Javier Milei and Alberto Fernández, on November 21, at the Olivos presidential residence in Buenos Aires. MATIAS BAGLIETTO (Portal)
Argentina begins the change of government. President Alberto Fernández received this Tuesday at his residence Javier Milei, the right-wing extremist who won the second round of elections on Sunday. The tone of the meeting was friendly and respectful, Casa Rosada reports, and was used by the coordinators of their respective teams to agree on the agenda for information sharing. Now an accelerated process of just three weeks begins, in which the Ultra must also decide on the names of its ministers.
The greatest expectation lies in the name of the head of the economy, the future responsible for extricating Argentina from its worst crisis since the 2001 crisis, that of the Corralito and “Let everyone go”. The same spirit of protest brought Milei to power, even though he was unknown in politics just two years ago. In any case, the markets celebrated the triumph of a candidate who promised during the election campaign to dollarize the economy, privatize companies and free trade from tariffs and bureaucratic obstacles. The Buenos Aires stock market surged as much as 20.8% at the opening after a holiday on Monday, driven largely by state oil company YPF, which Milei said will be up for sale.
The meeting between Fernández and his successor was scheduled for Monday, but due to differences over time and place it had to be postponed to Tuesday. There were more expectations about the tone than the content, which was ultimately limited to the minutes. Milei campaigned on a promise to eradicate Kirchnerism, the version of Peronism that has dominated Argentine politics for 20 years, but in direct conversation with Fernández he took care of its form.
“The meeting took place at the presidential residence of Olivos, with the aim of starting the institutional transition process between the teams designated by both in the different areas of government,” reported Casa Rosada. The transmission of information is carried out from ministry to ministry, but this time it will be extremely difficult as Milei has decided to reduce the number of portfolios from 18 to eight, which is the first step towards achieving its state minimum target. The most radical change will affect the ministries of health, education, social development and labor, which will be merged into a single agency called human capital.
The spending cuts are complemented by an ambitious privatization agenda comparable only to that of Menem in the 1990s. Kirchnerism reversed many of these sales, such as YPF, the water company and Aerolíneas Argentinas. The promise of them returning to private hands is exciting markets that have turned to the far right. The Buenos Aires Stock Exchange rose nearly 22% minutes after opening, driven by a 40% rise in the state oil company’s shares. For this reason, there was no Black Tuesday, a fear that prevailed after a Monday without financial activity.
This time the government did not implement currency devaluation, as it did after the defeat of its candidate and Economy Minister Sergio Massa in the August primary elections. The price of the blue dollar, which is determined by supply and demand in the informal market, remained at around 1,000 pesos without any significant jumps. “The market’s relationship with Kirchnerism has always been contradictory and the end of this economic model is causing great excitement among stock market operators and investors,” says Javier Timerman of Adcap Grupo Financiero. Timerman adds that the financial sector is positive about Milei’s promised reforms, such as major fiscal adjustment and privatizations, in addition to its commitment to meet external debt obligations. The biggest doubt is about the capacity it will have to carry out its actions. “The support of [expresidente Mauricio] Macri gives him credibility and political support for the government. I think Milei would have won without their support, but the market reaction wouldn’t have been the same,” says Timerman.
A call from Pope Francis
As the winner of the presidential election, Javier Milei received a congratulatory call from Pope Francis, a usual gesture that this time acquired great political relevance. During the election campaign, the Ultra railed against his compatriot, whom he accused of being a “representative of evil on earth” and “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 made pope in 2013. Since then, he has been to Chile, Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia, Colombia and other Latin American countries, but never returned to his own country to avoid becoming involved in domestic politics. His words from the Vatican are being interpreted in Argentina as coded messages to the government and the opposition, despite Bergoglio’s efforts to deny this. Milei took advantage of this communication noise and stormed furiously against Francisco, while his rival Sergio Massa considered him “the most important Argentine in history”.
During the final presidential debate, which took place a week before the election, Milei apologized to Francisco. He said he expressed his insults “when he was not yet in politics.” “I have no problem repeating that I’m sorry,” he said. The Pope accepted the gesture with the intention of closing the gap that had opened between them.
Cristina Kirchner returns
Vice President Cristina Kirchner will appear again this Wednesday for a meeting with Victoria Villarruel, the right-wing extremist who will replace her in office from December 10th. The expectation is huge. The 48-year-old Villarruel represents everything in politics that the Peronist leader detests. As the granddaughter and daughter of soldiers, she has been calling for years for the release of those convicted of crimes against humanity committed during the dictatorship. He also rejects the abortion law passed in 2020 and other regulations that Argentina’s progressive sectors are proud of, such as those on equal marriage.
Villarruel publicly rails against the presence of “children of terrorists” in the current government and considers the president of the Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo, Estela de Carlotto, “a sinister figure.” The criticism points to the core of one of the main themes of Kirchnerism, namely human rights.
Cristina Kirchner stayed out of the presidential election campaign and left the office to her candidate Sergio Massa. He even had a trip planned for this week to Italy, where he would give a lecture at a university. He decided to suspend it after the defeat of Peronism, which was much more overwhelming than expected.