While Javier Miley He was resting in his room at the Gran Beach Hotel in Miami, where he traveled to receive a distinction from the Jewish community as an “ambassador of light” for his support of Israel. Santiago Caputothe Government’s main political and communications strategist, entered the house of Mauricio Macri in Acassuso to hold a meeting alone.
It was not the first time they met to talk. In fact, they have frequent dialogues and chat often on WhatsApp. Caputo, the most influential advisor on the President’s small table, has known Macri for years. And he earned the trust of the founder of Pro, who privately admits that he respects Caputo’s work and outlook. Until now they had managed not to report their dialogues and to keep them discreet.
Wednesday’s meeting, which was revealed by the Todo Noticias channel, occurred amid underlying tensions between the government of Freedom Advances (LLA) and Pro for the distribution of power in the cabinet or in Congress. In other words: libertarians and macristas have different visions about how both forces should coexist under the same umbrella in the new political configuration.
Milei insists that he is willing to work with Macri and advance the construction of a liberal front with a view to the 2025 midterm elections. They speak frequently and plan to meet in the coming days, when Milei returns from his tour of the United States. USA and Denmark.
Despite the President’s public winks – today they exchanged messages on X due to Milei’s meeting with Elon Musk-, Macri and his loyal figures within Pro They only perceive signs of hostility from the circle of officials closest to the head of state.. They aim, above all, at Karina Mileithe most influential person in the Casa Rosada, the Menems and Nicolas Posse, chief of staff. In fact, the distribution of positions left the Macristas far from the most coveted seats in the national administration. Furthermore, not even the Buenos Aires boss Jorge Macri nor the governors Ignacio Torres (Chubut)o Rogelio Frigerio (Between rivers) received preferential treatment from the national Executive when discussing the distribution of fiscal resources. Although they notice resistance to integration, the Macristas boast that Pro maintained a cooperative stance in Congress to accompany the omnibus law or defend the mega decree of necessity and urgency (DNU) with which Milei sought to deregulate the economy and reform the State.
“They don’t love our leaders, but they seek to keep our votes. “They want to replace Pro,” a Macri lieutenant rants. That phrase summarizes the discontent with libertarians due to their constant rudeness. The last short circuit was caused by Milei’s decision to nominate the judge Ariel Lijo to fill a vacancy in the Supreme Court of Justice, a move that upset Macri and his people. Strictly speaking, they consider that the President should have sought to reach a consensus with Pro, his main parliamentary ally, before moving forward with the announcement.
With that background, Macri and Caputo spoke on Wednesday about current issues. The former president, who had returned a few hours ago from Colombia, where he participated in a Bridge tournament, gave him his vision of the current economic situation and the outlook he imagines for the future. He overshadowed the concern shared by governors and heads of Pro – even national officials – about the difficulties that libertarians have in launching the administration.
Close collaborators of the President admit deficiencies, but attribute this to the fact that the LLA is a team under construction and an inexperienced and heterogeneous force, which is taking its first steps in big politics. They repeat like a mantra that they focus on the crusade to achieve zero deficit and that they will prioritize achieving the objective of taming inflation. If they manage to stabilize the macroeconomy and cushion the impact of the recession, they argue, Milei will not only maintain popular support, but will be able to expand its power on the electoral map in the 2025 legislative elections.
Ante Caputo, the founder of Pro, who would formally take over as successor to Patricia Bullrich On May 8, he reiterated that he is willing to collaborate with Milei to provide technical staff to the second and third lines of the administration. These are leaders who went through the management of Cambiemos and who, according to Macri, have the experience to achieve rapid movement of the levers of the State. Regular interlocutors of the former president repeat that he is convinced that Milei should not neglect management operations and reduce internal organizational problems. What’s more: he learned about the crisis in the ruling bloc due to the rupture between Oscar Zago y Martin Menem.
For this reason, he advises Milei to get involved in the political “thread” and to try to seduce people with knowledge in the management of the state buttons and who are now dedicated to private activity. “They have to go find them and convince them. The problem is theirs.”say those who often deal with Macri.
In football terms, they feel that they are given the pass, but the ball does not return. That is, there is no reciprocity. Milei’s libertarian collaborators are willing to review the resumes, but they do not seem too interested in feeding on yellow figures or replicating Cambiemos’ management model. They trust in their recipe: achieve zero deficit, shrink the State, lower and control inflation.
In Pro they notice “a resistance to being helped” of ALL and mutter anger with each rudeness. For example, this week Milei caused indigestion to the Macri “hawks” when she announced that she had incorporated textile businessman Teddy Karagozian to her board of economic advisors. They perceive a difference between what Milei preaches and what “really happens in the Government.” “Javier fulfilled half of the things he promised us. He does not prioritize the governors of Pro and it is difficult for Mauricio to gather support”graphs a macrista shipowner.
Macri emphasizes that he supports the course that Milei has charted since he arrived at the Casa Rosada – tough with fiscal adjustment and commitment to deregulation or privatization of public companies – and that he will help support the Government so that the management of libertarians come to fruition. “He wants the country to do well,” he insists. His commitment, those close to Macri emphasize, is with the “fund” of the Milei project. Therefore, he avoids the differentiation of “forms.” In other words: he does not share Milei’s institutional management or his management leadership style. But he opts for tactical silence on the most vexing issue for Pro: Lijo’s nomination to the Court.
Knowing that he maintains a voice that could cause tremors in a weak government at the institutional level, Macri prefers to wait for LLA to obtain Congressional approval for the new basic law before ruling on Lijo.
Before his loyal figures, Macri conveyed his concern and confusion over Lijo’s election. He understands that Pro could be in an uncomfortable place if it is confirmed that Milei closed an agreement with PJ and Cristina Kirchner to complete boxes in the Court. “The reforms are important, but even more so that they are sustainable over time. That is what quality Justice gives you. It seems like they don’t care.” highlights a trusted leader of Macri. His spokespersons, however, emphasize for now that he will not give an opinion on the President’s decisions. A sign that he is detached and does not intend to interfere.
In the Casa Rosada they repeat that they are betting all or nothing on the Lijo and Manuel García Mansilla. They imagine building a new majority in the highest court to avoid painful defeats. And they relativize Pro’s criticism. They remember, for example, that Macri appointed by decree Horacio Rosatti y Carlos Rosenkrantz after achieving a consensus with non-Kirchnerist Peronism.
While waiting for the shipment of Lijo’s specifications to be confirmed, Macri plans to focus his efforts on revitalizing Pro, which was displaced by the libertarians as the main counter to Kirchnerism. The former president considers that his party became bureaucratized after the 2015 victory and adopted a statist profile. For that reason, he tries to regenerate his strength and reconquer his lost identity to regain ground against Milei. He is already planning a meeting of the board of directors and puts cold clothes on the fight for the pen in 2025. Those around him imagine that it will be a district election, in which the local political configuration will influence more than the national situation. “The commitment is to support the omnibus law and the DNU. Then we will see how Pro continues to accompany us”, They say in the former president’s troops.
