The Argentine government removed the ambassador of Argentina to the Organization of American States (OAS) from her position on Monday, just days after her father, former Minister of Economy Domingo Cavallo, intensified his criticisms of the ultraliberal president Javier Milei.
"By decision of the President of the Nation, Sonia Cavallo ceases to be the Argentine ambassador to the OAS," said presidential spokesperson Manuel Adorni on his X account, previously Twitter. A few hours earlier, the former president had considered the former minister —whom he previously referred to as the "best economist in Argentine history"— as "unpresentable."
Four days ago, Cavallo, head of the Economy Ministry during Carlos Menem's term (1989-1999), stated on his blog that lifting currency restrictions in Argentina would not be possible even with fresh funds from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), casting doubts on one of the goals that Milei has announced since taking office at the end of 2023.
Cavallo said that "all speculations about how much the disbursement" from the IMF "could be" are relevant in relation to the meaning of support for the government's economic management, but they will not lead to an increase in net reserves as needed to eliminate the exchange rate control. Weeks earlier, he also criticized the peso for being "overvalued" against the dollar, which he believes hampers exports.
There are no public statements known from the dismissed ambassador against the government's political or economic management. A resident of Washington for over a decade, she had been appointed as Argentina's ambassador to the OAS in a resolution published in May.
In her last message on X, previously Twitter, the now former official highlighted the "impressive reception" of Milei in Washington in January, when he attended Donald Trump's inauguration for a new presidential term and the Hispanic Inaugural Gala, witnessing "the enthusiasm in the international community for the Argentine president due to the transformation taking place in my country."
The Argentine president has been aggressive towards economists who disagree with his views and has shown that he does not tolerate dissent within the ruling party. Cavallo was the architect in 1991 of the Convertibility Plan that established the peso-dollar parity to combat high prices at the time.
After calling Cavallo "unpresentable," Milei defended the economic program being implemented by his government, which he considered "much more successful than convertibility because we did not have to experience hyperinflation beforehand to do it."
"We avoided it (hyperinflation), we did not let it run rampant and harm people to showcase a successful program," Milei emphasized.