The Casa Rosada became, for a few minutes, an improvised dance floor where Javier Milei’s hugs function as a thermometer of power. In the official video of the last Cabinet meeting, the President enters to the rhythm of James Brown, does jumping jacks, raises his fists and distributes hugs as if marking political territory. Not everyone receives the same treatment: some just a quick gesture; others, a long squeeze that says more than any decree. The scene makes it clear who is well inside the small circle.
The strongest hug goes to Luis Petri. The Minister of Defense is the first to be intercepted and gets the longest squeeze, including pats on the back. Petri, who came from radicalism and aligned himself with Milei after the campaign, today plays strongly in Defense, both in internal adjustment and in the relationship with the United States. The President’s gesture is a sign: total trust for an ally without libertarian DNA, but with visible results.
Behind appears Manuel Adorni, now Chief of Staff. Milei gives him two hugs in a row: one from the front, almost lifting him up, and another from the side with a slap. Adorni, former spokesperson and daily face of the Government in front of the press, is the one who filters, orders and defends the official narrative. The double embrace leaves no doubt: today it is the centerpiece, beyond the formal title.
Santiago Caputo, the strategist in the shadows, receives a short but firm hug. Milei pauses for a second on his shoulder, enough to confirm his weight. Caputo, brain of the campaign and responsible for polls, speeches and political fabric, does not need grandiloquent gestures: his influence is seen in the architecture of libertarian power.
Karina Milei closes the list. The hug is different: longer, closer, and familiar. The general secretary and sister of the President manages the agenda, appointments and libertarian orthodoxy. He is the ultimate filter and the most influential figure behind the desk. The hug is not political: it is DNA and driving.
Other heavyweights, like Luis Caputo or Patricia Bullrich, are left with a fist bump or a brief greeting. In this Government, the “hug meter” does not measure rank, but rather closeness and usefulness in the project. Today, those four concentrate almost all the presidential affection. The video, already viral, shows Milei in a relaxed mode, but also reveals the true geography of libertarian power.
