“We do not hate journalists enough,” Argentine President Javier Milei often repeats. His usual verbal attacks against the press and media have now escalated: the Executive withdrew from Congress the proposal to appoint a lawyer with extensive court experience as a federal judge due to her relationship with a journalist who has investigated corruption cases involving the Government. The decision, driven by the Secretary of the Presidency, Karina Milei, not only sparked widespread condemnation among political leaders and judicial organizations but also opened a new rift within the ruling party. Patricia Bullrich, head of the far-right bloc in the Senate, invoked her “right to conscientious objection” and publicized her rejection of the withdrawal of the nomination. This Tuesday, a prosecutor requested that the matter be investigated by the judiciary as alleged discrimination.
The Milei Government is promoting a judicial restructuring this year and the appointment of about 80 new judges, prosecutors, and defenders. In this context, it sent the nominations of its candidates to the Senate, including that of the nominee for judge María Verónica Michelli, current secretary of the Federal Oral Court 1 of La Plata and with 32 years of experience in the judicial system. Michelli is the sister-in-law of journalist Hugo Alconada Mon, columnist for EL PAIS and author in the newspaper La Nación of numerous investigations sensitive to Milei, such as those related to the scam with the cryptocurrency $Libra or the assets of the Chief of Staff, Manuel Adorni.
Everything indicates that it was after the nomination was presented that the president and his powerful sister learned of the relationship between the candidate and the journalist. For this “error,” the Casa Rosada holds the Ministry of Justice responsible, headed by former prosecutor Juan Bautista Mahiques for three months. In an unusual move, the Executive withdrew Michelli’s nomination from the Senate.
The decision was harshly criticized by opposition political leaders. Experts in law and legislative procedure warned that it should be ignored by senators, since the nomination was already under their consideration. The Buenos Aires bar associations expressed “great concern” about the measure and considered it “unfounded.” They also recalled that Michelli’s nomination “fulfilled all the stages provided by the magistrate selection process and was approved.” Among other similar statements, the group Será Justicia disapproved of “the improper conduct of the Executive Power” and considered it “a direct attack on freedom of the press and expression.”
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This Tuesday, federal prosecutor Guillermo Marijuan admitted a complaint filed by lawyers from the Reset Republicano group and requested the opening of a criminal investigation to determine whether the Executive Power committed an act of discrimination by eliminating Michelli’s nomination. Among other measures, the prosecutor asked the Senate to report the formal status of the nomination.
For now, the main problem for the Government arose from its own ranks. Patricia Bullrich, who leads the La Libertad Avanza (LLA) bloc in the Senate, Milei’s party, publicly expressed her disagreement this Monday with the measure against the judicial nominee. “I spoke with the president and informed him that I will exercise my right to conscientious objection regarding the withdrawal of Dr. Michelli’s nomination as federal judge,” wrote the former Security Minister on her social networks. Although she emphasized that she supports “with conviction the historic transformation that President Javier Milei is promoting,” her statement once again made explicit the internal tensions the ultra Government suffers.
Bullrich had already distanced herself from the line drawn by the Executive just four weeks ago. While Milei publicly supported and defended his coordinating minister amid corruption allegations, Bullrich demanded that Manuel Adorni present his asset declaration and explain his expenses and trips, for which he is under judicial investigation. With a long career in Argentine politics, with a past in Peronism and in the PRO — the party of former president Mauricio Macri — Senator Bullrich has gained weight and autonomy within Milei’s Administration. Her figure is well positioned for the 2027 national elections, and it is not clear today whether, if she runs, she will compete inside or outside LLA. In fact, according to the latest polls, Bullrich has a higher positive image and lower negative image than the president.
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