Felisa Miceli
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Felisa Miceli (b. Carlos Casares, Province 1953) is an Argentine economist, and the Minister of Economy and Production of Argentina. She was appointed by President Néstor Kirchner on 2005-11-28, in place of Roberto Lavagna, and is the first woman ever to lead that ministry.
Miceli was a student of Lavagna's at the University of Buenos Aires. She was a left-wing activist in the 1960s, and the Director-Secretary of the Bank of the Province of Buenos Aires between 1983 and 1987. She then worked in Lavagna's consultant firm, Ecolatina, in the beginning of the 1990s. In May 2002, during the presidency of Eduardo Duhalde and at the height of the Argentine economic crisis, she became part of Lavagna's team as a representative of the Ministry of Economy before the Central Bank. On 2003-05-30 she became the chairperson of the Banco Nación.
She is widely considered a follower of Lavagna, and the successful economic policies instituted by the former Minister are expected to continue in force, but Miceli is viewed as more progressive, as well as less independent from the President (with whom Lavagna had had disagreements). In interviews, she has stated that the main goal of her administration will be improving income distribution. Argentina's economy grew by an annual 9% during 2004 and 2005, but average wages in real terms are still below the level they had before the devaluation of the Argentine peso in 2002, and poverty, though greatly reduced, is still very high.
On the topic of inflation, which climbed over 10% in 2005, Miceli has said that "inflation [will be] a little higher than expected, but it's that or the peace of the graveyards", a reference to the recommendations of the International Monetary Fund about cutting public spending and increasing interest rates to contract the economy. Miceli also denies that increased wages are a source of inflation, attributing it instead to lack of investment to supply rising demand. Finally, she has supported the "disindebtment" strategy adopted by the government since the beginning 2005, which consists in paying the IMF in time and in full without negotiation when possible, so as to reduce the debt and gain financial independence from it.
Miceli expressed her intention of conducting a comprehensive tax reform, and reviewing the performance of the private retirement pension system, which she considers a failure.
Upon her designation, the Argentine markets reacted briefly with surprise; the MerVal index of the Buenos Aires Stock Exchange fell by 4.5% and the price of the dollar rose slightly. However, no significant macroeconomic policy changes are expected in the short term.
[edit] References
- Invertia
- Ministry of Economy and Production of Argentina (official website)
- Página/12, 2005-11-29. Las ideas de la Ministra de Economía
- Reuters, 2005-11-28, through Yahoo!Finance. Argentina markets slide after finance minister quits.
- Biografía de Felisa Miceli
Preceded by Roberto Lavagna |
Minister of Economy 2005–present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |