A cabinet awaits its next change

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No one is safe in their chair. Cabinet of Xavier Miley The country is going through a crisis that intertwines an inherited economic emergency, political inexperience, barely concealed games of ambition and a drama of resentment woven in record time.

the certainty that More changes are coming in the government team This has angered a large section of ministers and senior officials, not only because of the possibility of losing their posts, but because it has become a trend that dismissals are accompanied by allegations of misbehaviour and misbehaviour.

Miley implied that they planned to conduct a sweeping reorganization following the approval (or failure, if that was the outcome) of the base law. The comment cut off the last oxygen line Nicolas Pausethe Chief of Staff whom he presented as his close friend and to whom he entrusted the bulk of the power.

Posey resigned earlier than Miley wanted, as he grew tired of the emptiness his boss offered him, first privately and then publicly when he refused to directly congratulate him on the events of May 25. “Javier reacts with the logic of social networks in real life. If something upsets him, he blocks you”says an MLA who has known him for years.

Miley, who was due to board the presidential plane to the United States, decried the haste of the designation Guillermo Francos

As Chief of Staff. A sign of recognition for the most unanimous minister outside the libertarian fortress. Also, a hymn to pragmatism that is often tried to be hidden.

A barrage of accusations and counter-accusations were leveled at Poz. The repeatedly denied version that the relationship of trust with Miley was broken since the summer was confirmed. She was accused of administrative incompetence, lying to the president, using intelligence services under her control Spying on ministers and opaque management in public companies.

Before the tremors subsided, the scandal broke out in Capital Humano, with dozens of officers provided by the posse at the exit gates. The spark was the confirmation that tons of food in two official warehouses were undistributed and in danger of expiring.

Minister Sandra Pettovello He denied for several weeks that this was true. Then the official speech indicated that he had been stored up to respond to potential disasters and eventually the blame fell like a stone on the children’s secretary, Pablo De La Torrewhich was eventually dismissed with a complaint Anti-Corruption Office (OA). They blamed him for a controversial hiring arrangement for public employees through an agreement with the Organization of Ibero-American States (OEI).

Miley gears up to support Pettovello during her free time on her tour silicon Valley. ordered “Empty the magazine” De la Torre was presented as a liberal leader. He had no objection to strengthening their relationship joaquin de la torrePablo’s brother, a senator from Buenos Aires, whom he had met two weeks earlier and who was emerging as a political force Freedom advances In the province.

“We don’t work with people we don’t trust 100%,” the spokesperson said. Manuel Adorni In his last press conference. The accusations against de la Torre continued through informal channels. Those around him say he is “shocked” by the situation. They insist that he had informed Pettovello that there was food stored that was about to expire and they reject the complaint about the OEI contracts. They suggest that it is a practice that governs the entire ministry, which was used as a fast track to avoid management paralysis. Publicly, the expelled man protected Pettovello and pointed to alleged Kirchnerist infiltration in the ministry.

The episode leaves a lesson that spreads through word of mouth among officials: “You have to leave everything in writing”,

Petovelo has confessed to those close to her that sometimes she feels overwhelmed. With no political experience, she took control of an administrative elephant Work, social development And Education.In about six months he has expelled 20 first and second line officers without any diplomacy.

At the same time he plays the role of emotional control of Miley. He moves in the second circle of power, closer to the center, where the president, his sister Karina and the communications adviser in the process of diversification live. Santiago Caputo,

Unlike Caputo, Karina and other habitués of the president’s proximity who come from another world, such as Adorni, she focuses on a management burden that exposes her to challenging pressure.

“She is the best minister”Miley said. Is it armored? Those who say yes today also believe that Posey was, until three months ago, the president’s “alter ego,” the master of a beloved friendship forged in the corridors of Corporation America. However, the “Statue Curler” also flew with the wind. “With Sandra it’s something else”they insist. And they reveal the identity of the battle Miley is fighting against Kirchnerism and the social movements of the left. A pillar of the libertarian story.

With Miley out of the country, Francos used his diplomatic skills to clear up the situation after Pause’s departure. This change came as a relief to many in the cabinet: they blamed the outgoing minister for “Expert at blocking files”. Few people had managed to build a rapport with him and the suspicion that there was an internal spying system – truth or myth – had created a thick atmosphere of paranoia. Fear of using WhatsApp has become a habit. Encrypted phones lie unused in a drawer. Certain topics are only discussed in face-to-face meetings in unusual places.

Taking the ministers for coffee at a coffee shop near the Casa Rosada was a move by Francois to show solidarity in a team that is showing frayed bones.

The Minister of Justice smiled at the table, Mariano Cuneo Libaronawhom some sources who speak with Miley on a daily basis suspect of an upcoming replacement. The same applies to the Minister of Health, Mario Russo

To the controversies he has accumulated for his work, some also add the handicap of his political origins: he was Joaquín de la Torre’s man in the San Miguel municipality.

Pending movements stir up internal movement. Patricia BullrichThose who have faced Miley’s wrath in the past are part of the theoretical list of untouchables. But he is keeping an eye on the inside goings on Federal Intelligence Agency (AFI)now that it’s out Sylvestre Sivorithe posse man. He wishes to maintain control of the anti-drug trafficking investigation area, in a possible split of the current organization. Other forces are fighting for a unit with several heads, but are centralized on who will be the new “Mr. 5”, Sergio Neifert Santiago Caputo,

Bullrich plays it cool. She is one of those ministers who, because of their experience in the political profession, take advantage of a boss who fearlessly hands out government responsibilities. The same happens with Louis Caputoin economics, the president’s expertise. “Javier is aware of the numbers, but acts as a kind of auditor. The one who manages the planning is Toto,” explains an official at the Casa Rosada. Meetings between a president and his economy minister are much less common than usual. Except for foreign trips, where they spend a lot of time together, communication usually takes place via chat.

Caputo enjoys stardom in the liberal community. Despite the recession, deflation maintains the government’s popular support, earning it the constant praise of Miley. Today no one doubts its continuity. Except him: he usually says that his time is limited. That he has to complete a mission (getting out of stocks without risk) and then he will leave his position for another. With the same conviction he said seven months ago that he would never join a government again.

Miley wants to take care of him. So, she wonders how far the ministry he promised will go federico sturzenegger. Ensure that there is no conflict between two technicians who already have a grudge Mauricio Macri. Many of Posse’s monopolistic functions are at stake, such as the management of public companies.

Franco has many boxes to fill as Chief of Staff or to work on in other areas. He is looking forward to his long conversations with Miley on topics that are extremely troubling to the President. All the more so now that the global landscape is opening up to its expansion Cultural battle Against “social ideas”.

Its fate in the short term remains to be seen Ministry of Interiorhas now been demoted to the post of Secretary-in-Charge Lisandro CatalánFranco’s right hand. There are also those who suggest that this would be the right place to make it more powerful Eduardo “Lule” MenemThe person Kareena Miley trusts most for political construction.

It is not clear whether Franco wants to give up that position. Among libertarians, they question the meaning of a Chief of Staff with very broad powers: they suggest that the ideal would be to turn it into a kind of great political ministry and reduce its administrative functions to a minimum, regardless of the form it takes in the 1994 Constitution.

It is now imperative for Franco to guarantee the approval of Miley’s first laws. At the cost of accepting countless changes to the letter, a victory was achieved this week in unblocking the decision. The difference of one or two votes will decide the process. The session was scheduled for two weeks from now with the idea of ​​avoiding a Waterloo on campus. You have to organize the text, carefully count the votes for each chapter and pray for an orderly debate with no spark that causes a fire. Vice President Victoria Villarruel

There’s a test of character on the horizon. Will he actually succeed in reconciling with Miley or has the distance between them already closed? Fortunately, he’s not within reach of any decree.

With the tide in its favor, the laws will complete their difficult approval cycle in a month. Until then, the Cabinet will live in the turmoil of announced change. Management is suffering: The government often faces crises it does not see coming, as happened this week Gas supply failure,

The challenge facing Miley, as he puts the loose ends in order, is how to shape a Cabinet that raises the political volume and anticipates problems. The Libertarian government has so far been very active in expelling, but unable to add.

It will be a complicated process. Miley does not trust top-level agreements; that is why he refused to agree to Macri’s pro. revalidate Francos encourages him in that design. The latest events limit the attractiveness of the private world: we must risk joining a train from which many have flown away, immersed in complaints and convulsions.

The anger that today overwhelms Posey, who in addition to a friend lost his job at the company where he was a manager, may be an early warning to others wishing to venture into public service. The outgoing minister said in announcing his resignation that he would remain in the government “in a new role”. Miley has not yet confirmed this. “That remains to be seen. Maybe they’ll give him an embassy in Zambia”An influential resident of the Casa Rosada said sarcastically. If he achieved this, he would not be the only official to disappoint Miley, but he would remain in office due to the guilt he feels over the president’s resignation from his previous job.

These are the minutiae of a political experiment in its early stages. The real pending question is whether Miley will be able to overcome his temperament to become an efficient manager of the state, that “criminal organization” for which he tirelessly professes his most intense contempt.

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