It is a new example of the harmony that the family of Carlos Saul Menem achieved with the government he heads Javier Milei. The Government, through the Ministry of Tourism headed by Daniel Scioliwill enhance the house known as “The Rosadita” that the former Riojan president took 12 years to build in AnillacoThe Rioja.
The minister Scioli confirmed to Infobae that after a meeting that took place on Wednesday with Zulemita Menem, daughter of the former president, they agreed to a investment in place so that it has greater mod cons and that can be consolidated as tourist attraction. The first versions indicated that the Executive was going to buy the property, but that will not be the case. In 2008, the house had been put up for sale with a estimated value at 800 thousand dollarsbut the transaction could not be completed.
“We are going to place a better signaling already recondition some sectors with an investment that is not very onerous. In that area they are planning to build a ‘Wine Route‘ like the one that exists in other provinces like Mendoza. “We are going to work with my Tourism team, with Lisandro Catalán – the new Secretary of the Interior – and also with the Ministry of Culture to make the place more attractive,” he explained. Scioli. The idea of Transforming it into a museum is not in the plans for now..
“La Rosadita”, so called because its walls were painted that color that makes it similar to the Casa Rosada, construction began in 1985 and It was only completed twelve years later.. It has 1,000 square meters covered, with large galleries that protect it from the intense heat in the summer, within a hectare that belongs to the Menem family. In November 2020, it was authorized to be visited within a tourist circuit, but the agreement signed with the municipality of La Rioja ended in 2023.
The house has a swimming pool, sauna, relaxation room, a tennis court, a barbecue area, a grill and a clay oven. Menem used it, first as governor and later as president of the Nation -between 1989 and 1999-, for political and private meetings. That is why in 1997 a house for visitors and a meeting room were added.
From the Rolling Stones to Diego Armando Maradona and even the former Secretary of State of the United States, Henry Kissinger, passed through there.. Besides. In an interview, the Riojan leader met the Chilean journalist and model Cecilia Bolocco, whom he married in 2001 in that same residence, just a few weeks before being convicted by Justice for arms smuggling to Ecuador and Croatia.
About 800 meters from the house, the former president had it built in 1997 a 2,400 meter long landing strip (costing more than a million dollars), to be able to arrive with the presidential plane, Tango 01, and not travel to the provincial airport, located about 100 kilometers away. “We won’t do anything on the track because it is in good condition. Yes we talk about a project to make the place in general more attractive. We have a very good relationship with Zulemita and she approached us to see what we could do from our side,” Scioli acknowledged.
The luxurious home in Anillaco, a town of 2,000 inhabitants located in the department of Castro Barros, is currently uninhabited.
Both the official and the daughter of the former president reflected on social networks the meeting they had. “Happy to meet Zulemita Menem in the midst of so many memories and endearing affection, in the memory of her father. Time is a great computer and vindicator. Our commitment to the undersecretary @yanmartinezok to highlight the historic house of Anillaco, a tourist attraction that is projected in the province,” stated the former presidential candidate of the Frente de Todos in 2015 who has now joined the libertarian government of Javier Milei.
“Thank you dear @yanmartinezok and @danielscioli for the beautiful meeting and commitment to highlight the historic Rosadita in Anillaco, so that its doors are reopened to tourism. #Argentina #LaRioja #turismoargentina @secreturamdep”, Zulemita responded in her post on X.
Scioli’s link with the Menem goes back a long time, since the former motorcyclist was encouraged by the Riojan for his first foray into the political arena. With his sponsorship, he served as Secretary of Sports of the Nation and also participated in the internal affairs of the City of Buenos Aires. He then moved away for a few years, but now he was close again.
Several members of the Menem family coexist in the Milei Government, such as the former president’s nephew, Martín, who holds the presidency of the Chamber of Deputies, and Eduardo “Lule” Menem, who since February 21 became undersecretary of Institutional Management, an organization that depends on Karina Milei, current Secretary General of the Presidency.
On May 14, Milei, who considers Carlos Menem the best president since the return of democracy, installed the bust of the Riojan in the Casa Rosada as another gesture of admiration, also after a request by letter that Zulemita had made. .
