Former Argentine President Mauricio Macri made an unexpected arrival on Sunday afternoon at the Palacio Libertad, where Pope Leo XIV was scheduled to deliver his first address since arriving in the country.
Palacio Libertad Visit
Macri’s attendance at the event was entirely unplanned. According to the newspaper La Nación, government officials in Javier Milei’s administration and the city of Buenos Aires had assumed he would be absent.
An anonymous source close to the former president told La Nación that Karina Milei, the secretary general of the presidency, placed a direct call to invite him. “Karina called him and asked him to go,” the source stated.
Did You Know? Prior to the event, church authorities through the Episcopate had proposed inviting former presidents to the official papal reception at the former Centro Cultural Kirchner, but that idea had been formally discarded during the week leading up to the visit.
With Macri’s sudden appearance, he became the sole former head of state present at the venue. Alongside him were governors, national deputies, senators, civil society representatives, and members of the diplomatic corps.
President Milei delivered a brief welcome message at the request of the Vatican before Pope Leo XIV stepped forward to speak to the gathered officials.
Mauricio Macri Avoids Papal Mass to Avoid Jorge Macri
Despite an invitation extended by Buenos Aires City Chief of Government Jorge Macri, the former president opted not to attend the subsequent papal mass at the Monumento de los Españoles. Associates of the former president initially claimed he would miss the weekend events due to prior agenda commitments.
However, Infobae reported that the underlying reason for avoiding the Palermo mass involved tension between the cousins. Political sources within PRO indicated that Mauricio Macri sought to avoid an encounter with Jorge Macri. The situation reached the national government, whose intermediaries communicated with the former mandatary to ask him to make the effort to attend.
Jorge Macri assumed the helm of the City Government in December 2023 following an extensive trajectory as mayor of Vicente López, and he defended his team and his autonomy to make decisions.
That difference in criteria deepened the debate over power spaces and authority within PRO. Mauricio Macri conserved the party presidency and a decisive influence in the national strategy, while also having governed the City during two consecutive mandates between 2007 and 2015.
Expert Insight: Internal friction within the PRO party has escalated as local leaders consolidate their own political autonomy, complicating traditional hierarchical alignments within the opposition coalition.
La Política Online reported that party tensions have intensified following disagreements over municipal strategy and leadership roles in Buenos Aires. An interlocutor habitual of the former president confided that he is hated, noting that Mauricio is very accustomed to dealing with employees and having people constantly consult him on what to do, whereas Jorge is not like that and already has flight of his own.
A Buenos Aires City official mentioned an unfortunate phrase from the former head of Boca regarding Maradona: after denigrating him for a minute and speaking of his addictions, Macri said that the Diez had been his “mastery” in life.
A PRO leader in Buenos Aires commented that today Jorge cannot be moved with anything and that hurts Mauricio because he believes he is challenging him. Among the challenges mentioned by the leader is the departure of Fernando De Andreis and Darío Nieto from the political table of the City, noting that Nieto was Mauricio Macri’s private secretary and De Andreis is the political godson of the former president.
Future Party Outlook
While the former president retains his role as head of the PRO party and wields substantial influence over national strategy, his relationship with city leadership remains strained.
Cristian Ritondo criticized Macri for mistreating his cousin Jorge, stating that they cannot fall into leaderships that divide, and argued that the country needs a strong, united PRO with the capacity to defend change and with a vocation for government, adding a quote from Martín Fierro about staying united so outsiders do not consume them.
Who Invited Mauricio Macri and Who Attended the Palacio Libertad
Who invited Mauricio Macri to the Palacio Libertad?
According to a source close to the former president interviewed by La Nación, Karina Milei, the secretary general of the presidency, called him and asked him to attend.
Did Mauricio Macri attend the papal mass in Palermo?
No. He chose not to attend the mass at the Monumento de los Españoles, where Jorge Macri had invited him.
Which political figures gathered at the Palacio Libertad?
The event brought together President Javier Milei, governors, deputies, senators from across the political spectrum, civil society representatives, and members of the diplomatic corps.