Argentina’s Political Crisis Restarts With Ministers Leaving
(Bloomberg) — Argentina President Alberto Fernandez is expected to name three new ministers on Monday as political infighting within his ruling coalition reignites.
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Labor Minister Claudio Moroni and Social Development Minister Juan Zabaleta quit on Sunday, local media reported, bringing departures from Fernandez’s cabinet to three in as many days. Elizabeth Gomez Alcorta, who led the Women and Gender Ministry, resigned on Friday.
Lawmaker Victoria Tolosa Paz, a close ally of Fernandez, will be named Social Development Minister while the two other positions will be decided later on Monday, newspaper Clarin reported without saying how it got the information. The Argentine government didn’t reply to a comment request seeking to confirm the departures.
The expected cabinet shakeup is the latest episode of Argentina’s ongoing political crisis in recent months, with open disagreements between Fernandez and his powerful Vice President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner over how to manage the crisis-prone economy amid growing social demands.
The government saw Economy Minister Martin Guzman resign in July before being replaced by Sergio Massa, who took office in August as Argentina’s fifth economy minister in four years and opened a period of political truce.
Yet annual inflation accelerating toward 100% and Fernandez’s falling popularity continue generating divisions within the ruling Peronist coalition a year before general elections. After an initial recover on Massa’s appointment, Argentina’s sovereign bonds have fallen for four consecutive months, lingering around 20 cents on the dollar.
Read More: Economists See Argentina Inflation Surpassing 100% by December
Disagreements over how to comply with a $44 billion lending program with the International Monetary Fund have also helped to fuel the political crisis.
Separately, Gomez Alcorta’s exit followed her questioning of indigenous and women’s rights decisions by the government, according to state-owned news agency Telam.
(Updates with political crisis context from fifth paragraph.)
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