MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentina: Domestic Trade Secretary resigns over ministerial rearrangement

Guillermo Hang has been entrusted with bringing down one of the world's highest inflations

Argentina's Domestic Trade Secretary Roberto Feletti has turned in his resignation after his office was relocated from the Ministry of Productive Development to the Ministry of Economy.

In other words, Feletti stopped reporting to Minister Matías Kulfas to have Minister Martín Guzmán as his new boss. Feletti's reportedly resigned over technical disagreements with Guzmán, who has already been heavily criticized by hardline Kirchnerites.

Feletti will be replaced by Central Bank (BCRA) Director Guillermo Hang, who has served in different areas of the Ministry of Economy from 2008 to 2015 and joined the BCRA when President Alberto Fernández took office.

“The most reasonable and professional attitude on my part is to facilitate that Minister Martín Guzmán has the freedom to select officials who share the defined course and the set program,” Feletti stressed in his letter of resignation.

He added that the ministerial rearrangements opened a new stage in which Guzmán will be “in charge of the economic policy in a comprehensive manner.”

Feletti also said that his career “has been marked by coherence and conviction regarding the policies that I have applied and defended from the different places I have had the responsibility to administer.”

“I have never prioritized the exercise of a position or my personal interest over political convictions, and this will not be the exception,” he added.

He also insisted on “the need to decouple the price of food at a world level from the one paid by Argentine men and women.”

Hang will now have the mission to cut down inflation and tame prices. He has a degree in Economics from the University of La Plata. He has also served as an advisor to the IBRD (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development), World Bank; Public Works and Housing, Ministry of Interior of Argentina (2016-2017); and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

In addition, he was a researcher and visiting researcher at the Economic and Financial Center for Development of Argentina and wrote articles for different research centers.