Government comments on Javier Lanari's appointment to Banco Nación board

The Argentine government has confirmed the appointment of Javier Lanari, former Secretary of Communication and Press, to the board of Banco Nación. The designation, published in the Official Gazette via Decree 618/2026, was addressed by presidential spokesperson Adrián Ravier.

Ravier stated during his weekly press conference at Casa Rosada that the bank's board deemed Lanari suitable for the position. "The Banco Nación has a board and authorities, and it designates positions according to criteria, which I don't have at the moment, to say why this person occupies the place," Ravier explained. "In principle, I believe he can exercise the function like so many people have done throughout so many governments, according to defined criteria. I don't see a problem with that."

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The Banco Nación has a board and authorities, and it designates positions according to criteria, which I don't have at the moment, to say why this person occupies the place. In principle, I believe he can exercise the function like so many people have done throughout so many governments, according to defined criteria. I don't see a problem with that.

He emphasized that the current administration does not hire based on political affinity or activism. "This is not a government that has come with activism to fill spaces. Milei is not someone who comes to power and behind him come activists to occupy places. We are precisely the opposite," Ravier said. "I don't know Lanari well enough to suggest if he is or isn't the ideal person. If they put him there, it's because he will have the capacity."

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This is not a government that has come with activism to fill spaces. Milei is not someone who comes to power and behind him come activists to occupy places. We are precisely the opposite.

Lanari's term will conclude on February 4, 2028, filling the vacancy left by Gonzalo Pascual. His appointment is effective from June 25, while Pascual's resignation was accepted retroactively to January 31. Lanari, a journalism graduate, previously had a career as a journalist and maintains a personal friendship with Manuel Adorni, the former Chief of Staff, whom he met about a decade ago.

Lanari's move to Banco Nación occurred less than a month after Adorni announced his departure from the Secretariat of Communication and Press on June 22. Ravier took over as presidential spokesperson on the same day Lanari left the communication area, amid controversy surrounding Adorni's investigation for alleged illicit enrichment and internal pressures within the government.

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I don't know Lanari well enough to suggest if he is or isn't the ideal person. If they put him there, it's because he will have the capacity.