“Santiago, do you know who will replace me?”, “I”

Santiago Caféiero: I need your resignation.

Felipe Sola: What? My resignation? Because?

SC: You know, Felipe, that changes are taking place here.

FS: I hoped the President had the deference to ask me in person and give me the reasons. I am now on an international mission commanded by him. Tell me, Santiago, do you know who will replace me?

Short, uncomfortable silence.

SC: I…

End of the telephone conversation between the resigning chief of staff and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, still reconstituted before Bugle by very reliable sources.

The Chancellor until then leaned against the seat of the refueled Air Force Focker plane. He was on the last leg of a 14-hour trip to Mexico to represent Alberto Fernández at the Celac reunion, during which I had to speak on behalf of the President Argentina to thank the designation of the country at the head of this organization, which intends to challenge the OAS for the representation of American countries, with the exception of the United States and Canada.

Solá’s long trip included stops in Arica, Guayaquil, and El Salvador, where he received a call from Cafiero, who had just been dismissed from his post as Chief of Staff and compensated by his laissez-passer to the Ministry of External Relations.

Solá, very reliable sources assure, after this tense dialogue with his future replacement, texted by WhatsApp to the president, asking him the reasons for this sudden decision.

Fernandez replied: “I didn’t know you were traveling to Mexico”. The response confirmed Solá’s presidential treatment. The president had to make this trip to take over from Celac to replace Andrés López Obrador, his Mexican colleague and alleged mentor of Fernández’s international events, as he has said on numerous occasions. In other words, in the previous days Solá had been in close contact with the President to organize the details of the trip.

Even when the crisis erupted, the possibility of Alberto’s trip to Mexico remained until Cristina Kirchner’s letter rocked the shelf. Then it was agreed that Solá would be the one to represent him in front of Celac. It was the first and only foreign policy success the government could display. And the minister traveled on an official plane.

In other words, Fernández was absolutely aware of his foreign minister’s trip.

Solá was received at Mexico City airport by his local colleague Marcelo Ebrard and by the Argentine Ambassador, Carlos Tomada. There was a long dialogue at the airport during which the Mexican foreign minister conveyed greetings from his president and showed great interest in the crisis that is shaking the Argentine government.

The speech in front of Celac that Solá was to deliver, which this Saturday will return to the country, on behalf of Fernández, it was issued by an undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A sample of the dissatisfaction that the Chancellor provoked by the procedure of his impeachment.

The arrival of Santiago Cafiero in foreign relations is the result of a negotiation with Cristina Kirchner. Either he would follow Wado de Pedro, who was the ram of the Kirchnerist attack to force changes in the cabinet, or both would stay. This is how it happened.

So there was an agreed departure from Felipe Solá, because some government sources have spread. On the contrary, we know that the former Minister of Foreign Affairs communicated with other Peronist leaders who believe that a political cycle is ending and that the main protagonists can be swallowed up.

LGP