At Argentina’s INDEC, Change is the Constant

Argentina’s new economy minister Miguel Peirano appointed Ana Maria Edwin the new head of INDEC, the statistics bureau that measures, among other things, inflation. She replaces Alejandro Barrios, a political appointee of Felisa Miceli, Peirano’s deposed predecessor who was forced to resign following a scandal involving a bag full of cash in her office restroom. Barrios was named director when INDEC’s former chief Lelio Mármora resigned, citing health reasons. The real reason, say local reports, was the government’s forceful replacement of his head of CPI Graciely Bevilacqua in February with a political appointee Beatriz Paglieri, reportedly because of a disagreement on the methodology used to measure Argentina’s double digit inflation. Ana Maria Edwin, Barrios’ deputy, is seen as a strong statistician with a good technical background. She may not be enough to rebuild confidence in INDEC data.