Do as I say, not as I do. The Government finally made it official this Monday that family members and spouses of state employees will no longer be able to hold public positions. DNU 959/2024 establishes that “privilege, benefit or advantage based on hereditary ties will not be admitted, regardless of the contracting method” to take positions in the various state bodies. The measure is based on “principles of equality and transparency,” says the order, “from which we try to achieve a more efficient management. ” The arguments even include a quote from Juan Bautista Alberdi about the need to have “advantages of blood or birth” in public administration. But there is not a single line in the entire rule that clarifies what will happen to the nepotism cases that have already been fulfilled or to the large team of brothers, partners, financiers and even personal lawyers who put the main libertarian officials were appointed by hand from December 10 till now, against the “anti-caste” discourse.
There are heavy names on that list and in the first place it shows the general secretary of the presidency Karina Milei. With decree 12/2023, which abolished the ban on direct family members being appointed to the cabinet, allowed the president’s sister to take office and established a saga of libertarian nepotism, which continued with cases in almost all ministries, some with scandal included.
The president’s spokesman, Manuel Adorni, got his brother Francisco a million dollar job in the Ministry of Defense led by Luis Petri. Martín Menem appointed his nephew, Federico Sharif, with the rank of director in the Chamber of Deputies, of which he is the president. Javier Milei himself appointed the lawyer and his personal friend, Diego Spagnuolo, as head of the National Disability Agency, despite the fact that he has no studies or management experience on the matter, and that he was completely or – known to organizations in the sector 10 December. Patricia Bullrich was not far behind and appointed Silvia Turetzky, the treasurer of her research center – investigated by the IGJ for moving campaign funds – very close to her, in the Ministry of Security.
“Brothers be united”
Between the law and Martín Fierro, Javier Milei chooses the latter. Not so much to love José Hernandez’s book but to uphold the first rule: brothers to be united. This is how he changed, when he took office as the head of state, order 93/2018 which tried to put a special stop to nepotism and therefore named his sister Karina as Secretary General of the Presidency. Those were times when the Milei Government lowered the banner of struggle against “the caste.”
This amendment opened a storm of family members in the national government. Especially brothers. Manuel Adorni can confirm this, in addition to smiling, month after month, when his home banking receives a salary of more than four million pesos for his work as presidential spokesman…
“The Decision”
The power that Karina Milei gathers is nothing new. The Secretary of the Presidency divides her hours between public service and the creation of La Libertad Avanza as a national party with a view to the 2025 elections. man.
But the surname Menem bounces around almost every region of the Argentine State. At the head of the Chamber of Deputies is Lule’s nephew, Martín Menem, who is not only reluctant to campaign to become the new governor of La Rioja but also didn’t seem to hesitate when he had to explain Sharif’s appointment. Menem, Just 22 years old, as Director General of the Secretariat of the President of the Lower House: “He is not my nephew, but his nephew,” he said.
For his work, young Sharif earns more than two million pesos per month.
The list continues: Amado Omar Menem was put in charge of the Pami delegation, Amalia Menem, Lule’s sister, is a permanent member of Congress, and they recently added duties in Customs, with the appointment of Jorge Horacio Menem – Eduardo’s cousin – as the new Director of Customs Process Reengineering of the General Directorate of Customs, replacing Maximiliano Miguel Luengo. For his part, Eduardo Menem, brother of Carlos, benefited from the Court with a privileged retirement after his time in the National Assembly.
And, as if that were not enough, this Monday La Libertad Avanza promoted a youth space to gain ground in Buenos Aires. The group is called “Carlos Menem”.
“Caste party in Congress”
Regulation 959/2024 is limited only to regulating the income of the national Executive Branch. Congress breathes a sigh of relief and the La Libertad bloc moves forward, much more. Because if the seats are obtained by votes, in consultations and other positions the weight of the last name is (many).
The most famous case was the case of Vilma Bedia, an evangelical minister who came to the Senate through an agreement with Milei. And when he had the bank, he found his three children, at least one brother, a niece and even a sister-in-law. In fact, until the record goes out, he had the support of other senators from the block, who hired part of the Bedia clan as their advisers, in exchange, of course, for returning the favor by hiring the relatives
The scandal started at the end of March and even Victoria Villarruel had to intervene, saying that she was not going to allow any kind of nepotism. Fortunately for Bedia, the vice president’s words were washed away because after she purged some of the family members, one of her children (José Jair Mamani) and Daiana Ester Llanes, his niece, are still appear as her advisers. But Bedia was not the only one. For a few months, Ezequiel Atauche appointed his brother Pedro Patricio as adviser on the temporary floor of the Upper House. “He’s your confidant, he’s a lawyer and he handles a lot of the office’s affairs,” they said. One of two: either there was little trust or the Atauche brothers continued to work in the shadows, as they are no longer listed as an A1 consultant.
The libertarian deputy César Treffinger is the one who keeps a family member as an employee. Among his ranks he has no one else but his son Juan Valentín, who is not older than 22 years old.
More issues
One of the most famous at the beginning of the libertarian administration was one Diego Spagnuolo, Milei’s personal lawyer, who was appointed head of ANDIS without any other precedent than to accompany Carlos Kambourian as a consultant – accused of public funds from the Hospital. Spagnuolo is responsible for changing more than 200 thousand disability pensions that are registered for the next year as recognized by the Government in the 2025 budget.
The IGJ approved in April 2023, before the presidential campaign, the intervention of the Institute for Strategic Security Studies (IEES)a kind of Think Tank and foundation for Patricia Bullrich’s financial movements. A series of “irregularities” were discovered in the management of funds. The treasurer of the foundation was the person who signed off on the income and expenditure of money through dinners, events and conferences that funded the current minister, Silvia Turetzky. Today she is a public official in that same ministry and earns more than three million pesos.
María Belén Casas, is an officer on the team of “Galleguito” Alejandro Álvarez, Undersecretary of University Policies. She is also the girlfriend of Daniel Parisini, better known as Fat Dan, one of the leaders of the Government’s virtual parapolice patrol, who is in charge of attacking both his own and the opposition. .
Diego Sucalesca is a comedian, actor and journalist, and since July he has also been the head of the National Investment Group. There is a remarkable position in his CV to hold that role: he was the main character in the play “Oifis Milei”. Karina Milei was appointed as the head of Brand na Dwcha and then he was promoted in the organization that went from the Chancellor to the General Secretary of the Presidency.
