April 2012. Secretary of Economic Policy Axel Kicillof appears before Congress and warns that Repsol will not be paid the US$10 billion it is demanding for the expropriation of YPF. Vehement, still sporting sideburns and clearly younger, Kicillof was on his way to becoming the last Minister of Economy of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner's second government a year and a half later.
"The idiots are those who think that the State has to be stupid and buy everything according to the Law," was the phrase that resonated most that day in the Senate and that 13 years later exposes the now governor of Buenos Aires, the day in which the US Justice ordered the Argentine State to deliver 51% of the shares it has to the beneficiaries of the ruling for the expropriation.
That statement is what the Government will repeat in loop a thousand times through its Twitter users on social networks, seeking to squeeze the most out of Kicillof's responsibility in that move by Cristina, which included the expropriation of the company and the subsequent ruling by the US Justice Department, in 2023, which obliges the country to pay US$16 billion to the Burford fund and other beneficiaries.
From the Casa Rosada, the new decision by Judge Loretta Preska is being viewed as a"dramatic" measure for YPF, according to executive sources who spoke to Clarín. They will appeal as many times as necessary, because they understand,"it's a trial that will last for years."
The oil company is exposed to a ruling that sooner or later it would have to pay and that represents a huge economic loss, with an impact on the markets and negative consequences for the Government itself.
Although there is also another perspective, which has to do with the political strategy of using the issue as a hobbyhorse in the Buenos Aires campaign against Kicillof, the central architect with Cristina of that decision by Kirchnerism.
"It's a nice topic to tackle with Kicillof, yes. We'll have to see if it pays off electorally. But we're going to remind him of it several times during the campaign, without a doubt," they maintain from the Government, willing to use all possible instruments to win the election.
Milei, very tough against Kicillof
Javier Milei has already taken the first step in that direction, with a long and harsh tweet in which he attacked the governor of Buenos Aires, whom he had already questioned and insulted last Thursday, when he closed the provincial congress of La Libertad Avanza in the city of La Plata, thus putting himself at the head of the campaign in the Province in view of the local elections on September 7 and the national elections on October 26.
Milei titled the post"A ruling against Kicillof." And she expressed further criticism."Regardless of the underlying issue, the country's situation here is the direct responsibility of the useless Soviet Axel Kicillof when he was Minister of Economy during the second presidency of the doomed CFK," she tweeted.
A RULING AGAINST KICILLOF
— Javier Milei (@JMilei) June 30, 2025
We just learned that Judge Preska ruled against the Argentine State in the case of the expropriation of YPF.
Regardless of the underlying issue, the country's situation in this situation is the direct responsibility of the useless Soviet...
And he continued:"Unfortunately, it wasn't enough for him to ruin the Argentine economy, so now he's in charge of destroying the province of Buenos Aires."
"Aside from the imbecility of Kicillof and all those who governed us before, all Argentines should know that we are going to appeal this ruling in all appropriate instances to defend national interests," the President added, ratifying the strategy of delaying the issue in court as long as possible.
He then concluded:"More than 10 years have passed and we Argentines continue to suffer the consequences of the worst government in Argentine history." He also added a postscript: "I warned you that the Soviets are idiots!"
