Milei highlighted the elimination of more than 15,000 regulations and pointed against what he defined as “business privileges”, amid tensions over the closure of Fate and the tender for the Vaca Muerta gas pipeline awarded to Welspun.
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In the framework of a strategy aimed at consolidating economic deregulation and free competition, President Javier Milei once again launched strong criticism against sectors of the industrial business community, pointing indirectly at Javier Madanes Quintanilla and Paolo Rocca, representatives of Aluar and Techint, respectively. During his presentation at the Libertad Foundation, the president defended the economic direction of his administration and questioned what he defined as “business privileges obtained through
state intervention.”
Addressing the debate about the exchange rate appreciation registered in recent months —resulting from an increase in the supply of dollars—and the criticisms related to competitiveness, the head of state was categorical: “What are you trying to do? We are liberals and we don't decide by hand which sector wins and which sector loses. We don't choose winners. We are dedicated to leveling the playing field and running from the middle to the mega-parasite of the economy that is the State
.” Paolo Rocca, CEO of the Techint Group
In this regard, Milei highlighted his administration's progress in structural reforms, stressing that more than 15,000 regulations were eliminated and that Argentina managed to climb more than40 places in the economic freedom rankings, a progress he attributed to the work of the Minister of Deregulation, Federico Sturzenegger
.
Deepening his position, the President openly questioned requests for assistance or state intervention by certain sectors: “Why should I benefit three inefficient corrupt people against 48 million Argentines?” . He added: “They are proposing that I twist the will of the market by modifying prices. Or that if someone won and someone lost, you have to compensate the one who lost. That's an aberration because it implies that they want to omit the reallocation effect of changing relative prices. Therefore, the sector that has to expand, does not expand; and the sector that has to contract, remains parasitized
”.
At the close of her speech, Milei used a metaphor to illustrate her criticism: “Salvador Di Stefano said 'they saw that now everyone eats eggs'. The question is, do they put jam on the eggs on the toast? No. Are jam producers bankrupt? Why if it happens to the jam producer nobody complains but if it happens to Don Chatarrín everyone screams in the sky? Why does it have more power?”
.
Tensions between the Government and some key industry players are not new. In the case of Javier Madanes Quintanilla, the conflict intensified after the announcement of the closure of Fate, a historic tire factory with more than 80 years of experience. In mid-February, the company announced the definitive cessation of its operations, which entailed the disengagement of 920 workers and the closure of its plant in Virreyes, San Fernando district, province of Buenos Aires. The decision generated a strong short circuit with the Casa Rosada, while the company remains immersed in a judicial process that
is currently holding back the closure. Javier Madanes Quintanilla, owner of FATE On the
other hand, the confrontation with Paolo Rocca dates back to the end of January 2026, when the Indian company Welspun was awarded the tender to supply pipes to the gas pipeline that will connect Vaca Muerta with Rio Negro, displacing
Tenaris, a subsidiary of Techint.
Welspun's offer reached 203 million dollars for the provision of480 kilometers of pipelines, a figure 25% lower than the last proposal of the Argentine firm. The local group argued that this difference was due to unfair competition, pointing out that tubes produced in India contain Chinese inputs at lower values than those of the Argentine market
.
However, the President's response was immediate and forceful. On several occasions, Milei described Rocca as “Don Chatarrín of the Expensive Tubes” and accused him of trying to charge “three times more” for the work, which was eventually left in the hands of the international competitor
