Guillermo Francos left the Government in silence, but not without signs. His letter published in X on October 31 revealed more than institutional courtesy. “Given the persistent reports about changes in the National Cabinet, I am writing to you with the aim of presenting my resignation… so that you can face without conditions the stage of government that begins after the national elections of last October 26.” It was not an agreed departure but, as those around them admit, an early resignation to avoid a more noisy displacement.
The background was the intern with Santiago Caputo, the most influential consultant of mileism. Francos had pointed it out bluntly: “There are government actors who are not in the cabinet and make decisions.” He also publicly asked him to “assume responsibilities,” noting that the tension had jumped from the internal door to the public scene. The arrival of Caputo to the decision center, and the more closed profile that the Government took after the legislative victory, reduced the margin of the most political official on the team.
Francos represented the bridge with the governors. In his farewell he remarked: “My first act as Minister of the Interior and my last as Chief of Staff was to bring together the governors… to find mechanisms for dialogue and consensus.” However, that agenda lost weight compared to a more centralized scheme. Provincial leaders acknowledged surprise: they were not only losing dialogue, but also a moderate figure in a cabinet that was increasingly homogeneous in style.
The final image was neat: Francos smiling next to Manuel Adorni in the transition. But behind closed doors there was the feeling that he was retired without recognition of the role he played in the first stage of the government. He left on good public terms, with a promise of support (“you can always count on me”), although with obvious discomfort with the way his departure was defined. A neat closing for an official who preferred classic politics in a government that chose another speed.
