The curious awarding of a contract worth $114,044,133 by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Argentine Association of English Culture (AACI) to teach English to the staff of the National Foreign Service Institute has become a scandal, as the entity's executive director is María Josefina Rouillet, the wife of the Minister of Deregulation and State Transformation, Federico Sturzenegger. An economist, MBA holder, and certified by NEXT BOARD, she has held the position since at least September 2020, as investigated by the Argentine News Agency. Beyond involving the wife of a prominent member of Javier Milei's government, it drew attention that the contract for the courses was justified for the training of permanent staff who, due to their affiliation with the diplomatic service, should already master English as a condition for entry. As a precedent for file 2025/2026, the COMPR.AR portal recorded a previous contracting by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship with the AACI: a purchase order from 2024 that, according to the public record, was authorized and perfected on March 20, 2024, with validity from March 20, 2024, to December 20 of the same year. The object listed was also a “training course,” but for a total of $55,388,180, under a service modality. Unlike the procedure awarded in 2026, an Integrity Pact was not published in the available documentation for that contract. At the time of the inquiry, the complete purchase order and the particular clauses (specific tender) were not available for download, even though the summary indicates that the contract is governed by those conditions. Continuous improvement On this occasion, the contracting was processed through a Simple Award by Specialty, and due to that family relationship, the file activated the integrity procedure established by Decree 2017/2017, with the intervention of the Office of the Comptroller General (OA) and the National Audit Office (SIGEN). In the official documents, it is stated that the proposal presented by the AACI to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship was prepared by Sturzenegger's wife, Josefina Rouillet. Faced with the declared family relationship, the Procurement and Contracting area involved the control bodies and decided to sign an Integrity Pact as an additional transparency tool. The contracted service was requested by the Human Resources Development Department within the framework of the 2025–2027 Strategic Training Plan. As recorded in the file, the AACI was considered the only provider capable of guaranteeing the continuity of the program, and at the time of opening, only one offer was registered. The agreed disbursement scheme is staggered, while it contemplates the possibility of an advance of up to 40% of the total amount, against the presentation of an invoice and counter-guarantee, and subsequent payments subject to the accreditation of academic results and delivery of materials. The contract provides for the training of 132 agents during 2026, with regular courses and specific workshops for diplomatic staff of the National Foreign Service Institute (ISEN). The modality will be in-person at the association's headquarters in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, with weekly classes and provision of international bibliography. Accommodation During the Macri government, Sturzenegger did not hesitate to place his wife in the National Arts Fund, which managed a multi-million dollar budget. Family members in the Macri government were not an option, so she moved to the City Government. She was in charge of Sponsorship and Cultural Boost programs. Always places with a budget and later on the board of the Colón Theatre. In 2021 she became executive director of the Argentine Association of English Culture, which had the Buenos Aires City government as its first sponsors. “I enjoy challenges and I am very executive. Mother of three incredible children,” she wrote on her LinkedIn account. Now criminally denounced, Sturzenegger has just promised that “in 2027, if the Argentine people so decide, the chainsaw will come to the provincial and municipal governments to end this madness.”
