There is a lot of mystery and secret around Santiago Caputo, NA’s main strategist. The rare times it is seen in public, it is often smoking a cigarette with its characteristic Ray-Ban glasses, sometimes leaning against the light pink columns of the presidential palace. Russian prison -style tattoos appear in the sleeves of the light blue or white shirts that he usually wears at work. All of this contributes to the fascination of a man who, until two years ago, was practically unknown outside specific political circles.
Today, caputo “is the most requested name for meetings by hedge funds And institutional investors visiting Argentina, ”said Walter Stoeppelwerth, director of investment at Brokerage Capital Group, based in Buenos Aires.“ And it should be given its fundamental role as a pillar and architect of the president’s cultural change campaign. ”
Caputo status comes from the huge influence it has on Milei – sometimes even more than his uncle, the Minister of Economy.
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Santiago Caputo advises Malei in his controversial speeches, such as what the president did in Davos ,. Another was criticized by the local media for being strongly inspired by the fictional President Jed Bartlet of the favorite Caputo series, “The West Wing.” Despite its liberal bias, the series represents to Caputo how I would like the politics to be. He encourages his advisers to watch her at least once a year.
The president’s social media structure, including troll accounts that respond to insults and amplify compliments, is supervised by caputo. Last month, some of these accounts moved from the leftist journalist and frequently critical of the Julia Mengolini government after online rumors that she would have an incestuous relationship with her brother. She and Milei are now involved in a legal battle for defamation.
The details of the role of caputo in government and their thinking are based on interviews with a dozen government officials, friends and former colleagues, all asking anonymity to talk about one of Argentina’s most influential characters. Caputo refused to speak to this article.
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Caputo functions are very wide. It supervises the Milei intelligence agency, immigration and customs units, the Money and Privatizations Anti-Lavation Department. But behind the scenes, it is known for its balanced charm and temperament, keeping calm amid the chaos it helps to create. Caputo has also chosen many high employees and helps lead negotiations in Congress. When asked about the role of caputo, Milei once said that he is his number 2 in politics.
As the influence of Caputo-and the public funds he controls-grew after Malei named him “architect” of his overwhelming victory, also increased the rumors of friction with the other counselor of Milei, the president’s sister, Karina. The three form what Milei calls his “iron triangle.” Karina and Caputo’s advisors are known to differ in political strategies, especially with the approach of the middle -term elections in October. Investors closely follow the vote, seeing it as a referendum on the presidency of Milei.
True believer
Argentine artist Benjamin Solari Parravicini predicted that a man would save Argentina from a bloody revolt like the French Revolution. He drew this figure, the gray man in 1941.
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For caputo, this man is Milei. During the unlikely presidential campaign that Caputo led to Milei in 2023, he tattooed this image on his back, as shown in an X post by his friend and colleague Agustin Romo. A larger version of the same painting is in the caputo office at Casa Rosada.
Caputo has always had anti-wake and minimum state conservative views that promotes, and sought an outsider to publicly amplify them. When he found the TV commentator of strong language, who is not afraid to challenge the status quo, he knew he had found his man.
The two met during the campaign for Congress in 2021, through their friend and colleague of caputo, Ramiro Marra, legislator of the city of Buenos Aires and ally near Milei. Caputo worked at Move Group, a respected consultancy in the Argentine capital that serves customers of all political trends, and acted as a counselor in Milei’s campaign. When Milei decided to run for presidency in 2023, Caputo started working full time for him.
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“He is a true believer” in Milei and his political project, said Martin Yeza, the Republican National Party Congressman (Pro), who hired a caputo for his campaign to Pinamar City Hall in 2015. Yeza says they may be discussing politics or playing, but when it comes to Milei or their policies, caputo expression becomes serious.
“I have known him for 17 years and I love that, as a person, he is absolutely normal, which I say as a compliment,” said Yeza. But as a political strategist, Caputo is “very disruptive. He is here to show that you are not coming to the center being centered, but promoting diametrically opposite policies.”
Caputo studied political science at the University of Buenos Aires, but did not conclude the course, and started for more than a decade in the political consultancy under Jaime Durán Barba, famous political strategist of former President Mauricio Macri.
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During and after pro-market administration, Caputo pressed Macri’s internal circle to “let Macri be Macri”, that is, implement his tax courts and embrace his right-wing ideology without worrying about the politically correct. But Macri adopted a more moderate position and lost reelection. Already Milei followed the Caputo advice firmly: be yourself and do not worry about the politically correct. So far, it has worked very well.
“People always say, ‘Milei should seek to build consensus,’” said political consultant Ana Iparragirre, partner at the GBAO Political Strategy Firm in Washington. “But it is important to understand that the government’s strategy is not to build a majority, but an intense minority, and to fragment the rest of the political spectrum to master the agenda.”
Milei got what no politician ever imagined in Argentina: he cut spending on energy subsidies, pensions, government wages and public works at five percentage points of GDP – an unthinkable number anywhere, much less in Argentina. And its approval is around 45%, according to the latest Latam Pulse survey by Atlasintel for Bloomberg News.
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Caputo is credited with making this possible – partly by his communication machine, and partly for presenting Milei to his economic tsar, Uncle Luis Caputo.
In an interview with a podcast in February, Luis Caputo recalled that Santiago, his cousin son, called him in the first half of 2023, when the Argentine presidential race warmed.
“‘Hey, everyone says we should talk. We are family and we’ve never talked,” said Luis that Santiago said. The two met to discuss Argentina’s serious economic situation, and Caputo later organized a meeting with Milei. Luis attributes the rest to the heavenly forces.
The market celebrated the arrival of uncle caputo. He was one of his own, and so far avoided the sudden dolarization they feared so much under Milei and led inflation to a minimum of five years in May.
“Not always beautiful”
Santiago Caputo also leads a young and experienced social media team that takes care of the administration’s communication of the administration. They are anonymous accounts of trolls that amplify any post that favors Malei – and overthrow those that don’t.
“The continuous mobilization of supporters by Santiago caputo is absolutely decisive, even if it is not always beautiful or honored,” said Andrei Roman, CEO of Atlasintel.
Shortly before the municipal elections of May 18, the @mileemperador account and others linked to the communication team shared a video generated by showing Macri saying that his candidate would give up to make his way to Milei’s candidate. The account – which close people say they are managed by caputo – was deleted the next morning. The video, which was denied as false by Milei’s officers, is under investigation for electoral fraud for deceiving voters.
Despite mastering Milei’s public image, Caputo’s own image is a nightmare. The strategist appeared in public in February, when he interrupted a TV interview after the president’s first major scandal. , causing losses of $ 250 million, for which the president denies guilt. Although the edited version of the interview has gone well, caputo and its tattoos appear in the full version on Youtube. In it, Malei stumbles into a question about his legal strategy, Caputo passes in front of the camera to whisper in the president’s ear, and the journalist starts the question.
Despite the successful interview, the caputo failure gave the impression that a government that criticizes corruption had something to hide. That night Caputo verbally offered his resignation to the president, who refused.
Increasing tensions
If the middle -term elections are well for Milei, as most research provides, this may attract foreign investments while the libertarian strengthens his tight minority in Congress to approve more substantial reforms.
Thus, Caputo’s relationship with Karina has been the target of greater scrutiny, given his divergent electoral strategies.
Caputo wants to build alliances with more centrist blocks, such as the Maximilian Senator Abad of the Radical Civic Union and the Pro de Macri.
On the other hand, Karina’s direct advisors, such as the president of the House of Representatives Martin Menem and his cousin and political organizer Lule Menem, prefer to launch their own libertarian candidates and do not want to form other alliances.
When asked about tensions in an interview with the local channel LN+ On June 19, Milei reiterated that Caputo and his sister form the iron triangle.
“Would you change the team you are winning?” asked. “So why would I expect me to change?”
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