Adorni is gone! He resigned after the scandal and pressure from his own

Manuel Adorni, former presidential spokesperson and former chief of staff, resigned irrevocably from his position after two and a half years in public office. The news was confirmed after several months of agony under judicial and media scrutiny. The man of maximum trust of President Javier Milei and his sister Karina Milei, Secretary General of the Presidency, faces a judicial investigation for alleged illicit enrichment led by federal prosecutor Gerardo Pollicita, and there is speculation about an imminent summons for questioning in Comodoro Py.

The resignation occurred in a context of growing internal pressure. At his last press conference on May 8, a journalist asked him whether he or his colleagues received or had received extra pay, leaving him without an answer. From that moment on, the Press Room in the Casa Rosada was cordoned off with permanent custody by the Military House, the windows were frosted, and circulation was restricted.

The successor at the presidential spokesperson’s podium, Adrián Ravier, appeared on Friday and clarified: «I conceive journalism as a central axis in democracy.» That change was Milei’s first public acknowledgment of the magnitude of the problem. It was decided after an extensive meeting of nearly six hours in Olivos, where both addressed the internal complaint: «We can’t go on like this, no one talks about management, only about Manuel,» they complained from the front rows.

The incessant demand for a drastic decision intensified on Thursday with the evidence that while Adorni remained in office, it would be very difficult for Congress to pass laws sent by the Executive, under the permanent threat of being summoned for questioning. Karina Milei has on her agenda the Super RIGI, the law on inviolability of private property, electoral reform, and other «reforms» on which investment commitments depend, with unprecedented tax relief for companies interested in exploiting natural resources. A parallel priority is keeping external economic partners relaxed, who are monitoring the maneuvering capacity in Congress. That was the end of Adorni.

Adorni was once the face of the government and the La Libertad Avanza party. His success in the communication role with an acidic, mocking, and confrontational style brought him fame, turned him into a political leader, and put his name on the violet ballot for the legislative elections in the City of Buenos Aires in May 2025. «Adorni is Milei» was the slogan that papered downtown Buenos Aires. The dollar was around 1,350 pesos and inflation was close to 1.5% monthly. It was the first defeat in 20 years for the PRO in its stronghold, the party founded by former President Mauricio Macri. Peronism was pushed to third place.

Glory days that contrast with the unthinkable decline of his figure after the national victory of the violets in October. Adorni leaves in a different context, after the inflation peak of 3.4% in March, now returning to near 2%, and with the dollar again hovering around 1,500 pesos. That is the economic panorama he leaves the government in, along with the quasi-crisis/political paralysis from which almost everyone tried to escape in recent months but failed, dragged down by what the portals headline as «Adornigate.»

It is unknown which came first, the malaise of wages and consumption caused by the adjustment model or Adorni’s wealth scandal that sank the presidential image, but polls showed strong damage in recent months that may have hit bottom in May, although it remains to be seen if it stays there heading into next year, when Milei will seek reelection without Adorni by his side. The immediate cost for the leader of La Libertad Avanza and a global right-wing figure is the impediment to appealing to the anti-system, anti-«caste» discourse and «morality as state policy.»

The last time he enjoyed being part of the government as Chief of Staff, he celebrated from a balcony in Congress the approval of labor reform. A few days later February would end, and he knew that the end of summer was nothing more than his own end. A photo in New York with his wife Betina Angeletti as part of the delegation unleashed a cascade of scandals and inconsistencies between his «declared» income and his standard of living. A family trip on the presidential plane, another to Punta del Este on a private jet, an apartment, two, cars, expenses for houses bought, rented in gated communities, repairs worth thousands of dollars without invoices and in cash, the cascade, the grill, the sheets, the pinball, and more. The admission before television cameras of tax evasion.

In the midst of it all, Adorni gave his first management report in the Chamber of Deputies and lied to parliamentary representatives about the status of his sworn statement of assets, escorted by the Mileis, the cabinet, and the political table. «And where is Adorni?» they sang in Congress, those demanding his interpellation and censure motion from the fierce opposition to Karina Milei. Javier Milei did not let go of his hand in any of these moments, but it was not enough. The last thing he said on the matter was in Madrid: «If the courts find him guilty, I’ll kick him out, but I believe in his honesty.» He did not seem to know then that upon his return to the country he would eject him without a judicial sentence.

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