When Javier Milei was just a TV panelist, there was one topic that made him come up more than the rest: the existence of Central Bankwhom he swore he hated. In fact, such was his rejection of this institution that, at the time he did a theatrical show —“Milei’s office”—closed each function by destroying a model of the Central. When he entered politics, he directly made it one of his campaign mantras: “We are going to close it”he said.
It was not an isolated slogan. It was the heart of his economic proposal. He BCRAFor him, it was not just another technical institution: it was “the one that generates inflation,” “the cancer” that had to be removed so that Argentina would stop being “the country of default and misery.” In the presidential runoff debate against Sergio Massaon November 12, 2023, less than a month after assuming the presidency, said it as a promise: “We are going to close the Central Bank”. Minutes later, at the insistence of the then Minister of Economy, he confirmed: “Yes, I am going to eliminate the Central Bank because it is the one that generates inflation”.
The electoral platform of Freedom Advancespresented before the Electoral Justice, formalized it: the closure would take place “in a third stage”, after dollarizing and cleaning up the accounts. On November 24, 2023, after having triumphed in the elections, the Office of the President tweeted: “Given the false rumors spread, we wish to clarify that the closure of the Central Bank is not a negotiable matter”.
Already in government, Milei kept the promise, although he conditioned it. On January 11, 2024, on Radio La Red, he said: “Sooner or later I am going to close the Central Bank”. That same year, at the IDEA colloquium, he insisted on the same meaning: “As endogenous dollarization advances, operations in dollars will be very large and operations in pesos will be very small. When that situation occurs, we will be in a position to close the Central Bank”.
However, two years and two months after taking office, the reality is far from that slogan. The Central Bank is still alive, operating, buying reserves and, now, investing in itself: thanks to an investment of almost 200 million pesosrestored and “added value” to the façade of his building. The Central, for now, not only is it not closed, but it looks better than ever.
Zero kilometer
According to official documentation obtained by this means through a request for access to public information, the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic awarded the firm on October 30, 2025 “Estudio Ing. Villa SRL” the sum of $198,389,450 for remodeling works at its headquarters on San Martín Street, under purchase order No. 77186. The work began on December 5, 2025 and, as of the closing date of this edition, they present a 66% progresswith completion scheduled for early March 2026. The company that won the tender belongs to the architect Guillermo Alejandro Villawho usually works with different governments.
That is to say, while the President continues talking about “closing” the entity, the State allocated almost 200 million pesos to improve the facilities of the organization that, according to its own ideology, should disappear. Far behind is what happened the day Milei won the elections, December 10, 2023: on that day, a dozen libertarians approached the Central Bank to make a “wake ceremony” to the institution, an event that included candles, banners, funeral wreaths and culminated with the National Anthem sung loudly.
They had also spread a false funeral notice announcing his “death”: “His legacy will be a reminder for economic reconstruction, longing for a more prosperous future for Argentina”he said.
However, at the end of February 2026, the BCRA is not only not closed: it has an approved budget, a complete board of directors, stable staff and now a shiny building. The campaign promise—the one that most identified the “lion” with his anti-caste and anti-State voters—is diluted over time between technical deadlines, macroeconomic conditions and, now, million-dollar civil works.
Maybe Milei could say: Before the Central Bank disappears, it has to look better than ever.
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