The internal bidding in the Argentine Foreign Ministry has been a constant in almost a year of Javier Milei’s government and had as a corollary the departure of its head, Diana Mondino, a month ago. The new chancellor, Gerardo Werthein, has expelled the Argentine ambassador to Spain, Roberto Bosch, in the last few hours. The career diplomat was in the sights of the Casa Rosada since the far-right Argentine president came into conflict with the socialist government of Pedro Sánchez.
The Foreign Ministry has been a central focus of the differences between far-right factions: Mondino tried to coordinate with the more traditional diplomatic corps, an aspect that short-circuited with the Executive. Milei got angry with her for the vote against the United States embargo on Cuba in the United Nations General Assembly.
With the new Foreign Minister Werthein, Argentina has already voted alone against two UN resolutions: one that seeks to promote the rights of indigenous peoples and another, “eliminate forms of violence against women and girls.” Furthermore, Argentina’s position at the last G20 summit put objections to the 2030 Agenda on the table, although it signed the joint declaration.
National authorities are still evaluating Bosch’s replacement, since it is a key position for relations with European organizations, and several forces are fighting for that place. From those around Daniel Scioli, current Secretary of Tourism, Sports and Environment, they were in charge of denying the rumors of an alleged interest in the position. Scioli was ambassador to Brazil during the government of Alberto Fernández.
Bosch was Ricardo Alfonsín’s right-hand man when the radical leader was in charge of the Argentine embassy in Madrid (during the Peronist government of Alberto Fernández). After Alfonsín’s departure, Bosch was promoted to the first office in the diplomatic headquarters by Mondino’s decision.
Milei’s trip to Madrid
Since May, Bosch was in the crosshairs of an Executive ultra involved in diplomatic crises with the Spanish authorities. Bosch notified the Sánchez government in writing that the trip Milei made to Madrid, where he participated in the Vox event, was a “private visit” and not official, which was considered a mistake. The Argentine ambassador had to give explanations to the Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares, angered by Milei’s statements, who accused Begoña Gómez, Sánchez’s wife, of being corrupt – in relation to the complaint filed by Manos Liminas.
After the Argentine president refused to apologize for his words, the socialist ruler decided to return his ambassador in Buenos Aires, María Jesús Alonso. Milei also considered doing the same, but kept Bosch at his destination. Yes, the ambassador had come under scrutiny.
Months later, the bilateral relationship is seeking normal channels. After the inauguration of the new Argentine chancellor, Albares assured that his main objective in the country is “to achieve the maximum level of trust and mutual respect in political and institutional terms that both peoples deserve.” A week ago, Werthein received the new ambassador to the country, Joaquín de Aristegui Laborde.
Huerta del Soto, the guru
Diplomatic sources indicate that Milei reproached Bosch for not having built a good relationship with Jesús Huerta de Soto, the reference of “anarcho-capitalism” and guru of the Argentine president. The billionaire insurance businessman and Spanish professor presented the ultra president with the Juan de Mariana 2024 Award. The outgoing ambassador also did not have a good relationship with the commercial representative of the diplomatic headquarters, Alejandro Nimo, who had good ties with businessmen close to the president.
“Bosch is a career diplomat. It must be very difficult to be an ambassador with this government. The new chancellor will be looking to appoint someone close. Werthein already said that he is only aligned with the United States and Israel, thus justifying not having been in the Vatican to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the peace treaty between Argentina and Chile. “This minister says everything yes to the Executive,” Federico Polak, former representative for business activity at the Argentine embassy in Madrid between 2020-2021, tells elDiario.es.
Meanwhile, Bosch awaits, not without surprise, the presidential decree ordering his return to Buenos Aires. It is not the only change in the Foreign Ministry: Werthein also displaced the consul general in New York, Pablo Piñeiro Aramburu, with whom he worked when he was ambassador to the United States. Aramburu had been left very exposed after images of a Halloween party he organized at his residence were revealed, and to which dozens of people were invited. Replacing him will be Gerardo Díaz Bartolomé, who served in the embassy in Washington under Martín Lousteau during the conservative government of Mauricio Macri.
In addition, it emerged that the government is evaluating a replacement in the Chinese embassy, a country with which Milei achieved rapprochement. The Argentine president, after repeatedly saying that he would not negotiate with communist countries, was able to contain his verbosity and held a bilateral meeting with Xi Jinping during the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro.
#Milei #fires #Argentine #ambassador #Madrid #Spanish #ultra
