De Blender y Carajo a ser proveedor del Estado: el contrato de Augusto Marini con Trenes Argentinos y las licitaciones que quiere ganar
Está al frente de Cale Group y una de sus empresas, Motora Argentina SA, que fue la adjudicataria del contrato por US$3,8 millones. Sus intenciones de quedarse con el Canal de la Ciudad y de convertirse en proveedor de baterías del sistema eléctrico argentino.
New contract. The company Motora will repair 30 train cars.
The company Motora Argentina SA has just obtained a hefty contract with the State: the National Secretariat of Transportation and Trenes Argentinos awarded it the repair of 30 broad-gauge units for the Roca and Mitre lines for a value of US$3.8 million. The data would have gone unnoticed if it were not because the owner of the company is Augusto Marini, the entrepreneur behind the streaming channels Blender and Carajo, the platform that functions as a sort of informal voice of Javier Milei's government.
The news of Marini's foray into the railway business was revealed this week and was replicated with a cloud of suspicion over the entrepreneur's political ties. It so happens that less than a month ago, his intentions of taking control of the City Channel through his holding company, Cale Group, also became known. Furthermore, although it had less impact, the entrepreneur also wants to become a large-scale battery supplier for the Argentine electrical system.
The question is now posed: is this the new face of the old and well-known crony capitalism, or are these the first media steps of a young 31-year-old entrepreneur who wants to make himself seen?
Trains, energy, and media: Marini's interests with the State
In an interview with PERFIL, Marini denied having libertarian privileges. He also assured that he delegated all the leadership of Carajo to Parisini and that he has no contacts in the Government. According to him, he saw Milei only once, in the first interview the president gave on his channel. "It was an institutional greeting. I waited for him at the door, shook his hand, and left," he said.
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Marini also denied knowing Santiago Caputo, Parisini's political boss. "I don't even have his phone number," he assured. The distance from the Government is striking, especially considering that one of Carajo's programs, "Las tres anclas", is hosted by three officials who report to the Minister of Economy, Luis "Toto" Caputo: the director of the Central Bank, Federico Furiase, and the directors of BICE Martín Vauthier and Felipe Núñez.
Aware that his name is increasingly relevant, Marini began to raise his profile. He says that "there is nothing strange" about the contract with Trenes Argentinos or his participation in the bidding for the City Channel and that his motivation is "to be part of the next generation of Argentine entrepreneurs who are present in the real economy of the country." His intention, it seems, is to carve a place in the establishment.
The young man bought Motora in 2023, when it was called TMH and was the local subsidiary of the Russian company Transmashholding. "When the war started, Russia decided to sell the 16 branches it had outside its country. For me it was an opportunity to enter the industry. The state of the trains in Argentina is a disaster, so when we analyzed the size of the market that could exist for maintenance and repair, we got a very large number. And the account could be larger if we stopped being a country that operates solely on trucks," he stated.
TMH was in a complicated financial situation with overdue salaries. Marini took charge of the company as president, with the aim of restructuring it. A little over a year later, he stepped down from the board and was replaced by Alejandro Javier Hibbert, a former official of Trenes Argentinos.
In the US$3.8 million contract, it is listed as a "direct contracting by abbreviated competitive bidding due to railway emergency." There were five competitors: some did not meet the requirements and others were more expensive. In 2024, Motora Argentina had already been awarded another smaller contract, for around US$350,000. However, Marini says that not everything is profit from the public sector. "I want to explain that I was not favored. In fact, the Argentine state has not paid me for five months and owes me more than $5 billion," he said.
Cale Group has different types of strategic investments in areas such as infrastructure, health, agribusiness, and textiles. In energy, the holding has the companies René Energy, dedicated to solar energy, and the historic fuel station brand EG3, which sells fuels in the domestic market. In this sector, Marini aims to win another tender.
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"We have an energy generation company and we build solar parks. We submitted to the Cammesa tender for AlmaSADI." The call, under the Secretariat of Energy, seeks suppliers for the installation of large-scale battery systems in the Argentine electrical system. "The economic offers are opened on June 24, so until that date we don't know the result," the entrepreneur said.
The other process that is open is for the City Channel. In that case, he is accompanied by a heavyweight of the industry: Liliana Parodi, former Director of Content for Grupo América. In the bid, Cale Group positioned itself as the leading candidate by offering a monthly fee of $50 million, vastly exceeding the $10.75 million set as the base price.
Marini began to capture media attention with the launch of Carajo. Since then, he tried to keep a low profile. But now that his name is in the news with increasing frequency, he wants to start talking.
