NEW DEPUTIES SWEAR IN
Last Wednesday the 127 deputies elected last October took their oaths in Congress in the presence of a President Javier Milei celebrating that his La Libertad Avanza was now the leading minority with 95 of the 257 seats after several deputies had crossed party lines. Martín Menem was re-elected lower house speaker by a broad majority with the Kirchnerite Unión por la Patria and the left abstaining.
VILLAVERDE HALF BOWS OUT
Senator-elect Lorena Villaverde (La Libertad Avanza-Río Negro) ended her bid to enter the upper house late Wednesday, pleading family reasons, after being the only one of the 24 future members not to be sworn in on November 28, following a decision by all caucus chairs. Río Negro’s Peronists had initiated the challenge “as morally unfit” due to Villaverde’s alleged links with the businessman Federico ‘Fred’ Machado, recently extradited to the United States on drug-trafficking charges. The withdrawal of her controversial candidacy makes Enzo Fullone the Patagonian province’s new minority senator. Prior to running for the Senate, Villaverde was a national deputy until 2027 – it remains to be seen whether she relinquishes that post as well.
INTELLIGENCE AND OTHER PURGES
President Javier Milei’s government on Tuesday evening confirmed the removal of SIDE intelligence chief Sergio Neiffert and his replacement by accountant Cristian Auguadra after Neiffert’s exit had been intensely rumoured from the start of the week. The move is seen as mirroring the loss of influence on the part of Neiffert’s mentor, presidential advisor Santiago Caputo, although Auguadra also forms part of the latter’s circle. The official statement explained that while Neiffert had been important for an “initial phase” of reordering SIDE, the intelligence agency was now ready “to begin a second phase of institutional transformation under the leadership of Cristian Auguadra” in order to deepen its technical modernisation. On the same day new Cabinet Chief Manuel Adorni ditched deputy Cabinet Chief José Rolandi, who had seconded both his predecessors Nicolás Posse and Guillermo Francos, replacing him the next day with communication expert Aimé ‘Meme’ Vázquez, whose background is with the PRO centre-right party in City Hall where she worked with then-deputy mayor (and now Interior Minister) Diego Santilli. Thursday saw a further exit – Human Rights Undersecretary Alberto Baños apparently anticipating the departure of his boss, Justice Minister Mariano Cúneo Liberona, expected for next February. Baños had largely toed the government line in almost two years in office, blasting the human rights “racket” and casting doubts on the figure of 30,000 missing.
BULLRICH MOVES ON
Alejandra Monteoliva finally replaced Patricia Bullrich as security minister in a brief Casa Rosada ceremony last Tuesday. She was quick to identify the release of Border Guard Corporal Nahuel Gallo, detained for almost a year in Venezuela, as a top priority with United States Ambassador Peter Lamelas among those looking on, while the government ratified that the Criminal Code reform would be sent to Congress “in the next few days.” Monteoliva pledged to uphold the “Bullrich doctrine” of fighting drug-trafficking and organised crime while keeping order on the streets, also expressing concern about the situation in Buenos Aires Province. Apart from President Javier Milei, Bullrich (who had resigned as minister the previous day) and Lamelas, the ceremony was attended by Cabinet Chief Manuel Adorni, Monteoliva’s new colleagues Diego Santilli (Interior), Sandra Pettovello (Human Capital), Mario Lugones (Health) and Pablo Quirno (Foreign Relations), as well as Presidential Chief-of-Staff Karina Milei. Lamelas took advantage of his presence in the Casa Rosada to meet up with Santilli, discussing the upcoming “historic” trade agreement with the United States and Venezuela among other points in the bilateral agenda. Even before becoming minister, Monteoliva had joined President Milei in heading Monday’s sabres ceremony with the Federal Police, the Border and Coast Guards, the PSA airport police and the Federal Penitentiary Service.
SENATE CATFIGHT
On the morning of November 28, 23 of the 24 senators elected last October to serve until 2031 swore their oaths in a ceremony headed by Vice-President Victoria Villarruel, with Río Negro libertarian Lorena Villaverde the exception after her party colleagues agreed to return her credentials to committee. Villarruel also managed to appoint the consensus figure of Alejandro Fitzgerald as the new administrative secretary. The provinces replacing their three senators were Buenos Aires City, Chaco, Entre Ríos, Neuquén, Río Negro, Salta, Santiago del Estero and Tierra del Fuego. Apart from the Villaverde controversy, the ceremony was marked by friction when Villerruel, arguing that members of the Executive Branch had no place in a legislative procedure, first opposed the entry of Presidential Chief-of-Staff Karina Milei, Cabinet Chief Manuel Adorni and Interior Minister Diego Santilli and when Bullrich insisted, successfully prevented them from occupying the presidential box. Bullrich then further clashed with Villarruel when she tried to protest Tierra del Fuego Peronist Senator Cándida López trebling the three guests per new member permitted but was denied the right to interrupt.
BUDGET REVISED
The government revised its draft 2026 Budget, assigning more funds to the payment of wages, pensions, debt and education via DNU emergency decree 849/2025 published last Monday in the Official Gazette. The National Security, Defence, Health and Human Capital Ministries all stand to have their budgets increased, and even the ANDIS national disability agency.
ONE NO-SHOW DESERVES ANOTHER
United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent last Tuesday suspended his visit to Argentina scheduled for next week. According to some reports, US President Donald Trump has taken amiss President Javier Milei’s decision to cancel his presence at the 2026 World Cup draw in Washington’s Kennedy Center, especially since the Argentine represents the current champions. Milei reportedly wished to avoid appearing alongside AFA (Argentine Football Association) President Claudio ‘Chiqui’ Tapia, whom he is currently confronting.
FIFA BACKS CHIQUI
FIFA rallied last weekend to the support of AFA President Claudio ‘Chiqui”’ Tapia, recently under fire from both government and media critics. FIFA President Gianni Infantino officially congratulated Tapia on his confirmation as a member of the FIFA Council through to next year’s World Cup, highlighting his experience and leadership heading AFA. “It will be a pleasure to continue counting on your experience and commitment. We are fully convinced that your contributions will be valuable towards enriching debates and working together to develop our sport,” read part of the letter.
CORRUPTION MEGA-TRIAL
Last Tuesday the TOF (Tribunal Oral Federal) 7 court completed reading out the charges in the ‘Cuadernos’ notebooks corruption mega-trial against the defendants, who include ex-president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, her Federal Planning minister Julio De Vido, several of his Ministry officials and 51 leading businessmen accused of paying massive bribes on least 175 occasions to the above in exchange for public works contracts. The court has yet to decide if the trial is to continue during next month’s court holiday. On the same day, the Supreme Court formally began the process of returning the assets of former tycoon Lázaro Báez (convicted in the parallel Vialidad corruption trial) to the state to the tune of US$60 million. On Thursday, Fernández de Kirchner (under house arrest due to her Vialidad conviction) questioned the restrictions placed on her visiting rights.
SCIENTISTS DEPLORE ANTI-VAXXERS
The Argentine Society of Immunology (SAI in its Spanish acronym) issued a communiqué expressing their “profound concern” over the anti-vaccine event in Congress as “lacking any scientific substance” and placing public health at risk. The organisers had ignored expert opinion, stated a communiqué, which defended vaccines as “a central tool of public health, safe, effective and essential to protect life.”
CRACKDOWN ON PAEDOPHILES
No less than 117 house raids were carried out last Tuesday in 73 localities across Buenos Aires Province in the investigation of charges of grooming, cyberpaedophilia and the sexual abuse of children, concluding in several arrests. A total of 112 people were investigated, of whom 103 were male while there were 40 underage children in the houses at the time.
PARDON SOUGHT FOR DIRTY WARRIORS
Asunción Benedict, the sister of La Libertad Avanza deputy Beltrán Benedict, organised a march last weekend to pressure President Javier Milei to pardon military officers convicted for human rights violations during the 1976-1983 military dictatorship but few people joined it. The march received some pushback from a dozen militants yelling: “Genocides” and “Give back the grandchildren” at the marchers. Vice-President Victoria Villarruel disowned any knowledge of the initiative.
BREAD ON THE LINE
Martín Pinto, president of the Merlo Centre of Bakeries, last Monday denounced the closure of 1,800 bakeries nationwide with the loss of over 15,000 jobs in the last two years as a result of rising costs and falling demand with the sector “always working at a loss.”
NISMAN REVISITED
Federal prosecutor Eduardo Taiano last Tuesday requested the interrogation of retired prosecutor Viviana Fein for irregularities in leaving the possible crime scene where AMIA special prosecutor Alberto Nisman was found dead in early 2015 in total chaos. Federal Judge Julián Ercolini has charge of the case.
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