Milei fires Argentina's investment attaché in Spain amid spending dispute
Argentina's dismissal of its investment attaché in Madrid exposes internal clashes over fiscal austerity within the government's foreign investment push.
The Argentine government has dismissed Marcelo Alejandro Nimo from his post as specialized attaché for Investment Promotion and International Trade at the embassy in Spain. The removal, formalized through Decree 588/2026, ends a public dispute between Nimo and Ambassador Wenceslao Bunge Saravia.
The decree, signed by President Javier Milei, Economy Minister Luis Caputo and Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno, cites the need to “achieve greater efficiency in the functioning” of the diplomatic mission. Nimo framed his exit differently, describing it as a “personal decision, agreed with the government” driven by differences with the ambassador over embassy spending.
For a government actively trying to court foreign capital to stabilize its fragile economy, the public ousting of a dedicated point person for investment represents a notable operational hiccup. The conflict underscores a broader tension between the administration’s strict fiscal consolidation message and the practical realities of maintaining diplomatic outposts designed to attract overseas business.
The friction became public in April when Nimo accused Bunge of removing his office space. Nimo used social media to criticize the ambassador for a perceived “lack of commitment to shrinking the state and meeting the fiscal responsibility principles” central to the administration's platform. Nimo had also pursued a separate agenda of meetings with businesspeople outside the mission's official institutional activities.
Nimo is a political appointee rather than a career diplomat, bringing prior experience from the administrations of former Presidents Carlos Menem and Mauricio Macri's PRO party. He was brought into the role in August 2024 explicitly to promote trade and investment. Ambassador Bunge, a seasoned banker who previously headed Credit Suisse’s Spanish subsidiary, was tasked last year with repairing heavily damaged relations between Milei and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, two leaders who have clashed publicly on repeated occasions.
Neither the embassy nor the government has named a replacement for the trade attaché position. Nimo stated he will return to Argentina to “continue supporting” Milei's political project, but the vacant post leaves a gap in Madrid just as Argentina seeks to deepen economic ties with European investors.
