Santiago Cafiero: 'Macri sought to blame Argentine society for his own failures.'
TODAY 08:46
In a feature-length interview, Cabinet Chief Santiago Cafiero discusses Peronism past and present, the opposition, and what lies ahead for Argentina in the next two years.
Jorge Fontevecchia
JORGE FONTEVECCHIA
Cofundador de Editorial Perfil - CEO de Perfil Network.
He has been working with the man who now serves as president for over two years. He says after getting to know each other, they quickly agreed that Peronist unity was essential in order to beat Cambiemos. “We both arrived with scars," he explains.
Santiago Cafiero, President Alberto Fernández’s right-hand man, sketches the logic of governance as a social democratic Peronism which enjoys a tradition within his own family.
Argentina’s Cabinet chief vows that Frente de Todos will not break up despite the crisis. He speaks harshly against the Mauricio Macri administration, with a passion which seems to contradict his own narrative of favouring dialogue, a mantra which he never stops repeating.
Is the Peronism of Buenos Aires City or San Isidro, where you live, different from the rest of the country?
There is just one Peronism, with a single baggage of theory and doctrine expressing values very much based on its identity throughout its history. Like all processes Peronism has a history of some triumphs and many defeats. It has elements which fill us with pride and others which reflect their epoch in history, being hard for us to see and interpret. But there’s just one Peronism.
But then, of course, there are also the Peronists, men and women with a track record whose commitment to public affairs began via Peronism. That’s where the shades of difference start creeping in, regarding life stories and track records. That’s also where you have a certain access to generating public policy in the neighbourhood of your militancy.
More:
https://www.batimes.com.ar/news/argentina/santiago-cafiero-macri-sought-to-blame-argentine-society-for-his-own-failures.phtml
= new reply since forum marked as read
As if the Bush disaster never happened (!).
It's no wonder Macri named his party ('Republican Proposal') after the GOP: he, too, lives in a bubble - almost completely detached from reality. And his run-up-gambling-debts-and stick-everyone-with-the-bill policies are almost the same as Bush's.
Thanks for finding this, Judi. An insightful look at a man (Chief of Staff Santiago Cafiero) who, while often ignored by the media, probably does more to shape current Argentine government policy than anyone besides the president himself.
Try telling the Clarín Group that though!
Their longtime CEO Héctor Magnetto (Argentina's Rupert Murdoch - but worse) is obsessed with Cristina Kirchner; his media outlets constantly accuse her of being the "only one who makes decisions."
Which she probably doesn't mind, seeing as Fernández has a 60% job approval (in a continent where few presidents enjoy more than 30% approval) - even amid extremely challenging circumstances.
Argentine Chief of Staff Santiago Cafiero (right), with the president, shortly before the inaugural last year.
Pragmatic and fond of consensus, Cafiero nevertheless believes in executive action in the face of "opposition for opposition's sake" - a frequent problem in a country with a radicalized right wing whose voters, when polled, often express support for "a coup."
