The first hours of the far-right Javier Milei as president of Argentina give some clues about what his Government will be like, although definitions are still missing. On Sunday, Milei was sworn in before Congress and gave his inauguration speech with his back to the Legislative Assembly; He predicted more poverty, more hunger and even hyperinflation for the coming years; Then he went to the Casa Rosada accompanied by his sister, Karina Milei, and on the way he got out of the car to pet a dog; he greeted foreign leaders and leaders; he swore in his Cabinet ministers behind closed doors; He went to the Metropolitan Cathedral and, an hour later than expected, arrived at the gala at the Colón Theater; Several times along the way he broke protocol. On Monday he woke up again at the Libertador hotel, the operations center of La Libertad Avanza, his party, although he will eventually have to move to the presidential residence; He held his first Cabinet meeting with nine ministers and his spokesperson assured that the economic announcements will begin this Tuesday. These have been some milestones of Milei's first 48 hours as president:
1. The first decrees
Milei issued the first decrees of his mandate, which modify the State's organizational chart. The ministries will be nine and the secretariats will be three, as published on Monday in the Official Gazette. In this way, Milei gives a first example of the reduction in public spending that he intends to make. His Cabinet portfolios will be half of those in the previous Government, of Peronist Alberto Fernández: Interior; Foreign Relations, International Trade and Worship; Defense, Economy, Infrastructure, Justice, Security, Health and Human Capital. The three secretariats will be General, Legal and Technical and Communication and Press.
The president also modified a decree signed by former conservative president Mauricio Macri (2015-2019) that prohibited the appointments in the public sector of people with any relationship to the president, the vice president, the chief of staff or the ministers. He did so to appoint his younger sister, Karina Milei, general secretary of the Presidency, a position intended for the head of state's most trusted people. The new decree authorizes “the appointments that the President of the Nation makes by virtue of the powers conferred on him by the Constitution.”
2. “The saying 'there is no money' is not a cliché”
Milei assumed the Presidency of Argentina with the story of an epic: he assured that with it “the sad story of decadence and decline ends” in Argentina and “a new era begins.” “There will be light at the end of the tunnel,” she assured, but before that she announced that she would make a cut of 20 billion dollars: “There is no possible alternative to the adjustment, there is no money.” This Monday, after the first Cabinet meeting, the presidential spokesperson, Manuel Adorni, returned to those words and warned: “The 'there is no money' thing is not a cliché.” Adorni explained that the adjustment measures finalized by the Minister of Economy, Luis Caputo, will be accompanied by the elimination of privileges and an exhaustive inventory to know what resources they have. In addition, all contracts of public employees will be reviewed in search of contracting irregularities “and 100% presence will begin to be required in the workplaces of the national public administration.”
3. A speech with his back to Congress and with false data
When the far-right received the presidential attributes from the Peronist Alberto Fernández on Sunday, he did not address the deputies and senators gathered in the Legislative Assembly. It was an unprecedented decision and a symbolic gesture that for some analysts shows the populist component that the new Government will have. Milei decided to give his speech outside Congress. In this way, he spoke facing the followers who had come to the square to support him and with his back to the legislators, representatives chosen by the electorate, but who constitute for him “the political caste.”
The experts who analyzed the presidential speech also highlighted the presence of numerous false, exaggerated or questionable data. For example, Milei insisted that Argentina was “the first world power” at the beginning of the 20th century, when it never occupied that place, as shown the Chequeado portalor said that the country “has become a bloodbath,” when the homicide rate is less than five per 100,000 inhabitants, a figure much lower than most Latin American countries.
4. “He who makes it, pays for it”
On Sunday, Milei traveled the two kilometers between Congress and the Government House in a convertible with her sister, Karina, who was by her side almost the entire day — the president's partner, Fátima Florez, was present, but not accompanied him so closely. The thousands of Milei followers gathered on Sunday in the center of Buenos Aires repeated three slogans: “Freedom!”, “Argentina!” and “Police!”, the latter in reference to the “moral authority” that Milei intends to return to the security forces and the heavy hand that he has promised in the streets.
At one point, someone from the public threw a glass bottle that passed near Milei's head and hit one of the caravan escorts, who was treated by doctors for a cut on his head. The alleged attacker has already been identified by the police, although it is still unknown how the authorities will proceed. The reaction of the new Minister of Security, Patricia Bullrich, reaffirmed on Monday the imprint that the Government will have in this matter. “He who makes them, pays for them,” Bullrich wrote in a message on the social network X.
5. No press access to the oath of ministers
Another unprecedented gesture by the new Government was the decision not to broadcast live or allow press access to the swearing-in of the ministers who make up the new Cabinet. Milei's team explained in a message sent to the press that there were three reasons: “The president said that the situation in Argentina is critical”, “there is nothing to celebrate” and “the swearing-in is a private event so that the ministers can get to work.” But the restriction was considered “unacceptable” by the Argentine Journalism Forum (Fopea), which expressed its concern about an action that it considers “arbitrary and exclusive”: “Both the president and his officials are public representatives who have the duty to account. to the citizens of the projects and decisions inherent to their management.”
6. The intention to govern from Olivos
Milei has expressed his intention to govern from the presidential residence, in Olivos, the wealthy outskirts of Buenos Aires, and go as little as possible to the Casa Rosada, which is the seat of Government, in the center of the Argentine capital. Like many of the things she has said, we will have to see if this finally happens. The Quinta de Olivos, where at least 16 Argentine presidents have lived, is being prepared for the arrival of Milei and her four mastiffs: Robert, Milton, Murray, and Luke, they are clones of your dog Conan, that already died. The faces of the five mascots are carved on the baton that the ultra received from Alberto Fernández on Sunday. The design was carried out by César Pontoriero and Hugo Pascual, and not by Juan Carlos Pallarols, the historic goldsmith who made the canes of all the presidents since the return to democracy, except this one.
7. Blessings and warnings in the religious ceremony
The interreligious ceremony at the Metropolitan Cathedral was headed by Archbishop Jorge García Cuevas, who conveyed a message of high political content to the ultraliberal economist. “We know that one of the most widespread modern conceptions of freedom is this: 'My freedom ends where yours begins.' But the relationship, the link is missing here! It is an individualistic vision,” said the religious, who has worked in popular neighborhoods in Argentina and was appointed in May by Pope Francis, whom Milei referred to as an “imbecile” and a “disgusting lefty.” An ideological reference for Milei, Alberto Benegas Lynch, even suggested during the campaign that Argentina should “suspend diplomatic relations with the Vatican.”
The intervention of Rabbi Shimon Axel Wahnish was, however, closer. “Mr. President, today is his first day. “What is your wish?” the head of the Argentine Jewish-Moroccan community asked Milei. “Put Argentina on its feet,” responded the far-right, who is of Catholic origin, but has studied the Torah with Wahnish and has expressed his intention to align his Government with the State of Israel. “I am going to ask God to grant you, dear Mr. President, nothing more and nothing less than what you have been asking God for a long time and you are surely asking Him now. Three things: wisdom, temperance and courage,” the rabbi said and then noted: “Exactly the same thing that King Solomon asked for.”
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