-What assessment do you make of these first months of Javier Milei's management?
-When we took office, the tragedy was two meters away, Argentina was exploded. The questions before December 10 were when everything was going to blow up, about the arrival of hyperinflation or when the economy would finish collapsing due to the problem of importers. Three months later, they ask us when we are going to lift the stocks, when the recovery begins or when inflation is going to be 1 percent. That is why I believe that the balance of this beginning of management is very positive, a success.
-Kirchnerism says that there were problems but at least one State was present.
-What they say is amazing! A story: the State was absolutely abandoned, Argentina was destroyed, with 50 percent poor and an economy not functioning and with no chance of doing so because there were no reserves in the Central Bank. We had a default with importers of more than 42 billion dollars, a slowed economy and we were also isolated from the world, with friends like Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua and North Korea.
Interview with Manuel Adorni, spokesman for the presidency of the Nation. Photo: Guillermo Rodriguez Adami
-Alberto Fernández used to say that he had inherited "scorched earth" from Macrismo. Milei, what did he inherit?
-I don't believe that Macrismo's legacy was like this, but even if it were like that, what we got was 100,000 times worse than what Alberto Fernández inherited. It was the worst government in history, by far.
-How worrying is the current situation of the economy?
-We've already taken the trash out from under the carpet and we're honest about the economy. Now we are at that inflection point where, after the corrections and very high inflation, which was artificially contained, we are generating confidence, with orderly public accounts and a transparent economy. We are not moving from our north and we understand that in a few months we will be able to start telling better news. The lifting of the stocks, as the President said, will be a great change of era.
-What mistakes do you admit you made?
-I agree with the President. I think it was a mistake to have thought that we could have a modern dialogue with some governors. We quickly came across reality.
Interview with Manuel Adorni, spokesman for the presidency of the Nation. Photo: Guillermo Rodriguez Adami
-So, is there going to be the May Pact?
-It does not depend on us. The President proposed ten basic points, it would be strange if any of the 24 jurisdictions had something to observe in that direction.
-Kicillof said that if it doesn't arrive, "start"...
-But he himself said that he did not agree with contributing more than what he receives in terms of co-participation, and it is another of the issues that we want to debate. So it catches our attention that he says that. Anyway, if the governor doesn't arrive, we'll start.
-The President conditioned the Pact to the Base Law. What happens if it is not approved?
-The Bases Law is going to come out. It seems to me that politics understood that times have changed. And he also understood that governability is not given to you by a small group of politicians who agree to govern, but rather by the people. And, unfortunately for some, people maintain support, hope and trust in Milei.
-Isn't it too risky a bet? What are they going to do if they ever do poorly in the polls, as happened to all governments?
-Why should it happen? What is new about Milei is that she is fulfilling everything she promised during the campaign and that is the bet. Why, if 56 percent voted for something that you are fulfilling, will they then turn their backs on you? We ensure governability by delivering for the people and we talk to all sectors: what we are not willing to do is "give and take", "I give you this in exchange for that."
-Are there opponents who want to overthrow Milei?
-I believe that there are many people who are interested in Milei not moving forward and in the Government failing as soon as possible. I have no doubt that there are several who dream of the helicopter and who are in a hurry because they see that Milei is doing well and they know that if she does well they will not return and will be left out of politics.
Interview with Manuel Adorni, spokesman for the presidency of the Nation. Photo: Guillermo Rodriguez Adami
-Doesn't it make you noise that the IMF has asked to review the "quality" of the adjustment and "support the most vulnerable sectors"?
-No not at all. We agree with the Fund. And if there is a sector that we are helping, it is the most vulnerable, especially the youngest, who are the future of Argentina and it is essential that they be cared for. What we did do, thanks to the great work of Minister (Sandra) Pettovello, is to put an end to the spurious business that existed around social assistance. The Argentine politicians who now say that we do not take care of the poor were the ones who until ten minutes ago used them to do business.
-Opponents from different sectors accused the Government of having rogue groups. As the head of communications, what do you have to say?
-It is something that was said about all governments. I understand that there are a lot of fans and people who defend all projects and that other people, no matter what happens, are always going to throw a digital stone at the government, right?
-Isn't there, as some say, a "call center" in Casa Rosada?
-There is nothing like that. In what was the Women's Hall and today is the Hall of Heroes, the Digital Communication Directorate operates, which depends on my area. But I ask: What is the point of there being a troll farm, as some call it?
-Well, sometimes it is difficult to explain how there can be so many coordinated users with the same discursive strategy.
-In the networks there is a Domino Effect. For me, being a journalist, it happened to me that there were times when I wrote something and thousands of users replicated it. So they could accuse me of having a farm of trolls and yet I didn't even know them. It seems amazing to me that there are people who without charging a penny, and just for an idea, get hooked on doing phenomenal things, in terms of video and image production.
-Don't you think they are seeking to intimidate opponents, critical journalists and curtail freedom of expression? Kirchnerism did it with that purpose.
-Well that is not our idea, and we do not support any act that goes against freedom of the press.
-Why does Milei target the media so much?
-The President does not target the media, he targets particular characters and perhaps some media owners. He has no animosity towards anyone. He is super respectful but he also has the right to clarify when something is said that is not true. What happens is that they wanted to install the image that he is anti-democratic, but I doubt that there is a government that is more in favor of freedom of expression than Milei's.
-Why, then, did Telam close?
-It has nothing to do with it. One thing is what the taxpayer relies on and another thing is freedom of expression. We defend taxpayers' money. In the case of Telam, it made no sense that 964 employees were supported by a society that was 50 percent poor. All public companies are liable to close, be privatized or handed over to employees.
-Let's change the subject. Aren't you worried that, except for the Civic Coalition, Ariel Lijo's nomination to the Supreme Court is supported by almost all of politics?
-No, why should it draw our attention?
-This is a very important position on which generally what the Government considers "caste" wants to have an opinion...
-Everyone has their position. In the case of Court judges, there are those who propose that one of the replacements be a woman and we think it is barbaric that it should be discussed. Here the President proposed two names, two different profiles, with different stories and with different questions. Let it be debated and if not (they are approved), there will be two more.
-In December the Government said that no state employee who went to work was going to be left without a job, however they are canceling contracts of people who did. Was there a rethink?
-No, we always thought and said the same thing. There were places in the State that had no reason to exist. If you have a person who goes to work all day to put a stamp on a blank piece of paper, something that does not generate any benefit for the country, it does not make any sense. What we are doing is transforming the State.
-The President spoke of canceling 70 thousand contracts and the Government clarified that it will be in stages, in the coming months. Does the cut end there?
-No, no, each State position is under permanent evaluation. At this stage, there are 76 thousand contracts but all contracts are still under review according to the needs of each area. The work of auditing public employment is very complex.
-Finally, was it necessary to reopen the debate on March 24 at this time? Was there not a lack of repudiation of the dictatorship?
-We did the repudiation and we do it. It was something horrible, horrible on both sides. But perhaps what is being appealed to is that, with an episode that happened 50 years ago, it is effectively that Justice comes to everyone.
From the blog about economics to the Casa Rosada and the history behind the "Fin"
Manuel Adorni does not want to know anything about being compared to Gabriela Cerruti, who fulfilled a similar function in the government of Alberto Fernández. He even corrected the person who called him "spokesperson" more than once and recalled that his position is that of presidential spokesperson: "There is no similarity between what I do and what she did," he replies, with an ironic tone, despite You are reminded that the former deputy also gave press conferences and was in charge of Government communication. In short, in the more than three months that he has been in office, this economist seeks to differentiate his task and says he continues to feel "part of the press." He claims to want to set his own style and relativizes the conflicts that, like his predecessor, he had with journalists. "I have a good relationship with everyone, even with those who are related to Kirchnerism. Sometimes I obviously don't agree on some issues, but that is not going to break up the personal relationship: in fact I could sit down with anyone to chat without any problem. In There are journalists on the networks who kill me, like Pablo Duggan and Jorge Rial, and sometimes I answer, but always on my side with respect. I think it's part of the show," he says.
It was precisely in a medium aligned with Kirchnerism that Adorni met Javier Milei. "One day, ten years ago, after sharing a panel at C5N, we exchanged telephone numbers and that's how this friendship was born. But today I respect him as President. If when I go to see him he doesn't say 'sit' to me, I won't sit down. If he doesn't He says 'pass', not pass," he says about the link.
However, his presence in the Government is largely explained by not being able to say no to his friend the President and his sister, Karina Milei. "Politics never interested me, in fact originally I did not plan to be in the Government, but then circumstances took me," she confesses.
Raised in a family that he defines as "very wealthy" which later "the country was tearing apart like the majority of Argentines," Adorni remembers that his first steps in the media were taken by chance: "I wrote a blog that was called 'Politics on the Rocks' and was very critical of Kirchnerism and its economic policy. Once a producer read me and invited me to speak on a radio station in the interior. There another producer heard me and called me for another program. And here I am."
In parallel, he built a high profile on networks, where his acidic and bold style made him a public reference for liberalism. On Twitter, he imposed the word "End" to close each post, a trademark that he maintains as an official and communicates management issues. "It was born one time when I was responding to a Kirchnerist representative, I think, and I began to list all the bad things that her government had done. There were so many bad things that I had run out of characters. So, I deleted the last thing I had posted and put 'end 'That went viral and from there it became a seal," he reveals.
Itinerary
Manuel Adorni is 44 years old, has a wife and two children, Trinidad and Tomás. With a degree in Economics, a graduate of the National University of La Plata, and a university professor, he entered politics after Javier Milei assumed the Presidency. Previously, he had worked as a columnist in different media outlets, where he had imposed a provocative and refractory style to K economic policies. As an active user of the social network Twitter, in November 2023, APTRA awarded the Martín Fierro Digital in the category "Better Twitterer." In the Government he holds the position of spokesperson for the President, although as part of the circle of greatest trust of Milei and his sister Karina his functions transcend that role.
Right now
A challenge:
Do everything so that when my children are 20 years old they don't have to leave the country.
A dream:
May the fears about the future of Argentina disappear.
A project:
The one I am in now, collaborating to make Argentina better.
A leader:
President Javier Milei.
A hero:
There are many, but the one who best represents us is San Martín.
A book:
"The Godfather", by Mario Puzo.
A pleasure:
Every moment that I can share with my wife.
A society that you admire:
All those that are committed to developing.
A childhood memory:
The day my dad taught me to ride a bicycle.
A meal:
It depends on the day, but if I have to choose one, the roast.
A drink:
A glass of wine.
A movie:
The Godfather.
A series:
Lost and This is Us.