Milei’s cabinet was sworn in behind closed doors on inauguration day. Later, the incoming officials were whisked away to a secret viewing of Madame Butterfly. On Tuesday, an economic body blow to the nation was announced via a mismanaged recorded message. 

Argentina’s new government has thus far done a fine job of protecting itself from democratic accountability in the form of press scrutiny. These moves, which limit journalists’ access to information, mark a striking departure from protocol and a worrying attitude towards transparency. We hope that they are off notes and not the dominant key of the next four years.

Disparaging and excluding the press is not a new trend. Milei himself was a media personality in the years preceding his rise to political prominence, often loudly degrading journalists on air. No cameras were permitted at his closing campaign rally at the Movistar Arena. In the run-up to the general election in October, several journalist organizations condemned La Libertad Avanza for barring international press and media outlets critical of the coalition from accessing their campaign headquarters. 

Inauguration day saw some breaks from tradition, including Milei’s new cabinet being sworn in behind closed doors with no press present and no public livestream. The reason later circulated via WhatsApp was that they “wanted to get straight to work.” However, that didn’t preclude new state leadership from attending a sealed gala at the renowned Teatro Colón. The top two floors of the theater were cordoned off, and again, no members of the press or the public were allowed.

Tuesday was perhaps the most remarkable example. Argentina waited with bated breath for an announcement from Economy Minister Luis Caputo scheduled for 5 p.m., knowing that a devaluation was coming. We also knew, and were already concerned, that the announcement would be a pre-recorded video. At 5:15 p.m., we were told to wait until 6 p.m. only to hear the video was being recorded again. Re-scheduled for 7:15 p.m., the video went live on YouTube at 7 p.m. — a series of austerity measures and a 54% devaluation which more than doubled the exchange rate.

Caputo revealing the government’s sweeping cuts and steep devaluation this way was already striking: reading a 10-point list to a camera with nobody to react, ask questions, and get more details about the decisions that deeply affect people’s lives. According to a source who saw both videos, the only difference between them turned out to be the backdrop, which made the delay more galling.  

Behind the scenes at the Economy Ministry, a group of economists, influencers, and a handful of journalists were privy to separate off-the-record sessions outlining the totality of Caputo’s measures before the video was published. Those economists published reports the next day, while the media outlets where said journalists work broke the story that the pension formula would be changed via decree — a crucial decision not included in Caputo’s video. We consider that a government implementing such top-down fragmentation via privileged insider knowledge and secretive drip-feeding of sensitive policy is deeply concerning.

When asked by the press the following morning about the wide-ranging cuts and the policies revealed by the select few who were privy to the “off” sessions, Milei’s spokesman Manuel Adorni — an economist by profession — claimed he did not understand the questions being asked. This is also an early trend in the new government’s dealings with the press this week: evading direct questions by claiming ignorance.

Whether or not these decisions are harbingers of worse to come, as the Buenos Aires Herald we consider it necessary to point them out as we witness a new era in the country’s politics. Argentines deserve to know the full extent of the policies that will deeply affect their lives — and those decisions should be communicated directly and transparently by their elected politicians. 

— Buenos Aires Herald Editorial Staff