MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentina replaces domestic trade secretary in a move to curb inflation

Feletti is loyal to CFK and now needs to curb inflation

Argentine President Alberto Fernández Saturday reassigned Domestic Trade Secretary Paula Español to other duties within the Interior Ministry and chose former National Deputy Roberto Feletti to replace her, it was announced.

The presidential decision, many analysts agreed, is tantamount to admitting that the fight against inflation has not worked.

According to a government statement, Español's new functions will be to “work on the coordination of development strategies and projects at the federal level, which contemplate the establishment of companies, the addition of value, the generation of employment and the socio-productive roots in every corner of the country.”

“The President of the Nation has appointed Roberto Feletti to assume the functions of Secretary of Internal Trade within the framework of the Ministry of Productive Development,” the statement went on.

Feletti, 63, is a certified public accountant who was holding a clerical job at the Senate of the Province of Buenos Aires before stepping into the limelight as a TV columnist alongside former Vice President Amado Boudou. Also part of the Caníbales show on C5N was now Security Minister Aníbal Fernández.

Feletti was also Secretary of Economy and Finance in the municipality of La Matanza in the outskirts of Buenos Aires under Mayor Verónica Magario, who is now Deputy Governor at the Province of Buenos Aires.

Feletti was also second in command at the National Economy Ministry under Boudou between 2009 and 2011 and is said to be very close to Vice President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.

“The world is not governed by ideas. This requires a political plot, a series of agreements. If I complete the implementation of the infrastructure plan, I could reasonably tell the citizens to join me with the vote to end the works”, Feletti once said while he was Vice President of Banco Nación in 2006.

Feletti was also a national deputy and during his time in Congress, he presided over the Budget and Finance Committee.

Starting this week, Feletti will now try to curb inflation as the government tries to bounce back from defeat at September's Mandatory, Simultaneous and Open Primary (PASO) elections.