothing about Ferraro, so the next day, also with Eduardo Feinmann, the patient gave an interview from a room at Cemic, still connected with a IV catheter, in which he confirmed that he would be the Minister of Infrastructure.
Why the rush to name yourself? It happens that macrismo lurks. At that time, there was speculation that the name of Guillermo Dietrich was in charge of Infrastructure, so Ferraro felt the urgent need to make it clear to the actors in the different sectors who was going to be the interlocutor from now on (or from his discharge medical).
Coexistence. The Acassuso Pact was an idea by Patricia Bullrich, who, certain that it was the best way to defeat Kirchnerism, convinced Mauricio Macri that he had to accompany Javier Milei in the runoff. But the former president had to take the first step for the proposal to have weight, so inviting Milei to his house would be a good way to seal a solid agreement. She had already been flirting shamelessly with him throughout the campaign and Bullrich ended up giving her the green light.
That October night, Milei was accompanied by Santiago Caputo and Guillermo Francos, who served as containment against an attempt by Macrismo to want to take over some places in the State without having yet won the elections. “We had to put a stop to them,” one of those present that night confesses to NOTICIAS. In milleismo they were willing to accept the help that came from the other side of the opposition, but they did not agree with handing over all the ministries, and until now they would be resisting.
For example, in addition to Infrastructure, Macri wanted the Ministry of Justice and also YPF, for whose departments he promoted the names of Germán Garavano and Javier Iguacel. In the end, Cúnero Libarona remained in Justicia and Horacio Marín in YPF. The second is a former Tecpetrol, the Techint Group oil company, which in the last week opted for the libertarian, to whom it contributed 20 million pesos on November 13.
Until the closing of this edition, the only confirmed name of the PRO for Milei’s cabinet was that of Patricia Bullrich, who will head the Ministry of Security. The other official that Macri could put on the front line of the libertarian team is Luis “Toto” Caputo, who is rumored to be Minister of Economy. Caputo participated together with Nicolás Posse – the future Chief of Staff – in a meeting with representatives of the IMF, which further fueled the rumors of his landing in Milei’s team, and at the close of this edition messages of support for the possible appointment of the “Messi of finance”, as the former Macrista chief of staff, Marcos Peña, generously nicknamed him. The inclusion of Caputo in Milei’s economic team already had its first collateral damage, which was the refusal of Emilio Ocampo to be named president of the Central Bank. He resigned before taking office.
Macri also intends for Bernardo Saravia Frías to return to the Treasury Attorney General’s Office, the office where the State’s lawyers work. From that office, Saravia Frías tried to resolve in favor of the then President the State’s lawsuit against the Socma Group by the Argentine Post Office that had been initiated in the early K years. Now, her return could mean closing a case that brought her many pains. head to the former president.
In the distribution of positions, Bullrich would not be benefited beyond the Security portfolio that she will occupy. There is a bullish meeting known as “the Tuesday meeting”, which for a few weeks has once again had as its meeting point the offices on Balcarce Street, where the headquarters of the PRO, the party of which Patricia is president, operates. Upon leaving that meeting, those present highlighted how few friends Bullrich had and how few places there are left to occupy, at least in the front lines of the administration.
Participating in that meeting were Hernán Lombardi, who would go to Télam before the news agency is privatized, Alberto Forigh, who could have a role in Security, Federico Pinedo, who wants a place in the Foreign Ministry, and the Tucumán leader Pablo Walter, friend of Victoria Villarruel and who organized the first meeting between the vice-elect and Bullrich, and there were also Fernando Iglesias, Eduardo Amadeo, Damián Arabia, Luis Petri, Silvina Martínez and María Eugenia Talerico. Everything was immortalized on the Instagram of deputy Laura Rodríguez Machado. One of the topics discussed at the meeting was the creation of an Excel spreadsheet with possible names for national delegations in the interior such as Anses, Pami or each of the ministries and secretariats. The person responsible for completing that form with the data of each of the interested parties was Martín Siracusa, an influential economist on the Bullrich team.
A final meeting between Milei and Bullrich was scheduled for this Saturday the 25th – because Macri continued traveling through Dubai – to finalize details of the Cabinet. “Starting on Saturday, everything accelerates,” Bullrich said at Tuesday’s meeting.
What is Macri doing in the Arab Emirates in these days of definitions? The official version indicates that she traveled to hold meetings due to his role in the FIFA Foundation, but it is not ruled out that she is also seeking Arab financing for the coming years. At the same time, Milei also has a friend who can bring him closer to the Arab world: he is Marcelo Wolodarsky, the Argentine lobbyist for Ali Albwardy, a Dubai businessman who owns the Albwardy Investment fund, which owns the Four Seasons hotel in Buenos Aires. For more information, this week Wolodarsky accompanied Nicolás Posse to the embassy of the United Arab Emirates to participate in a reception for a national celebration of that country. During the campaign, Wolodarsky organized meetings in his apartment in the Le Parc tower on De María Street and in recent days he was in charge of organizing Milei’s move to an apartment in the Atucha Palace, on the corner of Arroyo and Cerrito , where the president-elect will live until he moves to Olivos. The owners of the Four Seasons own some apartments in that architectural jewel of the city.
More thread. These days, the unease in the Macrista camp was absolute and manifested itself in different ways. Among the leaders who defended the Acassuso Pact they feel that they are not occupying expectant positions. There are complaints in low voices, almost to the point of tantrum, that say: “The problem is that I don’t know anyone from Milei and both Patricia and Mauricio are not offering anything.” The person in charge of keeping the list of those Macri wants is Fernando De Andreis, his former Secretary General of the Presidency, who at this time is worried about the low influence that he is having. The only Macrista who can already boast that he “put in an official” is Jorge Triaca, the former Macrista minister who recommended Omar Yasin for the Secretary of Labor, which will be under the umbrella of the Ministry of Human Capital headed by Sandra Pettovello. Legend has it that one afternoon, Nicolás Posse and Santiago Caputo went to the Triaca villa in San Isidro to recommend someone for that area because they did not have anyone who could be up to the task. Triaca did not hesitate to recommend his friend.
The election of government officials is being defined in the offices of the civil association Institute for Growth that Posse created during the campaign. Today it works in Libertador at 7200, in the Nuñez neighborhood, and all the ministers parade there today to form the future Cabinet. The Health, Education, Infrastructure and Interior teams work there, among other portfolios. In recent days it would have been considered that, for example, Security would cease to be a ministry and become a secretariat, but the subsequent confirmation of Bullrich for the position destroyed that hypothesis. It is also a strong signal for Victoria Villarruel, that she would have been left without interference in this area that she had dominated during the campaign. The vice president was expected to put people she trusted in Security, Defense and the AFI, but all that happened to the Posse-Francos duo. Will Villarruel end up being a decorative vice in the Gabriela Michetti style?
The congress. The other big dispute will be for the presidency of the Chamber of Deputies, where the Macristas Cristian Ritondo and Miguel Ángel Pichetto and the Peronist Florencio Randazzo are in the race. In a scenario of such fragmentation, the one who manages to get the votes of the deputies, especially those of Kirchnerism, will have more chances. Milei praised the three. He had a very effusive hug with Ritondo in the bunker, who during the day had taken a photo with a chainsaw, one of the symbolic images of Milei’s campaign. De Pichetto said that he will be very important in the next stage and also praised Randazzo.
In the distribution of secretaries, on Thursday the 23rd there was a novelty that surprised Macri and Bullrich: Milei also opened his government to Juan Schiaretti from Córdoba. That day, at the Ministry of Economy, the future libertarian officials appeared at the first transition meeting: Guillermo Ferraro for the Infrastructure Secretariat, Eduardo Rodríguez Chirillo for Energy, Sergio Arbeleche for Mining and Franco Mogetta for Transportation. The latter is the current Minister of Transportation of Córdoba with Schiaretti. It would be the first official that Milei gives to the outgoing governor of Cordoba.
In terms of ambassadors, there are still not too many names. Only two embassies are mentioned that would already have an owner. One is the United States, where businessman Gerardo Werthein would go, and the other is the Madrid embassy, where banker Juan Nápoli, who was involved in a sexual scandal in the days before the runoff, would have already asked for a clue.
When Macri returns from Dubai next Tuesday the 28th, almost the entire Government will already be armed and there will only be a few places left. It will probably be too late for claims or orders. If it were up to him, the first person he would remove from Milei’s team is Posse, the future Chief of Staff with whom he could never get along. But that is a decision of the President-elect.
The Acassuso Pact has only been in existence for a few weeks. But it has already put the new power under maximum tension.
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