Argentina: Silvina Batakis, new Minister of Economy after the resignation of her predecessor

Silvina Batakis, here in April 2015 in Buenos Aires.

REUTERS - Handout.

Text by: RFI Follow

2 mins

Silvina Batakis was appointed on Sunday July 3 to succeed Martín Guzmán, whose resignation surprised Saturday.

The appointment of this low-profile 53-year-old economist is the result of an agreement between President Alberto Fernández and Vice-President Cristina Kirchner that does not end the divisions of the ruling Peronist coalition.

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President Alberto Fernandez (center-left) has appointed Silvina Batakis, "

", announced the spokesperson for the presidency on her Twitter account.

El Presidente @alferdez designated to Silvina Batakis at the front of the Ministerio de Ecomía.

Batakis is a recognized economist who performed his duties in the province of Buenos Aires between 2011 and 2015.

— Gabriela Cerruti (@gabicerru) July 4, 2022

Peronist

A renowned economist, but without political weight to replace Martín Guzmán in the Economy, analyzes 

,

.

and close to President Alberto Fernández,

on Saturday, believing that he was no longer able to perform his duties.

Without saying so, he denounced the impossibility of implementing certain measures due to the resistance of officials linked to Vice-President Cristina Kirchner, in open war with the President, but also the procrastination of the latter when he needed his support.

Martín Guzman, hailed for having saved Argentina, Latin America's third-largest economy, a default, was in favor of a smooth move towards balanced budgets.

But he was regularly questioned by the left wing of the “Frente de Todos” government coalition.

Divided Coalition

The appointment of Silvina Batakis, former economy minister of the province of Buenos Aires, follows a telephone exchange between Fernández and Kirchner at the end of the day.

Previously, during negotiations at the presidential palace, there had been talk of a major ministerial reshuffle, including the entry into government of Sergio Massa, the president of the Chamber of Deputies, on good terms with the head of state as well as only with the vice-president.

Batakis will face market reactions on Monday.

In addition to the commitments vis-à-vis the IMF, which aim to return to a balanced budget by 2025, it will be confronted with chronic inflation which has got the better of its predecessor, at 29.3% on the first five months of 2022, and 60.7% over the last twelve months.

But, against a backdrop of economic crisis, his appointment highlights the extent of the divisions in the Peronist coalition in power, whose two leaders, Fernández and Kirchner, are weakened.

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• Argentina

• Alberto Fernández

• Cristina Kirchner

• Economic crisis