a heterodox economist in the hot seat in Argentina


The 53-year-old heterodox, or unorthodox, economist is likely to bring a new style to the role of economy minister after moderate economist Martin Guzman abruptly resigned following clashes with the militant wing of the coalition in power.

Batakis, born in the southern region of Tierra del Fuego, served as economy minister of Argentina’s largest and wealthiest province, Buenos Aires, between 2011 and 2015, under the governor of poque, Daniel Scioli, who is now Minister of National Production. In her last post, she was a senior civil servant in the Ministry of the Interior.

The finance and economics degree is more aligned with the militant wing of the ruling pronist coalition around powerful Vice President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, who had openly opposed Guzman over his tougher fiscal policies.

This wing wants more public spending to help alleviate high levels of poverty, despite the goals of a new $44 billion agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to reduce the fiscal deficit, increase reserves and reduce financing. of the central bank.

Batakis is more likely to respond to the militant wing than Guzman.

“There is no dignified poverty,” she wrote in a pinged post on her Twitter account. “It’s just poverty, and we have to fight it. We fight it with a state that plans and intervenes, and with a society that imposes it as a social objective.”

The new minister obtained a degree in economics from the National University of La Plata, Argentina, in 1993, and a master’s degree in public finance. She also holds a Masters in Environmental Economics from the University of York, UK.

Mr Scioli said on Twitter that Ms Batakis was “a person of high human quality and thorough professional training. A tireless worker with a great sense of responsibility and great experience.”

She will need it. Investors are increasingly concerned that Argentina will not be able to meet its debt commitments, due to high energy import costs which are eating into foreign exchange reserves and inflation linked to soaring world prices.

Tight currency controls have fueled popular alternative exchange markets to buy dollars, where people are willing to pay twice the official rate for greenbacks, a trend that distorts trade prices and stokes inflation.

Argentina has agreed targets with the IMF under a 30-month program and must renegotiate a $2 billion debt deal with the Paris Club group of sovereign creditors. Guzman was scheduled to travel to France for interviews this week.

Matias Carugati, an economist at Consultora Seido, said on Twitter that President Alberto Fernandez had appeared to cede control of the economy to his vice-president’s wing, although Ms Batakis has yet to spell out her political vision.

“We now have a minister, but we don’t have an economic plan yet,” he said.



Source link -88