Carlos Fernandez, the head of Argentina’s tax collection agency, took over as economic minister on Friday after his predecessor was sacked amid spiraling inflation and anger among farmers.
Fernandez, 54, an expert on state finance, was sworn in by Argentine President Cristina Kirchner at the presidential palace, replacing Martin Lousteau, who left after four months on the job.
“It is a challenge,” Fernandez, who is close to Kirchner’s husband, former Argentine president Nestor Kirchner told reporters. “I will continue to work to ensure that things go well.”
Lousteau, 36, left his post as the government struggles to resolve a bitter dispute with farmers who staged a crippling three-week strike last month over a tax hike on soybean exports.
On April 2, the farmers declared a one-month halt to their strike, which was the first major test of the new, four-month-old Kirchner government and, some say, sharply eroded its authority.
During their 21-day protest, thousands of farmers erected some 400 roadblocks in central Argentina, leading to unprecedented shortages of food and raw materials in major urban centers.
The raising of export tariffs on soya products caused the strike.
Farmers said that, along with income taxes, transport costs and the high cost of land, it would push many out of business.
Soybeans are dubbed “green gold” in Argentina for the sky-high prices they fetch on the world commodity market.
Half of Argentina’s 30 million hectares of farmland are used for soybeans, with an export income of US$24 billion a year.
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