Buenos Aires Herald 
The closure of the Central Bank remains a “non-negotiable” part of Javier Milei’s economic plan, the president-elect’s team said via a press statement on Friday. The release added that they were confirming Milei’s commitment to his proposal of eliminating the country’s main banking authority in order to shut down what they called “false rumors.”
The statement comes after a day of intense speculation regarding who will be Milei’s economy minister. While Bloomberg news agency reported on Thursday that Luis Caputo would be given the job, three sources from La Libertad Avanza (LLA) told the Herald that their was no official confirmation yet. Caputo served as Finance Secretary and also as president of the Central Bank during former President Mauricio Macri’s administration.
The rumor mill was also swirling regarding who would be in charge of running the Central Bank. Media outlets reported that dollarization advocate Emilio Ocampo, whom Milei had announced as the potential man for the job in September, would not take the position due to the possibility of Caputo being the economy minister.
The Herald spoke to sources close to Ocampo, who did not confirm if he would or would finally not take on the role. Ocampo was one of the main defenders of abolishing the peso, having co-authored a book called Dolarización: una solución para Argentina (“Dollarization: a solution for Argentina”).
The uncertainty seems to be pushing away some people close to the president-elect. Carlos Rodríguez, who Milei had said would be one of his top economic advisors were he to become president, said Friday that he was “ending all formal ties regarding economic advisory” with LLA. He added that it would be “better for the cause of freedom” if he could offer his opinions without them being associated “with a political party or a person.”
The press statement, published on an X account created to provide information on Milei’s decisions before the inauguration, added that two new ministers had been confirmed. Economist Osvaldo Giordano will be the head of the National Social Security Administration (ANSES, for its Spanish acronym), and engineer Horacio Martín will be in charge of YPF.
The naming of Giordano also came with a bit of controversy, given that Milei had said in a previous interview that national deputy Carolina Píparo would lead the organism in charge of pension management. Píparo even made a post on X saying that she would meet salient ANSES director Fernanda Raverta on Monday to discuss the transition.
