Over the past several years I have posted on Argentina’s dubious economic data and the Kirchneristas’ persecution of economists who didn’t toe the official line.
Hence, this is a good start:
Argentina’s Macri Tackles Flawed Government Data as Part of Overhaul. New president is moving quickly to overhaul 12 years of populist policies; fixing government-data collection is key.It wasn’t only economists who were punished,
Businessmen also came under pressure. Miguel Schiariti, the president of Argentina’s meat industry chamber, recalled getting into heated arguments with Mr. Moreno, who wanted meat prices to stay low.
Mr. Moreno didn’t respond to requests for comment. He told a local television program recently that Indec’s data was accurate, and he accused economists of self-interest in reporting higher inflation figures.
Indec workers who refused to doctor data were demoted to dingy offices without equipment, according to the public employee union, an account backed by Mr. Garrido’s findings. Others say they received threatening phone calls and were hassled in the building’s hallways, union leaders said.
Indec’s reputation was ruined, leading private-sector economists to publish their own data that showed rampant inflation two or three times higher than official figures. This year, private economists say inflation will be about 25%.
We’re talking huge discrepancies here (click on image to enlarge),
Years of this left the government with – 0 – credibility. Macri has his work cut out ahead for him.
Meanwhile, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner fails time and again to make herself relevant.
