Deregulation & State Transformation Minister Federico Sturzenegger is working in a context he could not have imagined when he took office on July 5. The eyes of public opinion have practically abandoned any subject that is not the scandal that surrounds former president Alberto Fernández, following the complaint for gender-based violence filed by former first lady Fabiola Yáñez.
Argentina’s government is exercising power with an unprecedented calm given recent times. This reporter talked to officials from the Executive Branch and key lawmakers, as well as those close to head of state Javier Milei and the conclusion can be summed up in three words: “Working in peace.”
“It’s our best moment. To such an extent that [Presidential Spokesperson] Manuel [Adorni] was out of line and actually made a dig about Diego Armando Maradona. It’s insane,” said one official with an office at Casa Rosada to this medium, minutes after reading online that prosecutors are seeking charges against Fernández for gender-based violence.
The outlook forces President Milei’s libertarian Cabinet to focus on governing. “These are moments not to spill the beans, to do as much as administration as possible and move forward with decrees which at other times could take hours of unnecessary debate. That’s why we’re all smiles to Sturze,” added the same source, referencing Sturzenegger.
“Obviously it’s useful not being in the limelight. I’m not gonna lie. Now, saying one is happy with what that lady [Fabiola Yáñez] went through is being a bad person. Nobody’s happy. At any rate it’s Peronism’s fault what they’re going through. Or didn’t they know?" the official concluded.
Over the last few days, Sturzenegger deregulation portfolio has played it quick with a myriad of decrees. Among them the dismantling of a special unit linked to CONADI which searches for children abducted during the last dictatorship, the enabling digital tips, the first privatisations for the energy sectors and even an emergency decree to move forward with the introduction of privately owned clubs.
“Today [Wednesday] we move forward with the subject of teachers’ strikes. In another context it wouldn’t go through the filter and now look… it’s insane,” a ruling party senator pointed out to Perfil.
“We have a President with a positive image, a dismantled opposition and a society taking austerity. This is the way forward,” the legislator analysed.
The government has decided to suspend a canvassing rally in Buenos Aires Province scheduled for next week. According to sources, the cancellation is a move to avoid drawing attention away from the scandal Alberto Fernández and Peronsim are going through.
“There’s gender-based violence. There’s the case over the assassination attempt against Cristina [Fernández de Kirchner]. There’s the Radical [UCR] internal conflict, not to mention what PRO is going through. It’s a setting to work in peace – to such an extent that not even picketers are bothering us,” repeated an official from the Human Capital Ministry.
The only other news getting some interest this week is the economy. On Wednesday it became known that July’s inflation rate was four percent, as informed by the INDEC national statistics bureau. Over the first seven months of 2024, Argentina’s consumer price index has accumulated an 87-percent increase. Year-to-year inflation was 263.4 percent.
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