Political books about Santiago Caputo, Javier, and Karina Milei: the "iron triangle" of power

A Milesian afternoon! All the presentations about the key figures in the national government took place on Saturday, May 3rd. From the political event by intellectual Agustín Laje to the presentations of journalistic books by Jorge Fontevecchia, Victoria de Masi, Maia Jastreblansky, and Manu Jove.

The Fair was a sounding board for national politics, where the political, economic, social, and cultural situation was discussed from various perspectives. The large audiences recorded demonstrated this.

The agenda began with the hottest topic of the day. Well before the scheduled time (5:30 p.m.), a long line formed in front of the José Hernández Hall to attend the presentation of Agustín Laje's book, Globalismo (Harper Collins), published in 2024. The far-right writer, lecturer, and political scientist from Córdoba is Milei's founding intellectual. He founded and chairs the Fundación Libre, a conservative think tank. He was accompanied by another "beacon" of ideas: Alberto Benegas Lynch, Jr., professor and rector of Eseade University.

They were not alone. Sitting in the front row were Justice Minister Mariano Cúneo Libarona ; Secretary of State for Worship and Civilization Nahuel Sotelo ; Director of Human Rights at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ursula Basset ; LLA national deputies Alberto Tiburcio “Bertie” Benegas Lynch (wearing a red Red Hot Chili Peppers t-shirt), Nicolás Fernando Mayoraz , and Santiago Santurio , among others.

Before an audience of nearly a thousand people, Laje asked: "How can we combat globalism? On the one hand, with cultural warfare . That is, each of us has an active role to play. There are no more excuses. We are in the era of social media. Today, everyone can make their voices heard, and everyone has a moral and political responsibility to do so. And on the other hand, we must advance our electoral battles; we must win the elections. Because in the end, it is the state that ultimately decides whether or not to support this transfer of power to international arenas." Libertarian activists spread throughout the fair. Some approached the Hojas del Sur publishing house stand, which offered a wide range of libertarian and conservative books.

Meanwhile, the day continued at a fever pitch with two simultaneous presentations at 7 p.m. In the Victoria Ocampo Room, Jorge Fontevecchia, president and CEO of Perfil, presented his book , "Fontevecchia vs. Milei " (Planeta), accompanied by Ricardo Roa , Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Clarín, and Tomás Rebord , lawyer, radio host, and Blender streamer. The coincidence of World Freedom of Expression Day was the ideal context to discuss the problems facing journalism in our country, which has been virulently criticized by President Milei. Roa began by stating: "In recent days, (the president) has repeatedly accused us of being prophets of hate, which is a Kirchnerist strategy. He believes he is empowered to say anything. And therefore, this is partly a political issue, but it is also part of economic policy." He added: "It strikes me as odd that the Minister of Economy, Luis Caputo , a man incapable of generating conflict, came out and said that journalism is disappearing."

Rebord argued that "every other Tuesday, Javier Milei insults me on Twitter, Santiago Caputo is always commenting, they insult you, they criticize you. In my experience, at least, I've never felt limited in what I could say, what I couldn't say, I've never had a work problem, I've never been harassed. Yes, they insult me ​​on social media, but I don't know if it's generational, I don't know if it's because of the code, I've normalized it."

For Fontevecchia , who is often the target of the president's attacks, "journalism will endure, because the need to explain what's happening will not cease. That's why we create explainers, and among them, we create journalists." He concluded: "Behind the controversy and criticism of the governments' professional and inquisitorial forms of journalism, there is a very subtle criticism of the very system of separation of powers."

Also at 7 p.m., a few meters away, with the Fair's aisles packed with people browsing stands and taking advantage of the opportunity to read books along the way, journalist Iván Schargrodsky interviewed writer Victoria de Masi, author of the book Karina (Sudamericana), in a room with the mythical and honorable name of Rodolfo Walsh . "All governments have had their witch doctors, it's just that they weren't interested in showing them off," the journalist noted.

Karina is a portrait, a great journalistic profile that De Masi developed the story while working on the outskirts of the Presidency's General Secretariat and taking notes on her surroundings, ever since the pandemic. Although the president's right-hand woman declined to be interviewed, the columnist covered every detail of her current role and an atypical journey, that of an outsider who, like her brother, has set goals and objectives and, through obsessions, doesn't stop until she gets where she wants to go.

“Spirituality and all these kinds of beliefs, which until recently were called anti-science and science, are the new religion. So, there's no longer any hesitation in sharing these kinds of things. Many sources told me that Karina: 'sees you and knows,'” De Masi told an audience captivated by the spoken-word portrait of Karina Milei. This “gift” has its pros and cons. For example, in the creation of lists: “it doesn't respond to traditional politics.” And as a result of his research, De Masi concludes: “I don't think Karina is that interested in money; what she's interested in is power, and she's interested in something else, which is the recognition she didn't have before.”

She also left an interesting definition that ultimately highlights a point of strength that is also her Achilles' heel: "Karina's ideology is her brother. She ventures into a system she doesn't know."

Almost at the end of a long day of political books. In the Ernesto Sabato room, a very long line stretched between the stands waiting to enter to see the presentation of the book The Monk , the biography of the remaining side of the Iron Triangle , that of the enigmatic Santiago Caputo , enthroned as Milei's Rasputin . Accompanying the authors Maia Jastreblansky and Manu Jove were political analyst and Odisea Argentina host Carlos Pagni and psychologist and television host Diego Sehinkman.

The Monk is a captivating biography because of its investigative work that reveals a journalistically interesting life. A highly dynamic roadmap that slips through the interstices of the darkness of power. An ideal profile for understanding the current times, one that the authors managed to draw with talent and skill to capture the true story of this "monk," this "eminence grise," as he is often described in Spain, who is at the center of the underground life of this government.

Carlos Pagni, who often refers to Caputo as "the magician of the Kremlin," referring to the realist fiction written by Italian political scientist Giuliano da Empoli , spoke of an experiment featuring this strategist: "It's something that was fully introduced in Argentina through La libertad avanza (Freedom Advances) . Cristina, Massa, Macri could use social media, but now these leaders live within the networks, and this is very well explained in the book, how this political group handles these new instruments." Milei decided to give him power, Pagni noted. "She gave it to someone who understands that public opinion is something susceptible to being, I won't say manipulated, maybe it is, conditioned, operated, shaped with all the cynicism that this entails regarding ideas."

For his part, Sehinkman praised the book and brought to the room scenes from recent events. “What we're seeing, and what's causing quite a bit of confusion, and we don't know where it's going to end up in its full development, is that this black monk is letting himself be seen, that he's allowing himself to be photographed more than necessary in circumstances that don't necessarily favor the government. And that he's losing his composure at times and is acting purely on impulse,” the TN host noted. He concluded: “As spectators, and also as citizens, we're beginning to be disconcerted because, generally, in a car, there's a brake and an accelerator; there aren't two accelerators. If Milei is the accelerator, does this other member of the ruling class—and there are three—accelerate or brake?”