Silvina Batakis has become Argentina’s new economy minister one day after the abrupt resignation of her predecessor Martin Guzman.
Batakis, who has the nickname La Griega (‘The Greek Girl’), is the descendent of Greek immigrants to Argentina.
Her appointment to economy minister was announced on Twitter by Argentina’s President Alberto Fernandez.
The 53-year-old brings a wealth of experience to the role having previously served as Secretary of Provinces in the Ministry of the Interior, and as economy minister for Argentina’s biggest and wealthiest province, Buenos Aires, from 2011 to 2015.
Her appointment comes at a time when the Argentine economy is in full-blown crisis mode, with inflation above 60 percent, a high fiscal deficit, fears rising about debt defaults, and people losing faith in the peso currency and anticipating a devaluation.
Guzman, her predecessor and the architect of a $44 billion debt restructuring deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), unexpectedly stepped down on Saturday.
This came after constant clashes with the militant wing of the ruling party who disapproved of his tighter fiscal policy.
According to dw.com, Batakis is seen as more aligned with the ruling Peronist coalition’s militant wing, which wants more public spending to help alleviate high poverty levels in Argentina.
Source: dw.com.
