The audios leaked in August 2025, where Diego Spagnuolo spoke of “8% returns” in the National Disability Agency (ANDIS), ended his public career. But before that scandal – which led to his dismissal on August 21 by decree 599/2025 – he had already accumulated a history of controversy: irregular million-dollar purchases, official documents with offensive terminology and a conflict with a child with autism marked the less than two years that he was at the head of the organization (December 2023 – August 2025).
1. Overpriced purchases and link with Martín Menem
In August 2024, the Minister of Human Capital, Sandra Pettovello, filed a complaint for fraud and fraudulent administration. ANDIS had spent almost $30,000 million in direct contracting without bidding to that supplier, which sold products from Gentech, Menem’s supplement brand. The 2025 audios reactivated the case: Spagnuolo explained to a supplier that “8% of the medication bill” had to be contributed to “upload it to the Presidency.” Lawyer Gregorio Dalbón expanded the complaint and warned that essential drugs for more than 1.5 million people with disabilities were diverted. Menem denied everything and called the audios false. After the outbreak, the FarmaOnline page eliminated Gentech’s catalogs.
2. Offensive terms in an official resolution
On February 27, 2025, Spagnuolo signed Resolution 187/2025, which classified intellectual disability with categories abolished decades ago: “idiot,” “imbecile,” and “feeble-minded.” The rejection was immediate. He said that “another official” had drafted the text. The rule was repealed.
3. The conflict with Ian, a child with autism
In March 2025 (going viral in May), Spagnuolo welcomed Marlene Spesso and her son, Ian Moche. According to the video, he told them: “If you had a child with a disability, it is the family’s problem, not the State’s problem,” and questioned the free toll. Ian then broke down in Gelatina: “It’s disrespectful to the whole fight.” Spagnuolo accused them of “liars” on LN+. Sector organizations described the episode as an institutional setback.
4. Cuts and complaints of mistreatment
His management reduced 300 positions, centralized benefits and eliminated intermediaries. There were accusations of job persecution and public criticism of Inés Estévez and Julieta Díaz for the “lack of empathy.”
His departure, after the audios released by Carnaval, crowned a management marked by complaints, controversies and setbacks in rights that ended up making it unsustainable.
