Unforeseen internal dispute between Sturzenegger and Caputo over adjustments in areas of the Ministry of Economy

Following Javier Milei's return from his tour of Europe and Israel, the government is preparing to resume its crackdown on decentralized agencies, such as the National Institute of Industrial Technology (INTI) and the National Institute of Agricultural Technology (INTA). The intention is for them to operate, to a greater or lesser extent, as units of the Ministry of Economy, which would reduce administrative and personnel costs.

"It's not entirely clear, but the idea is to finalize the changes between Tuesday and Wednesday," confirmed the economic team, while the Ministry of Deregulation states that "there is no date." As reported by Clarín, Minister Federico Sturzenegger has 13 decrees in the pipeline to continue the state reform provided for in the Basic Law. While the INTI and INTA were excluded from possible dissolution, Congress authorized their reorganization, centralization, and merger.

Today, both agencies operate under Caputo's leadership: the INTI is a decentralized body reporting to Production Coordinator Pablo Lavigne; and the INTI is a decentralized entity linked to the Ministry of Agriculture, headed by Sergio Iraeta. But the expiration of the delegated powers on July 8th has rekindled the dispute between Federico Sturzenegger and Luis Caputo over the implementation of the adjustment.

Although the Deregulation Department insists the changes are "consensual," the two old rivals have already clashed. It was after the crisis in May of last year that ended with the departure of Chief of Staff Nicolás Posse and an internal struggle over power-sharing. The tacit nonaggression pact resulted in the transfer of economic policy to Caputo and the empowerment of Sturzenegger as super-minister in July. Until a few weeks ago.

Now, some offices are reporting that Lavigne's team is afraid to open the door to the "colossus," as Javier Milei dubbed him. In Production, where there is good dialogue with industrial chambers, they believe the cuts made last July were "sufficient." After strong protests and highway blockades that were repressed, the workforce was reduced by 716 employees (from 3,933 to 2,337). Now, they see that Sturzenegger "is moving very strongly."

"In principle, the idea is for INTI to be centralized. This has to do with where all the administrative work is carried out. The idea is for it to be centralized in a substantive unit, such as the national directorate or undersecretary, and INTA remains the same as before. The only thing is that general service, human resources, and salary payments are concentrated in the undersecretary of administrative management of Production," said sources from Caputo's team.

The undersecretariat headed by Carlos Ampugnani, a former Macri official in the City, manages human resources, procurement, contracts, agreements, concessions, legal services, vehicles, and real estate for the Ministry of Industry (and its three undersecretariats) and the Ministry of Agriculture. "They continue doing the same thing; what changes is that you save a lot of money , the number of people, activities by specialty, and salaries," they say at the Ministry of Economy.

Within the organizations, however, there is a period of uncertainty , and some officials are threatening to resign. In a letter to the Secretary of Industry and Commerce, Esteban Marzorati, on June 6, INTI directors warned that centralization will mean the loss of autonomy and the inability to directly manage funds, accredit certification and testing services, sign technology transfer agreements, development contracts, and technical assistance agreements, and protect their intellectual property.

In the case of INTA, virtual interim auditor Nicolás Bronzovich implemented a restructuring on March 28 when the Board of Directors (including the Liaison Committee) approved the reduction of national directorates from 11 to 3, as part of a plan that would seek to eliminate thousands of jobs. Bronzovich arrived at the agency in October with the help of Juan Pazo, current head of ARCA and a close confidant of Caputo. But there, too, there is talk of a "power struggle."

With Milei's support, Sturzenegger is seeking to adjust the budget, lay off staff, and eliminate some of its 450 offices , along with increasing involvement within the agency, which currently operates jointly with universities and agricultural entities. Although the agency eliminated 500 jobs and now has 6,400 employees, the official recently criticized INTA's autonomy when he said that the "decentralized agency can charge, but when it does, it's a cash grab."

In this context, Iraeta confirmed to the regional council presidents on Tuesday that "the DNU is coming out," but did not specify the changes. According to most sources consulted by Clarín , the details are closely monitored by the deregulation minister, and the differences with Caputo are not about the adjustment approved by the International Monetary Fund, but rather about who makes the decisions. "Caputo is afraid of being infiltrated," say sources close to INTA.