Argentina's new cabinet chief sets dialogue as goal

BUENOS AIRES

Argentine President Javier Milei's new cabinet chief has vowed to bring his political expertise to bear on negotiations for economic reform, conceding that diplomacy is not his boss's forte.

Guillermo Francos, until now Milei's interior minister, was chosen on May 27 to replace Nicolas Posse as cabinet chief at a time when the government is trying to push a rash of budget-cutting and economic liberalization reforms through congress, where the ruling party is in a minority.

The cabinet chief is the highest-ranked minister in the Argentine government.

Francos, 74, is an experienced negotiator of moderate tone that stands in stark contrast to Milei's often abrasive attacks on legislators and even foreign leaders who do not agree with him.

"The president chose me because he realizes that with Argentine politics it becomes complicated for him because he does not understand it... and I have a greater possibility of dialogue," Francos told Radio Rivadavia.

"He has the wisdom to understand that you cannot talk with politicians without someone who is capable of dialogue and that is the role he has assigned to me."

Milei, an economist, was a political outsider when he won election last year on a wave of anti-government sentiment, vowing to halt Argentina's decades of economic decline.

After nearly six months in power, Milei's government is at a turning point.

Its austerity measures have helped to slow inflation, though it remains sky-high, and Milei has boasted the first budget surplus more than a decade.

But the economy contracted by 5.3 percent in the first quarter of 2024, tens of thousands of jobs have been lost and half the population now lives in poverty.