 Describing Martínez as “Kirchner’s Mexican friend,” Italy's leading newspaper, "Corriere della Sera", has noted that the rise in Martínez's economic fortunes “coincided with the exceptional political cavalcade of the Kirchners after the collapse of the South American country in December 2001.”

It is known that Guillermo Nielsen, then Secretary of Finance under Nestor Kirchner, met Martínez in Dubai in September 2003 to discuss the restructuring of Argentina's debt, and that the two men met six to 10 more times in New York, London, and elsewhere to continue the conversation.Over time, the “relationship between Martínez and the Kirchner government became stronger.” In 2006, Martínez met Kirchner himself at the Argentine Consulate in New York.Five days later, “Martínez purchased 40 % shares of Cablevisión , the cable television system of Grupo Clarin, the largest media company in Argentina.