President-elect Javier Milei says his vow to shutter Argentina's Central Bank stands, despite the exit of the key advisors from his transition team and future Cabinet.
The X (formerly Twitter) account being used to publish communications from the outspoken libertarian said Friday that Milei's plan to close the monetary institution is "non-negotiable" after rumours the policy would be dropped once the libertarian leader takes office.
“We wish to clarify that the closing of the Argentine Central Bank is non-negotiable,” it declared decisively.
The reports emerged after it became clear that two key advisors, Carlos Rodríguez and Emilio Ocampo, would not be joining the president-elect's government.
Local media began reporting that ex-government officials Luis Caputo and Demian Reidel, two figures who are very close to Mauricio Macri, have been put in charge of overseeing Milei's economic transition team. The latter duo are now seen as frontrunners to be put in charge of the Economy Ministry and the Central Bank respectively.
The statement also confirmed the arrivals of Osvaldo Giordano and Horacio Marín for the ANSES social security agency and YPF state oil company respectively, starting from December 10.
The document disseminated via the president-elect's social media accounts declared that “the only official information about the future government” is “published in this medium” given the lack of clarifications about Milei's future Cabinet.
“In this respect, economist Osvaldo Giordano will be the head of ANSES [social security agency] and engineer Horacio Marín will be in charge of YPF [state energy firm] starting on December 10," the document continued.
For the time being, these are the only two official appointments from Milei's Cabinet.
The news means that the rumoured appointment of ex-Buenos Aires Province gubernatorial candidate Carolina Píparo to ANSES – news previously confirmed by Milei himself in interviews – will not come to pass.
Milei plans to sell off YPF and the ENARSA state energy firms.
“In the transition we’re considering for energy, YPF and the ENARSA Argentine energy company have a role. While these structures are rebuilt, they are set up to create value so they may be sold in a very beneficial way for Argentines,” Milei stated in a radio interview this week.
Rodríguez, who recently sparked controversy with homophobic comments, said Friday that he was quitting Milei's team after a lack of consultation. He becomes the latest figure aligned with Milei to jump ship after the run-off as allies of Macri assume key roles in the next government.
“I hereby communicate my unavoidable decision to end any formal, real or implied, relationship as an economic advisor for La Libertad Avanza,” posted the academic and former economic policy secretary in Carlos Menem's government.
The return of Caputo to frontline politics has generated controversy among liberal economists, who look askance at the arrival of the finance expert in the most sensitive area of the future administration. They consider his pragmatic stance is not in line with the tone of the promises made during Milei’s campaign.
It seems that Reidel, a Harvard economist and researcher who was the second vice-president of the Central Bank during Federico Sturzenegger’s term in office during the Juntos por el Cambio government, will take on one of the libertarian’s major objectives: eliminating the institution entirely.
– TIMES/PERFIL/NA
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