In his masterpiece “Alien”, director Ridley Scott describes the extraterrestrial creature as “the perfect organism”, capable of surviving everything and adapting to any situation, invincible and resilient. It is what in psychology has been called antifragility: the ability to not only resist adversity, but to strengthen and thrive in the face of chaos, stress and uncertainty. Daniel Scioli probably doesn’t watch sci-fi movies or be familiar with couch terms, but he represents that: he’s a survivor.
Let’s see the last thing he faced. After entering Javier Milei’s government through the window, thanks to his old relationship with Guillermo Francos, he was the only official in that sector who remains in his position after the departure of the Chief of Staff. The other Francoist, the Minister of the Interior, Lisandro Catalán, followed his godfather on the road to the plain, as did several second and third line collaborators. Scioli, on the other hand, remained unscathed at the head of the Ministry of Tourism, Environment and Sports. How did he do it? Easy: he asked to continue, and for now he succeeded. He wished Francos, his reference, good luck.
Let’s remember the previous steps of the former motonaut. Before entering the Cabinet, the libertarians newly in power had allowed him to continue as ambassador to Brazil, the position he had been occupying since the final days of Alberto Fernández’s government. And before that, he had had a brief appearance as Minister of Productive Development also during Albertism, an experience that was cut short due to his internment with Sergio Massa. And even before that, he had just lost the 2015 presidential elections against Mauricio Macri and had a love affair “with a blonde on the plane” that cost him his marriage. And even before, he had converted from a Menemist to a Kirchnerist (when Mileism was still far from being born). And before, at the origin of his political history, he overcame a tremendous accident with his boat, lost his arm and here he is today, always improving himself. The video of the accident was even shown at international seminars and talks with foreign businessmen to whom he attended as Kirchner’s vice president, a detail that caused shock and indigestion among those attending.
Yes, Ridley Scott would surely define Scioli as the perfect organism. The most resilient, by far, in our apocalyptic local politics.
