MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Milei and Macri meet at Olivos presidential residence

Macri said at a rally that he would still support Milei but PRO and LLA would not merge

Argentine President Javier Milei welcomed former head of state Mauricio Macri (2015-2019) at the Olivos residence. The private encounter lasted about four hours. No information was released about the issues discussed but Spokesman Manuel Adorni said it was “a meeting of friends.” According to local media, it was a follow-up on the talks they held on July 8 and 9 in Tucumán during the signing of the so-called May Pact.

“The President does not talk about what he discusses with his friends,” Adorni went on. “The relationship between President Milei and former President Macri has always been excellent,” he added.

Both Macri and Milei were reported to agree on the ongoing situation in Venezuela and believe President Nicolás Maduro needs to step down.

Macri was instrumental in Milei's election last year when he endorsed the Libertarian against then-Economy Minister Sergio Massa for the runoff.

Presidential Advisor Santiago Caputo said he had “an excellent opinion of President Macri.”

“With me in particular he has always been extremely generous. I think he laid the foundations so that Argentina could finally change. I admire the construction made by the PRO in the last years and I come from that school. We are enormously grateful for his unconditional support for the change that President Milei is carrying out. We have had very good private talks, it is always interesting to listen to a person who has achieved so many things,” he also pointed out.

Macri held Thursday a rally with his Propuesta Republklicana (PRO) party during which he ratified his support to Milei but announced that there would be no merger with La Libertad Avanza. ”The president has proposed a merger (...) I expressed to him that in the 21st century, nobody gets married without knowing each other and living together,“ Macri told his followers. Milei ”is very clear about what needs to be done“ and ”has ideas, conviction, and courage“ but ”he still has the challenge of building a team,” Macri went on.

Although Milei managed to dodge imminent hyperinflation, he still needs to shape up his team because -in Macri's view- it was unacceptable to have people from the Alberto Fernández administration (2019-2023) still on their jobs.

“The changes to be made require a reengineering that takes time. And today time weighs. Argentines want more changes and faster because people are making huge sacrifices to support the right economic course taken by Argentina,” Macri argued. However, “it is a challenge to help those who are not willing to be helped,” he stressed.