The impact of the internal conflict between PRO and LLA after Macri's criticism of Milei: the chance of a joint bloc in Congress falls apart

Mauricio Macri's criticism of Javier Milei for firing Guillermo Francos caused unease within the government. And while this anger has not yet been expressed publicly, internally the issue escalated over the weekend.

But there was also a backlash from the PRO side, where they believe that the treatment received by the former president at that meeting was not up to the standard he deserved, since in the middle of dinner the President left to finalize the departure of the Chief of Staff and left him alone.

The growing tension between the two groups almost certainly eliminates any chance of forming an inter-bloc in the Chamber of Deputies with the new makeup of Congress.

Last week, the faction loyal to Patricia Bullrich announced that seven PRO deputies were switching directly to the ranks of La Libertad Avanza. Those within Macri's party maintain that this number is inaccurate: at most, it's five.

" Completely out of line," was the phrase that emerged from within the cabinet regarding the former president's statements . Some went further and spoke directly of a "disgrace." And there was one point of agreement: "He can't accept that he's no longer the President." Along those lines, they commented: "The appointment of the chief of staff and the ministers is the exclusive prerogative of the president. He should know that."

Macri was very harsh in his tweet on Saturday afternoon, when he openly criticized the appointment of Manuel Adorni as Chief of Staff instead of Francos. He described the current presidential spokesperson as someone "inexperienced."

Yesterday, President Milei invited me to lunch in Olivos, as a thank you for the support I gave him during the most difficult week of his administration before the elections. During the meeting, we discussed pending issues. The idea was to consider the best way to strengthen the teams and…

— Mauricio Macri (@mauriciomacri) November 1, 2025

That statement caused a great deal of annoyance in the Casa Rosada (the presidential palace). "Manuel is a very well-educated man; he's an economist and has a master's degree in finance," they boast about Adorni's resume, an official who reports directly to siblings Karina and Javier Milei. Unlike his post on Saturday, the former president welcomed Diego Santilli's appointment as Interior Minister on Sunday, describing it as "very positive for the government. As a highly experienced PRO leader, I trust that, at this crucial moment, he will be able to coordinate with the governors the implementation of the reforms we need. This is a great opportunity for Argentina's future, one that we all want to see succeed." That evening, Santilli also announced that he had spoken with the former president after his appointment.

Cruelly, and amidst the unease surrounding the criticism of Adorni's appointment, members of the Mileio faction pointed out that Macri had Marcos Peña as his Chief of Staff for four years, someone who "proved himself incapable of managing a team of ministers." They say the former president's anger stems directly from his very good relationship with the outgoing Chief of Staff.

Within the government, it is said that Francos was an important figure in relations with the provinces, but he never acted as a coordinator between the different ministries, where conflicts of interest often arise when it comes to dividing up the agenda.

"Manuel's role is to coordinate. It's something that's needed, and he knows how to do it because he was aware of the entire official agenda for two years in his role as spokesperson," they say, defending the President's appointment.

Even though Mauricio Macri himself expressed his annoyance on social media with a tweet, anger continues within the PRO party over the treatment the former president received during his visit to Olivos.

According to sources with direct access to the former president, Milei left him alone in the middle of dinner because he had to go out and finalize Francos' departure, who had tweeted his resignation at 9:11 p.m., when both were meeting.

"It's disrespectful that he abandoned him, when Mauricio supported him through thick and thin, all these months," they commented. And they illustrated this ironically: "It's like inviting you out to eat and then saying, 'I ran out of meat for you,' but then ordering something from Rappi."

In the lead-up to the election, rumors gained traction that Mauricio Macri could influence cabinet appointments after December 10th. This possibility diminished after Milei's victory on Sunday and the renewed tensions in his relationship with the former president.

Sources close to Macri warn that Francos' departure and the stance of a government that seems to be closing itself off again, leaves a bad image for the United States , Argentina's main partner after closing a $20 billion swap and providing unprecedented political support to the Milei administration.

Those in the government believe Macri saw an opportunity in the weeks leading up to the election . "He thought Milei was going to lose across the country, that he was going to do really badly," say executive sources who believe that a defeat would have positioned PRO as a crucial ally for ensuring governability.

That's why, they argue, he expelled Patricia Bullrich's allies, such as Damián Arabia and Pablo Walter, from the party a few months ago . Arabia, whose term as a congressman runs until 2027, is now part of the libertarian movement and launched a scathing attack on Macri. "He's out of touch with reality," he tweeted on Saturday.

In recent days, it was officially announced that seven members of Congress aligned with Bullrich will not be part of the PRO party : Arabia, Sabrina Ajmechet, Silvana Giudici, Laura Rodríguez Machado, Patricia Vásquez, María Luisa González Estevarena, and Carlos Almena. The latter two, according to PRO sources, were not already members of the party . Almena is a libertarian from San Luis; González Estevarena is also a libertarian, but from Buenos Aires.

In that context, the chance of forming an inter-bloc between La Libertad Avanza and PRO in the next Congress seems to be losing strength, despite Cristian Ritondo's role as an articulator.

The yellow party will have 20 of its own deputies, which could be decisive in the Government's intention to achieve a quorum of 129 legislators, adding libertarians and allies.

According to that count, the twenty or so Macri-aligned deputies would be made up of Cristian Ritondo, Diego Santilli, Fernando De Andreis, Antonela Giampieri, Martín Ardohain, Belén Avico, Emmanuel Bianchetti, Alejandro Bongiovanni, Sergio Capozzi, Florencia de Sensi, Alicia Fregonese, Francisco Morchio, Alejandro Finocchiaro, Daiana Fernández Molero, Álvaro González, Silvia Lospennato, José Núñez, Martín Yeza, Aníbal Tortoriello and Javier Sánchez Wrba.