President Javier Milei appeared alongside Cabinet Chief Manuel Adorni on Saturday as pressure mounted on the senior official to resign amid an investigation into alleged illicit enrichment.
Milei attended a Flag Day event in Rosario. Notably, he was accompanied by Adorni, who last week admitted failing to declare US$500,000 to the tax authorities.
The event marked Milei's return to Rosario for Día de la Bandera celebrations after he skipped last year's ceremony.
The President avoided referring to the controversy directly during Saturday's ceremony. Instead, he used his speech to link the legacy of independence hero Manuel Belgrano to his own political philosophy, describing the national hero as Argentina's "first liberal economic intellectual" and an early advocate of political and economic freedom.
However, a day earlier he had stripped Adorni of one of his responsibilities by appointing a new presidential spokesperson – a role Adorni had effectively performed while serving as one of the closest allies of Milei and his sister, Presidential Chief-of-Staff Karina Milei.
"It was not the place to express any support," Vice-President Victoria Villarruel told reporters after the event.
Villarruel, who also serves as president of the Senate, has maintained a strained relationship with the President. The ceremony drew heightened political attention amid continuing tensions between the pair, whose relationship has deteriorated over a series of legislative and political disputes.
Adorni, 46, has come under intense scrutiny after reports emerged of lavish spending, property purchases and family travel that appeared inconsistent with his declared income. The origin of those funds is now under judicial investigation in a scandal that has shaken the government.
"Of course I made a mistake. I will pay every last tax that I am required to pay," Adorni said when revealing that he had concealed US$500,000 from the tax authorities in a financial disclosure statement that he took months to submit.
Milei has repeatedly expressed confidence in Adorni's innocence and has ruled out a request for his resignation.
"The courts will bring this matter to a close and it will become clear that Manuel is innocent," the President said weeks ago.
Milei also used the Flag Day ceremony to reiterate themes central to his administration, arguing that Argentina's founding ideals were rooted in liberty, private property, merit and production.
In Congress, both opposition lawmakers and some government allies have demanded Adorni's resignation while launching congressional procedures aimed at questioning him formally and potentially advancing a vote of no confidence. Such a move would be unprecedented in Argentina's democratic era and would require majorities in both chambers.
Adorni is due to appear before Congress on July 2 to deliver his monthly management report, although opposition legislators are seeking to approve a formal questioning session before then.
Facing growing demands for explanations, Adorni has said that a substantial inheritance from his father and significant profits from cryptocurrency investments account for his wealth. Both claims are now part of the judicial investigation, while opposition figures have dismissed the explanations as implausible.
According to recent opinion polls, the affair has damaged the government's credibility.
– TIMES/AFP/NA
