National rumor mill: Milei has yet to announce Economy Minister

Two weeks before the inauguration, several high-profile names close to former president Macri have been floated but not confirmed for Milei’s cabinet

After a rumor-filled day, in which media outlets and La Libertad Avanza (LLA) sources offered an abundance of contradictory information, president-elect Javier Milei has yet to announce who will take on key roles in his future cabinet.

On Thursday, the Bloomberg news agency reported that Luis Caputo, who served as president of the Central Bank under former president Mauricio Macri, had been confirmed as the head of Javier Milei’s economic team. However, three sources inside LLA told the Herald that there was no official confirmation.

“Luis Caputo is fit to be in the position and has the necessary expertise to solve the problems we have,” said Milei in an interview on A Dos Voces on Wednesday night. Caputo was one of Macri’s most trusted officials during his government and is considered to have been one of the main drivers of Argentina’s 2018 deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Caputo’s name wasn’t the only one floating around as a potential Milei cabinet member. Different media outlets confirmed that Milei’s rival-turned-ally Patricia Bullrich would be in charge of the Security Ministry, as she was during Macri’s administration. A spokesperson for LLA confirmed her appointment to the Herald but people close to Bullrich said they did not have information on the matter.

Bullrich was Juntos por el Cambio (JxC)’s presidential candidate and is the president of the PRO party, part of that coalition. She endorsed Milei’s candidacy after she came third in the first round of the presidential elections.

Not only did Milei’s party not confirm who would take on these key roles, but people who had already been appointed were also called into question on Thursday.

La Nación reported that Emilio Ocampo would not become the head of the Central Bank, as Milei had announced in September, due to the possibility that Caputo could be economy minister. The Herald spoke to sources close to Ocampo, who did not confirm if he would or would finally not take on the role. Ocampo was one of the main defenders of abolishing the peso, having co-authored a book called Dolarización: una solución para Argentina (“Dollarization: a solution for Argentina”)

Should Ocampo step down, some media pundits have interpreted the move as Milei toning down his flagship campaign proposal of dollarizing the economy.

Moreover, Télam reported that national congresswoman Carolina Piparo will not be the head of ANSES, the country’s social security agency, as was previously announced. Some media outlets reported that Osvaldo Giordano, Córdoba’s finance secretary, could take on the role, but that wasn’t officially confirmed.

In the evening, after all of those rumors circulated in every national media outlet, sources inside LLA told the Herald that “there shouldn’t be any news today.”

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