A day later than expected, the man who won Argentina’s presidential elections met with the outgoing president. The meeting took place on the day that adviser Guillermo Ferraro announced that he will head the SuperMinistry of Infrastructure and that the shockwaves of Javier Milei’s arrival at Casa Rosada reached Brussels and Beijing.
The arrival of the ultra-liberals in power is worrying some capitals. In Beijing, the Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said it would be “a big mistake” if Argentina were to cut ties with “countries as big as Brazil and China.” Mao Ning commented on the statements of Diana Mondino – Milei’s advisor and likely future foreign minister – who had announced the end of cooperation with Brasilia and Beijing. In the past, Milei has said he would not do business with China, Argentina’s second-largest trading partner.
Healthcare is different in Brussels. It is feared that the negotiations with the Mercosur countries (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay), which were already complicated, will reach a dead end. Several Members of the European Parliament told AFP that negotiations were likely to be affected.
After the political agreement was reached, the European Union added the environmental chapter that was contested by Brazilian President Lula da Silva – and which could also be contested by someone who invited Jair Bolsonaro to the inauguration, to Lula’s detriment. “If this is confirmed in action and becomes policy, it could jeopardize not only the EU’s agreement with Mercosur, but also the country’s good relationship with the EU,” said PS member Maria Manuel Leitão Marques.
After disappearing from the scene in recent months – like his vice-president Cristina Kirchner – President Alberto Fernández hosted Javier Milei at his official residence, Quinta de Olivos, on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, to discuss the transition.
Despite what appears in the only official photo distributed by the presidency, Clarin Sources who were present at the more than two-hour meeting described the meeting as ‘cordial and friendly’. The start of the transition process was supposed to take place on Monday, but according to the Argentine daily, Milei wanted to be received at the presidential headquarters, the Casa Rosada, a request that Fernández reportedly rejected.
It remained unclear whether Milei’s claim that the Peronist bloc, the majority in Congress, would help make the next state budget viable was discussed during the talks. The president-elect wants a 15% cut in government spending, a measure unlikely to be welcomed by Peronism.
What is clear is that advisor Guillermo Ferraro will be a super minister, heading Infrastructure, a ministry that brings together Public Works, Mining, Energy, Transport and Communications. It was he himself who revealed it in an interview with Radio Miter, contrary to Milei’s wish to keep secret the names of the team that will come to power on December 10. Ferraro, former advisor to a Peronist senator and Undersecretary of Industry during Duhalde’s presidency, also a Peronist, later had a career as a consultant in public works.
In addition to Ferraro, Milei had already announced the two prime ministers, Cúneo Libarona (Justice) and Carolina Píparo (Social Security), while there was much speculation about the other five ministries. “We are going to surprise with the team we are forming. We are bringing together experts from different areas, but with the conviction to change Argentina towards the ideas of freedom. The most talented people will be in it, wherever they come from It’s about solving the problems of the Argentinians,” Milei said on Monday.
After the meeting with the outgoing president, Milei received a call from Pope Francis. The Argentine Pope congratulated the leader of the Liberdade Avança coalition and invited him to visit the country. Behind him are harsh criticism of Francis from the former television commentator, a veiled threat that the Pope would not visit his home country – in the voice of Argentine Cardinal Tucho Fernández – and an apology from Milei.
Source: DN
