Before the start of the special session, the president of Argentina, Javier Milei, already knew what it was about. Minutes before the session, he posed alongside the Chief of Staff and spokesperson, Manuel Adorni, for a photo with other government officials.
He entered the battle to support Adorni, one of his closest employees, who has been at the center of several scandals regarding the evolution of his assets and expenses since he began his role alongside the president, in December 2023.
For 45 minutes, Milei stayed in one of the boxes and greeted the arrival of her spokesperson with applause. He also criticized left-wing deputies for having an ideology and defended the government’s position in the Middle East conflict, in which Argentina maintains an unrestricted alignment with the United States and Israel.
The opposition also collaborated with the atmosphere closer to a spectacle than a parliamentary debate. The deputy for the province of Santa Fé, Esteban Paulón, distributed popcorn at the venue before the session, as if it were a preview of a film at the cinema or a sporting event.
The debate was called for Adorni to deliver his management report, a monthly obligation that heads of cabinet in Argentina have. Since taking office, he has never fulfilled it. But, on Wednesday (29) the expectation was in the explanations that Adorni had to give to , more than in the government’s accountability.
For an hour, the spokesperson took stock of the main objectives achieved and analyzed the projects that the government has ahead. He attacked the opposition and prepared to answer questions for more than six hours, most of them related to the scandals that complicate him.
It was the spokesperson’s first appearance in more than a month. He had been silent since March, just days after the wave of accusations began. The photo of the entire cabinet supporting him was one of the few public displays of support he received from his own government.
Regarding the expenses, Adorni said that he did not commit any crime, that he will prove this in court, and that his expenses did not generate any costs to the State.
The spokesperson also prepared a political statement. Asked about his future in government, he said “I will not resign”.
Towards the end, he returned to one of the government’s favorite strategies: confrontation with Kirchnerism. He reminded the Kirchnerist deputies that Cristina Kirchner is in detention after being convicted of corruption and that they are not the best suited to raise moral issues.
The investigations involving Adorni
The Chief of Staff’s problems began in March, when it became known that his wife had been invited by the presidency to fly on the occasion of “Argentina week”, a promotional activity to attract investors from different sectors of the economy.
Adorni acknowledged at the time that his wife had traveled with him, said he did so because he needed her by his side, because she is “his life partner”, and said a phrase that generated controversy: “I came to spend a week to relax in New York”. This definition went viral and fell like a bomb in the social mood.
In addition to the controversy, the court closed the investigation due to the lack of crime in the case of alleged embezzlement of public funds, and Adorni celebrated on the social network
The Court supported the Chief of Staff, but was unable to resolve the ethical dilemma of allowing his wife to travel on the presidential plane. It was already too late to calm the impact of the issue on public opinion. Even more so when it was Adorni himself who said, in August 2024, that state planes would never again be used for private travel, to polarize with Kirchnerism, which is accused of using official planes for personal purposes.
After the first revelation, accusations against the leader emerged daily, like a ripple effect. To date, he is being investigated for illicit enrichment and financial inconsistencies, after reports of purchasing property, goods and travel expenses, all of which were incompatible with his income level.
There is also another case open for one of these private trips, to Uruguay, which was carried out on a private plane allegedly rented by a state company.
The spokesperson defended these accusations during a press conference on March 25, in which he distanced himself from all cases and denied the allegations. “I built my assets before entering the government. I have nothing to hide. We are making all the information they need available to the justice system and the corresponding control bodies”, he argued.
In this press conference, Adorni summed up in one sentence the symbolic impact that the allegations have on society: “No other government has maintained such a high standard as ours. Ever.” It is precisely because of this supposed ethical and moral elevation of the government that his case causes so much damage.
Milei campaigned against the traditional behavior of politicians and offered himself to society as an honest and austere leader. “There is no money” has been their motto in the face of thousands of social demands. Now, reality challenges his speech and undermines the agreement he proposed to Argentines.
