“I'm not going to be a minister, I'm going to put together the team and I'm going to control the management
. ”
The phrase is attributed to one of the men who holds a share of power in the Government of Javier Milei but who
does not have any position in the Executive
.
These are not political operators in the style of Enrique “Coti” Nosiglia, the Menemist José Luis Manzano or the late Peronist Juan Carlos “Chueco” Mazzon.
Their function was to negotiate, open doors and close alliances.
The current ones
operate and manage as if they were “shadow ministers.”
The paradigmatic case is that of
Federico Sturzenegger
.
He does not have any official position in the government, however, he is one of the economists who has been in the Casa Rosada the most times.
He spent full days at the Olivos residence preparing the mega DNU 70/2023 and the failed Omnibus Law, which reached Congress and fell in the Chamber of Deputies.
Another case stands out in the Health area.
He was exposed after the surprising decision to run the bullrichista
Enrique Chiantore of the Superintendence of Health Services, the body that manages the millionaire funds for social works.
To this day, no one knows the reasons for their displacement, although Chiantore himself would argue that
"when a group gains power in a government it tries to occupy different positions and those are the rules of the game
. "
He was referring to the one headed by Nicolás Posse's Chief of Staff.
The person who ordered Chiantore to be fired was
Mario Lugones
.
“We can talk whenever you want, but things have a dynamic. "We made changes in the Superintendency
," was the explanation that Lugones gave, highlighting the
"we did,"
and showing himself as part of an active mechanism in the Government.
In fact, it was Lugones himself who interviewed Chiantore for the superintendent position and then approved him.
The Superintendency of Health Services also controls private medicine companies and has a key role in implementing the changes in the system established by DNU 70, such as the deregulation of social works and the incorporation of prepaid contributions in the contribution. of 20%.
The influential presidential advisor Santiago Caputo.
Photo: Federico López
Secretary of the Argentine Federation of Health Providers and president of the Sanatorio Güemes Foundation in which he is
a partner of “Coti” Nosiglia, the gastronomic Luis Barrionuevo and the former president of Independiente Julio Comparada
, Lugones is the father of Rodrigo Lugones, one of the partners of Santiago Caputo, Milei's advisor with extensive powers.
There are those who report that during
a meeting between Mario Lugones and Santiago Caputo
in the first days of the libertarian government, the presidential advisor asked him without filters:
“What do you want?”
.
From the response came the management of the PAMI, as well as other areas related to Health.
The striking thing was that when Lugones asked his son's partner if he should not consult Milei before, the response was in the tone,
"no, I don't have to consult anything."
Santiago Caputo has the position of advisor, although his role is that of another minister, because his word is that of Javier Milei.
PAMI is the largest social organization in the country, with 5 million members.
It has national reach, a plant of more than 15,000 employees, represents 35% of the pharmaceutical industry's drug sales and accounts for 1% of GDP.
According to official data from 2023, this involved 1.6 trillion pesos or more than 4.3 billion dollars.
It is almost 10% of national health spending.
Mario Lugones not only manages PAMI and decisions about the organization, such as the recent purge of hierarchical personnel linked to La Cámpora.
He is also one of the main designers of the deregulation of social works and
controls the management of Health, above the Minister of Health himself, Mario Russo.
Just as at the time Sturzenegger notified the now former head of Anses Osvaldo Giordano that it had been decided to suspend the retirement formula and the adjustments would be applied by decree - something that finally fell like the entire omnibus law -, Lugones informed Russo that It had been decided to remove Chiantore and, in addition, he warned him that it was a decision that should not be leaked.
“Russo's role is very blurred
,” they say at the Casa Rosada.
To such an extent, Lugones is a kind of shadow Minister of Health, that officials at the level of secretaries, undersecretaries and directors
must report to him for their management
.
But not via zoom, whatsapp or with a cell phone call.
They must go to
the offices of the Chief of Staff
that Lugones occupies at 500 Diagonal Norte. There they bring him decrees, appointments and present his performance.
Control is total.
On one occasion, the owner of Swiss Medical and Medicus, as well as a representative of the prepaid companies,
Claudio Belocopitt
, appeared in the entrance hall of the Ministry of Health to demand to see an official, although he did not have an audience.
While he was waiting to be received, something that ultimately did not happen, Lugones had already been notified of his presence.
A control with informants in all areas.
The labor area is not exempt from unemployed officials but they pull the strings in key decisions.
The radial point is always Nicolás Posse.
Julio Cordero
is one of the mentors of the labor reform phase that showed both the DNU and the omnibus law.
Labor lawyer who works for the Argentine Industrial Union (UIA), Techint and is a delegate of the ILO, he forms a two-headed body with Miguel Ponte.
During the electoral campaign, he joined Patricia Bullrich's teams.
Although they clarify that Cordero is not a Secretary of Labor parallel to the official in charge, Omar Yasin, they point out that
his role is to ensure that officials are clear about what they have to do
within the framework of generalized deregulation.
“Cordero is more into transactional matters
,” agreements, agreements, says someone who knows him.
It was no coincidence that he accompanied Guillermo Francos to a secret meeting with representatives of Gerardo Martínez's UOCRA union a few days after Milei's inauguration, to discuss the labor reform chapter of the DNU that was later published but that today is being prosecuted by the CGT.
"Milei has a different logic from the traditional one, and it is difficult to understand how he structures his management. Many members of the cabinet are painted, and those who pull the strings are outside
," summarizes a leader of La Libertad Avanza.
Nicolás Posse with President Milei (with his back turned) and Chancellor Mondino.
Photo: Telam
The problem results in the
lack of government interlocutors and the discredit of cabinet officials
.
Guillermo Francos knows this, who spoke with the allied opponents during the treatment of the omnibus law, but later it was Santiago Caputo who had the final decision.