Monday, January 27, 2014

In Profile: The Influential Minister Behind Argentina’s Economic Collapse

NYT informs:

As Argentina absorbs the shock from a sharp plunge in its currency, President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner’s mercurial young economy minister, Axel Kicillof, a scholar with rockabilly-style sideburns and an aversion to business suits, is emerging as the face of policy shifts that are sending tremors through financial markets around the developing world.

Mr. Kicillof, 42, is wielding greater influence over an array of areas, from Argentina’s oil industry to the government’s attempts to slow capital flight and improve relations with international creditors, as Mrs. Kirchner remains largely absent from the public eye after undergoing surgery in October to drain a blood clot near her brain.





Argentina’s Currency Falls Sharply Against the Dollar, Stirring Inflation FearsJAN. 23, 2014
The rise of Mr. Kicillof, whose writings use Marxist concepts to interpret the work of the British economist John Maynard Keynes, points to efforts by the authorities to assert greater state control over Argentina’s economy at a time when growth is slowing significantly and inflation is soaring.

“He’s the strongest economy minister Argentina has had in a decade,” said Ezequiel Burgo, the author of “The Believer,” a book about Mr. Kicillof. “He’s confrontational, outwardly self-confident and sometimes perceived as being arrogant, which of course makes him stand out at a time like this.”

Before advising Mrs. Kirchner on economic matters, Mr. Kicillof taught economics at the University of Buenos Aires. He rose to prominence as a deputy minister in 2012 when he directed the nationalization of YPF, the Argentine oil company then controlled by Repsol, the Spanish energy giant.

He has repeatedly justified the seizure of YPF, which Repsol had acquired in 1999, in pointed critiques of Argentina’s economic policies in the 1990s of fixing the currency to the dollar and selling state assets. In November, while reviewing Argentina’s offer to compensate Repsol for its stake in YPF, he contended that authorities had previously laid the foundations “for the pillaging of our companies.”

Since Mrs. Kirchner named him economy minister in November, Mr. Kicillof has been thrust into the spotlight.

Paparazzi trail him around his middle-class neighborhood, Parque Chas, and a celebrity magazine has described his relatively modest lifestyle — reflected in the car he drives, a compact 2008 Renault, and his decision to forgo bodyguards on a vacation with his wife, a literature professor, and their two small children.

4 comments:

  1. I can't help but wonder if there is a connection between Mr. Kicillof being "the strongest economy minister Argentina has had in a decade" and "the shock from a sharp plunge in [Argentina's] currency".

    Why do so many fail to see that "strong" economic ministers make for weak currencies and economies?

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    Replies
    1. "Why do so many fail to see that "strong" economic ministers make for weak currencies and economies?"

      These fucking morons haven't two brain cells to rub together. They just don't GET IT! Hello? Fuckwads? Anybody there? Central planning D-O-ES N-O-T W-O-R-K! It ALWAYS leads to economic disaster. Why is this simple concept so damned hard to grasp?!

      Geez!

      To help those with tiny brains understand something this simple please do the following:

      Step 1: Take head out of ass.
      Step 2: Do not stick head back up ass again.
      Step 3: Attempt to question the government-as-god paradigm.
      Step 4: Continue to keep head well out of ass (plug the damned hole up if you have to).
      Step 5: Use mouse button. Type mises.org in browser, hit "Enter" and start reading.

      There. That's VERY basic but most idiots can't even get beyond that.

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    2. "Why do so many fail to see that "strong" economic ministers make for weak currencies and economies?"

      Because the "strong" governments are bribing them with welfare, entitlements, and OPM in general.

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    3. Mike, Kiciloff knows exactly what he's doing. It's simple math. He has no cultural similarity to the people of argentina..the kirchners either. She pretends to be catholic for the pope. It's really from another planet. Cristina bailed...she did way too much fraud for someone that plans on staying in Argentina..Maybe her and Kiciloff have more allegiance to Israel. The theatre going on with the casa rosada is a ridiculous spectacle. The collapse could take place tomorrow or 2 months from now...but it will be before the reserves run out. Right now in their sopranos run government the paperwork is being burned, briefcases of cash being flown out...vacations are being taken in miami and the carribean for these thieves and the families.

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