There are 10 days left before Javier Milei takes office as president and the assembly of his cabinet is in full swing.
As part of the "chainsaw plan" the libertarian proposed a reduction of the State: of the current 18 ministries, only 8 will remain. Almost all the names of that selection are closed, although some will not be officially confirmed until the fine print of the contract with Mauricio Macri's PRO and the non-K Peronism with which they are also exploring alliances in search of governability.
In the middle of this process, libertarians of the first hour such as former Menem members Carlos Rodríguez, Darío Epstein, and Emilio Ocampo, called by Milei "the skull of dollarization," were left out of the race or stepped aside. Also the deputy and former gubernatorial candidate Carolina Píparo, who had been confirmed by Milei himself and then ran her to put a man linked to the governor of Córdoba Juan Schiaretti.
Also, within the framework of the logic of alliances, a myriad of key secretariats, such as Health or Education, and strategic areas, such as the Federal Intelligence Agency, remain to be defined.
In the economic package, after several defections, it is not known who will preside over the Central Bank that Milei wants to "close" or the National Bank.
The Confirmed Ones
CHIEF OF STAFF - NICOLAS POSSE
He is an engineer and has been the coordinator of the libertarian technical teams since the campaign. He is in charge of designing the bases of the government plan and the organization chart of the State and now he points out with Milei and his sister Karina the assembly of the cabinet. Milei met him because they both worked for businessman Eduardo Eurnekian. He is still listed on Linkedin as "Project Director at Aeropuertos Argentina 2000", the holding company of the Armenian executive, although he had to take a leave of absence. He was also singled out as a "fundraiser" of the space.
MINISTER OF THE INTERIOR - GUILLERMO FRANCOS
He started in politics in Francisco Manrique's Federal Party. Later, he founded Action for the Republic with Cavallo when the economist left the Menem government. He was an official very close to Daniel Scioli, whom he accompanied in the Buenos Aires administration as president of Banco Provincia, and now comes from the Inter-American Development Bank, where he was chosen by Alberto Fernández to represent Argentina and Haiti.
FOREIGN AFFAIRS: DIANA MONDINO
Photo: Luciano Thieberger.
Private sector economist and current director of Institutional Affairs and professor of Finance at CEMA University. She was a director in companies listed in Argentina and NYSE such as Pampa Energía, Banco Supervielle and Loma Negra, in addition to being in charge of the Latin American region for Standard & Poor's, based in New York.
LUIS "TOTO" CAPUTO
One of the last confirmed by Milei. The "Messi" of finance, as Mauricio Macri called him in the past, has ahead of him the task of solving "the leliq bomb". The libertarian said that if that is not dismantled it could well bring "hyperinflation" and that Caputo is the best for that task. Caputo was finance minister and president of the Central Bank during the Cambiemos administration.
MINISTRY OF JUSTICE: MARIANO CUNEO LIBARONA
The media lawyer of the 90's - known for the Coppola case - was confirmed by Milei himself the day after the election and is known to Milei because he has been Eurnekian's lawyer for more than 30 years. As soon as it was confirmed, he met with the Supreme Court and said that the impeachment trial against the magistrates initiated in Congress is "infamous."
The judges of the Supreme Court with Mariano Cúneo Libarona.
HUMAN CAPITAL: SANDRA PETTOVELLO
Former producer and journalist, psychological consultant and graduate in Family Sciences, who is part of the inner circle of the Milei brothers. It will have under its orbit the key areas of Health, Work and Children and Family.
MINISTRY OF INFRASTRUCTURE: GUILLERMO FERRARO
During the second part of the campaign, he was in charge of the audit. He is a former official of Eduardo Duhalde and Cambiemos en la Ciudad. He headed the consulting firm KPMG until April.
SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE PRESIDENCY: KARINA MILEI
"The boss," as her brother calls her, is Milei's most trusted person and the one who manages her schedule. She is a public relations specialist and artist, sculpting and painting. She was not and does not want to be a candidate for anything. According to Milei, she is "the most wonderful being that exists in this universe" and is "largely responsible" for the success of La Libertad Avanza.
Milei in the United States - Javier Milei - Karina Milei.Luis Caputo - Santiago Caputo - Nicolas Posse - Gerardo Werthein.Fresh from the White House meeting with Jake Sullivan, US National Security Advisor - Twitter
ANSES: OSVALDO GIORDANO
The economist has been Cordoba's finance minister since 2015. However, his first position alongside the governor of Cordoba, Juan Schiaretti, was as secretary of Social Welfare of the province, between 2007 and 2015. He was confirmed at the place that had initially been confirmed to Carolina Píparo, who was rushed to appoint him.
PRESIDENTIAL SPOKESMAN: MANUEL ADORNI
He is an economist and journalist, a columnist in print and television media. "I am enormously grateful to President-elect Javier Milei for having placed the trust in me to exercise such responsibility," Adorni said this week. At this year's Martín Fierro Digital Awards, he was the winner of the "best twitterer" shortlist.
ENERGY- EDUARDO RODRIGUEZ CHIRILLO
The UCA lawyer worked in the Ministry of Energy, headed by Carlos Bastos, in the first government of Carlos Menem, when the State reform, deregulation and privatization were executed. He is a founding partner of the international consulting firm ERC specialising in electricity, renewable energies, gas and oil.
U.S. AMBASSADOR - GERARDO WERTHEIN
A veterinarian by profession, Gerardo Werthein served for more than 10 years in the presidency of the Argentine Olympic Committee and maintains an executive role on the board of directors of the International Olympic Committee. Its origin comes from one of the richest families in the country, owner of a holding company, with businesses from agriculture, the food industry, energy, health, real estate developments and telecommunications, media tech.
AMBASSADOR OF BRAZIL - DANIEL SCIOLI
The former jet ski racer with a degree in marketing is now Argentina's ambassador to Brazil. He was Vice President of Argentina from 2003 to 2007 and Governor of Buenos Aires Province from 2007 to 2015. That year he lost the presidential runoff against Mauricio Macri.
Those that have yet to be made official and the possible
Although it has not been confirmed, Patricia Bullrich has a good chance of returning to the Security portfolio. The former presidential candidate is promoting her former vice-presidential candidate, Luis Petri, for the leadership of Defense. But the latter is not confirmed. He is still trying to carve out to define the future occupant of the chair of the Libertador Building, with great ties to the different armed forces, Victoria Villarruel.
Photo by DIEGO LIMA / AFP)
The confirmation of the leadership of both portfolios, and indeed, of dozens of secretaries of the future cabinet, will depend on how the so-called "PRO package" is closed. To this end, there should be a summit in the coming days between Milei and Mauricio Macri.
One of the first collaborators of the libertarian leader in his leap into politics, Ramiro Marra, could be the chief adviser to the Presidency.
To take care of the president-elect's signature, Santiago Viola sounds like secretary of Legal and Technical, Karina Milei's trusted lawyer, who accompanied her hours before the runoff in her presentation before the Electoral Justice in the face of suspicions of possible fraud. However, this lawyer also has a chance to take over the Treasury Attorney's Office.
In the last few hours it became known that Francos offered María Eugenia Talerico to take charge of the National Directorate of Migration. It remains to be confirmed that it will be made official, although it will attend a transition meeting on Monday.
As Secretary of Innovation, an area that would be under the orbit of the Chief of Staff and would be in charge of cutting the staffing of the agencies – that is, the pruning of the state plant – the chances of Alejandro Cosentino, current owner of a Fintech, grow. The former president of the Central Bank, Federico Sturzenegger, had also been floated for that position.
To lead the oil company YPF, one of the "grandmother's jewels" that Milei intends to privatize, the chosen one would be Horacio Marín, a trusted executive of Paolo Rocca, the head of Techint.
After Eduardo Filgueira Lima slammed the door on the Ministry of Health, due to discussions with Pettovello, doubts are growing in the super-ministry of Human Capital. Although Omar Yasín, who is close to former minister Jorge Triaca, would be appointed to the Ministry of Labor and Pablo de la Torre, and Pablo de la Torre would be appointed to the Ministry of Social Development, it remains to be seen who would be in charge of the health and education areas.
In relation to the latter secretariat, the coordinator of the area, Soledad Urrutia, would have had a strong confrontation with the future minister a few hours ago.
"Toto" Caputo's closure of the economic team will determine who takes over the Central Bank, according to a close associate of Milei. After the defections of Emilio Ocampo and Demian Reidel, the small table of LLA is still looking for an economist who will "integrate" the idea of the future head of the Treasury Palace. There is also no certainty about who will preside over the strategic Banco Nación.