Two resignations and a firing shake up government

In less than 24 hours, heads of INADI, National Mint and Anti-Corruption Office have left the Fernández administration

With New Year around the corner, the government will have to replace three key positions following the resignations of the heads of the anti-discrimination institute, National Mint, and Anti-Corruption Office.

This Thursday, Victoria Donda resigned as chairwoman of the National Institute Against Discrimination, Racism and Xenophobia (INADI), a role she had held since the government came to power in 2019.

In her resignation letter, she heavily criticized the government, accusing it of having “no capacity to answer the ever-growing, complex demands made by a society that expects more from us”, adding that it left a “bitter taste”.

She also told Radio con Vos: “We came to carry out a government program, which we couldn’t do due to the pandemic and the war in Europe, but also because of a lot of political decisions made by this government’s officials. Not being able to criticize that is also a problem.”

In the interview, Donda also spoke of government officials that “didn’t see what happened in reality, in each one of the [country’s] neighborhoods” and “just think about how to be on good terms with the IMF”.

She wrote in her letter that she was quitting preemptively because she had learned that her contract would not be renewed by the chief presidential advisor, Juan Manuel Olmos. This, she said, was because she had made her political differences with the government clear in a number of public statements. 

In the Radio con Vos interview, she said she was “saddened that the infighting was made public now” by “people close to [president] Alberto Fernández”, referring to two news stories that anonymously quoted government sources who suggested she might be dismissed. However, she praised vice-president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. 

In a press release, Olmos said it was president Fernández himself that decided not to extend Donda’s contract, since he had lost confidence in her ability to lead the INADI. “[Donda] made the decision to resign 48 hours before finishing her tenure,” he added.

That same day, Economy Minister Sergio Massa asked for the resignation of the head of the country’s mint, Rodolfo Gabrielli. According to official sources, Massa was not satisfied with the year’s results, which were presented yesterday. The sources denied further comment.

This morning, the head of the Anti-Corruption Office, Félix Crous, also quit. Also in the position since Fernández came to power, his decision was published in the government’s gazette and no further details were given. A source told El Destape that he would return to the Office of the Public Prosecutor because the temporary leave he had taken in order to work for the Anti-Corruption Office was ending. El Destape added that Crous, a personal friend of president Fernández, is going through undisclosed health issues.

Earlier this month, Alejandro Grimson, an ally of Fernández, resigned from his role as presidential advisor. The government has ruled out a political crisis, but on the eve of 2023, at least one major cabinet shake-up is already on the cards – Chief of Staff Juan Manzur announced in October that he would leave the position in early 2023.

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