Milei decides whether to put Santiago Caputo in charge of the government's political ministry

The uncertainty and secrecy surrounding Javier Milei in recent hours are beginning to dissipate . The President needs to resolve key vacancies in his cabinet as soon as possible and carry out a cabinet reshuffle. The head of state delayed the changes for so long that the resignations of Guillermo Francos and Lisandro Catalán took him by surprise on Friday while he was having dinner with Mauricio Macri in Olivos . Underlying this is the question of whether the government will unify its political leadership behind a single internal faction and what that faction's profile will be. Santiago Caputo remains the leading candidate for that role, although he will not escape the oversight of the Secretary General of the Presidency.

Those close to the advisor, whom Francos blamed for the smear campaign against him , remained silent and turned off their phones. On Friday night, they ruled out the possibility of him taking over an expanded version of the Interior or Government Ministry, or of creating a structure encompassing most of the state areas in which he already has a hand. “ For now, he won’t be taking the position ,” they responded, in a statement that seemed to suggest a possible change .

High-ranking government sources have recently confirmed the rumors placing Caputo as a minister. “The Milei family is slow to make decisions. Francos acted hastily, like (former Foreign Minister Gerardo) Werthein. Karina and Santiago are very important to Javier, and they will reach an understanding,” these well-placed sources emphasized.

On Saturday, senior government officials insisted that the discussion centered on the scope of the areas Caputo could retain, should he ultimately step forward, as the President himself suggested. If this alternative materializes, it is almost certain that he will join advisor Manuel Vidal in his administration.

" They're just a bunch of kids if what they're asking for is to take over half the Ministry of Economy. Power isn't given to you with weapons. If I were the President, I wouldn't have so much patience ," a cabinet member told Clarín , somewhat annoyed by the delays, the dead phones, and the rumors that Public Works and Transportation could fall under Caputo's control, in addition to other sensitive ministries like Defense. "He should have known that Adorni was going to head the ministry, since he's been fighting with everyone ," the official asserted.

Some circulated information that Caputo might join the cabinet and have Pilar Ramírez , Karina's right-hand woman in the City and coordinator of his national campaign, under his leadership. The head of the libertarian bloc in the Buenos Aires City legislature dismissed these rumors to her own supporters. "He's not going anywhere," they say.

Ramírez is a rare bird in the Karinismo movement; she maintains an excellent relationship with Caputo , as does her husband, the vice president of Banco Nación, Darío Wasserman , who could end up in charge of the public bank, a position he has coveted since 2023.

Daniel Tillard remains president of Banco Nacional , having been appointed at the express request of Francos, who had worked with him at Banco Provincia. For the same reason, director Nicolás Carvajal is expected to follow suit. Daniel Scioli, in charge of Tourism, seems to anticipate the same fate, though he is in no hurry to act.

Other members of the political group that the President formed just 48 days ago, and which has already lost one member, took Caputo's arrival for granted on Friday. Patricia Bullrich , who has a seat on that group that hasn't met again, made overtures to Caputo this week , visiting him along with Defense Minister Luis Petri and Alejandra Monteoliva , her candidate to succeed her in Security.

The virtual synthesis of the iron triangle , with Adorni as chief of staff and Caputo as political minister, would be seen by many of the libertarian actors involved and their allies as a continuation of the constant breakdowns in decision-making and negotiations with the opposition. “ The dual leadership doesn't work ,” they complain. Other voices close to the Milei family are much more benevolent. “ Adorni will focus on governance and won't get involved in politics ,” they predict.

During the campaign, Caputo was a staunch critic of the libertarian national alliance formed to contest provincial power, an alliance spearheaded by Karina Milei through Martín and Eduardo Lule Menem and Sebastián Pareja in the Province of Buenos Aires. He also undermined Francos' political leadership through the intervention of his advisors.

Those close to Adorni point out that the presidential spokesperson doesn't have a bad relationship with Caputo. " It's a fantasy that they have an internal conflict, even though Manuel's boss is Karina. He gets along great with Santiago and they talk every day ," they exaggerate at the Communications Secretariat. Adorni himself made this clear in an interview with Mitre. " I have an excellent relationship (with Caputo) to this day. I spoke with him yesterday. He helped me a lot in this process because I don't come from politics . You need a lot of support on this path, and Santiago was one of those sources," he said before emphasizing that Francos's time was "over."

During the swearing-in ceremony of Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno, Francos's imminent replacement chatted animatedly with Caputo, a carefully orchestrated scene for the journalists watching. The President's sister, however, staged the opposite, avoiding the advisor and refusing to greet him .

“The Interior Ministry should be headed by a politician who can speak to politics ,” explained a leader with access to the most important offices of the Casa Rosada and Congress, who described the advisor as “brilliant.”

The same source believes that if the election ultimately falls on Caputo or Lule Menem , it would send a bad signal to the opposition that favors dialogue and even to the United States, which is calling for more openness and consensus .

The possibility of Martín Menem taking over the Interior Ministry and Cristian Ritondo , the driving force behind the alliance between Macri's party and the libertarians in Buenos Aires Province, becoming Speaker of the House is off the table . The Speaker wants to retain his seat in Congress, which LLA considers crucial.

Less than four months ago, the President had added Francos to the inner circle to mediate the internal conflict between his sister and Caputo. He called the resigned minister " the plastic man " because of his political ties. He ended up melted by friendly fire .

At the meeting with governors convened by Francos, Caputo raised his voice and asked the provincial leaders to help pass the three key laws (Budget and the labor and tax reforms) that the Government is promoting and to repeal others that complicated it.

The option of appointing Diego Santilli to that position also seems to be fading. Those who most favor the winner of the Buenos Aires elections—who attributes the victory to "the Bearded One"—suggest that such a move would strengthen his chances of running for governor in 2027. They recall that Carlos Ruckauf was Minister of the Interior before becoming Vice President and Governor, and that Rogelio Frigerio jumped from that ministry to the governorship of Entre Ríos (although it took him another four years to actually win the province). They also cite Florencio Randazzo, who declined to be a candidate in 2015. Santilli demonstrated during the campaign that it was possible to balance the two points of the iron triangle, but it wasn't enough to secure him a cabinet position.

Those who were alone with the Milei brothers this week noticed an excessive triumphalism in them. Mauricio Macri, too, although he had no expectations of success in the meeting with Milei, imagined at the beginning of the week that the power of Caputo—his main detractor—had diminished.

The president and "the boss" believe that support for the government outweighed fear of economic collapse , a theory also suggested in important offices at Balcarce 50.