Argentina begins the transition of Government. The president, Alberto Fernández, received this Tuesday at his residence Javier Milei, the far-right who won the second round of elections on Sunday. The tone of the meeting was friendly and respectful, as reported by the Casa Rosada, and served for the coordinators of their respective teams to agree on the agenda for the transfer of information. An accelerated process of only three weeks now begins, in which the ultra must also define the names of its ministers.
The greatest expectation is in the name of the head of the Economy, the future responsible for getting Argentina out of its worst crisis since that of 2001, that of the corralito and “let everyone go.” The same spirit of protest elevated Milei to power, despite the fact that he was unknown to politics just two years ago. The markets, in any case, celebrated the triumph of a candidate who promised during the campaign to dollarize the economy, privatize companies and free trade from tariffs and bureaucratic obstacles. The Buenos Aires Stock Exchange shot up to 20.8% in the rush after a holiday Monday, driven above all by the state oil company YPF, which will be, according to Milei, for sale.
The meeting between Fernández and his successor was scheduled for Monday, but differences over the location and time forced it to be postponed until Tuesday. There was more expectation around the tone than the content, which he limited himself, in the end, to protocol. Milei campaigned with the promise of “exterminating” Kirchnerism, the version of Peronism that has dominated Argentine politics for 20 years, but in the face to face with Fernández she took care of her forms.
“The meeting took place at the Olivos presidential residence, with the aim of beginning the institutional transition process between the teams designated by both in the different areas of government,” the Casa Rosada reported. The transfer of information is done ministry by ministry, but this time it will have extraordinary difficulty due to Milei’s decision to reduce the number of portfolios from 18 to eight, the first step of its minimum State objective. The most radical change will affect the ministries of Health, Education, Social Development and Labor, which will be merged into a single agency that will be called Human Capital.
The spending cuts will be completed with an ambitious privatization agenda, comparable only to the one Menem undertook in the 1990s. Kirchnerism reversed many of those sales, such as YPF, the water company and Aerolíneas Argentinas. The promise that they will return to private hands excites the markets, which have embraced the far-right. The Buenos Aires Stock Exchange rose almost 22% minutes after opening, driven by a 40% rise in the shares of the state oil company. That is why there was no Black Tuesday, a fear that hovered after a Monday without financial activity.
The Government did not apply a currency devaluation this time, as it did after the defeat of its candidate and Minister of Economy, Sergio Massa, in the primaries held in August. The price of the blue dollar, which is governed by supply and demand in the informal market, remained around 1,000 pesos, without significant jumps. “The market’s relationship with Kirchnerism was always conflictive and the end of that economic model excites stock market operators and investors very much,” says Javier Timerman, of Adcap Grupo Financiero. Timerman adds that the financial sector views favorably the reforms promised by Milei, such as a major fiscal adjustment and privatizations, in addition to its commitment to honor foreign debt commitments. The biggest doubt is about the capacity it will have to carry out its measures. “The support of [expresidente Mauricio] Macri gives him credibility and political support to govern. I think Milei would have won without his support, but the market reaction would not have been the same,” says Timerman.
A call from Pope Francis
As the winner of the presidential elections, Javier Milei received a congratulatory call from Pope Francis, a common gesture that this time acquired great political relevance. The ultra campaigned ranting against his compatriot, whom he accused of being “the representative of evil on earth” and of “being on the side of the bloodiest dictatorships.” The conversation lasted eight minutes and ended with an invitation to the Pope to visit Argentina in 2024.
Jorge Bergoglio was a cardinal in Buenos Aires until he was named Pope in 2013. Since then he was in Chile, Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia, Colombia and other Latin American countries, but he never returned to his own country so as not to interfere in domestic politics. His words from the Vatican are interpreted in Argentina as coded messages to the Government and the opposition, despite Bergoglio’s efforts to deny it. Milei took advantage of this noise in communications and charged furiously against Francisco, while his rival, Sergio Massa, considered him “the most important Argentine in history.”
During the last presidential debate, held a week before the elections, Milei apologized to Francisco. She said she had hurled insults at him “when he was not yet in politics.” “I have no problem repeating that I am sorry for that,” she said. The Pope accepted the gesture, with the intention of closing the rift that had opened between them.
Cristina Kirchner returns
The vice president, Cristina Kirchner, will reappear this Wednesday for a meeting with Victoria Villarruel, the far-right who will replace her in office as of December 10. The expectation is enormous. Villarruel, 48, represents in politics everything that the Peronist leader detests. The granddaughter and daughter of soldiers, she has been demanding the freedom of those convicted of crimes against humanity committed during the dictatorship for years. She also opposes the abortion law approved in 2020 and other regulations that are the pride of Argentina’s progressive sectors, such as those on equal marriage.
Villarruel publicly rants against the presence in the current Government of what he calls “children of terrorists,” and considers the president of the Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo, Estela de Carlotto, “a sinister character.” The criticisms point to the heart of one of the main flags of Kirchnerism, that of human rights.
Cristina Kirchner stayed out of the campaign for the presidency and left the job in the hands of Sergio Massa, her candidate. She even had a trip scheduled for this week to Italy, where she would give a talk at a university. She decided to suspend it after the defeat of Peronism, much more overwhelming than expected.
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