The first Decree of Necessity and Urgency (DNU) of the president Javier Milei – which was signed during the afternoon of this Sunday, on its first day in the Casa Rosada, and published early on Monday in the Official Gazette – contemplates, among its main points, the reduction of 18 ministries to 9. This is a one of the first measures aimed at lowering public spending that the libertarian leader referred to during his presidential campaign in Argentina.
The DNU also contemplates that of the four Secretariats of State, Strategic Affairs, becomes dependent on the Chief of Staff, in charge of Nicholas Ownswhile the other three -Legal and Technical; of Communication and Press, and the General of the Presidency- They will have rank and hierarchy of Ministry.
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In this first decree of the new administration it is stated that “It is necessary to adapt the provisions of the Law of Ministries and the objectives set with the purpose of rationalizing and making the actions of the National State more efficient”.
The wallets that will work from now on are Securitydirected by Patricia Bullrich; Justicein the hands of Mariano Cuneo Libarona; Economyunder the orbit of Luis Caputo; External relationshipsdirected by Diana Mondino; Insidewith Guillermo Francos at the helm, Healthwith Mario Russo and Defending, with Luis Petri at the helm. And the recently created ones: Human capitaldirected by Sandra Pettovello and Infrastructureby Guillermo Ferraro.
About Health There were several twists and turns: first it was considered to be under the orbit of Human capitalthen it depended as the secretariat of the Chief of Staff until it was finally decided to keep it as a ministry.
About Human capital, also details the powers over “everything related to education, culture, relationships and individual and collective work conditions (…) social security; food security, poverty reduction, the development of equal opportunities for the most vulnerable sectors (…) and matters related to access to decent housing and habitat.” That is to say, the former ministries of Social Development, Education, Labor, Women and Culture will be subsumed in this portfolio.
As long as it is achieved that “in order to optimize public works, housing, communications and transportation policies, it is necessary to create the Ministry of Infrastructure”.
The defunct ministry of Science and Technology, meanwhile, it will be absorbed by the Chief of Staff, while Tourism and Environment and Sustainable Development They will enter the organizational chart of the Ministry of the Interior, which will be led by Guillermo Francos. In all the demotions of ministries in secretariats, the DNU points out that “the budget credits, organizational units, assets, personnel with their positions and endowments in force to date” must be transferred. That is to say, there would not be a significant reduction in personnel and items.
The Energy Secretariat, which in Milei’s original design was planned within the Infrastructure orbit, will finally remain within the Ministry of Economy, which will be led by Luis Caputo. Although this is a crucial area for the design of economic policy, Libertad Avanza attributed the change to a bureaucratic issue.
“It is an area that regulates matters that require immediate signature and a transfer complicated management,” they explained. It is not yet defined, but it is estimated that in the coming months the migration from one ministry to another should be completed.
