After the resignation of Marco Lavagna with 6 years at the head of Indec (4 years with Alberto Fernandéz and 2 years with Milei), Caputo declared to postpone the update of the basket to calculate inflation. The waiver occurs 8 days before the date stipulated for its implementation, which would yield a higher index compared to the previous measurement that uses a consumption basket from 22 years ago.
The index with the “new” consumption base (2017-2018) was going to be known on February 10, in 8 days, with a greater weight of services in the measurement. This item was one of those that had the greatest increases, with the rates in electricity, gas, water, transportation and communications mainly, enabled by Milei that were not reflected in all this time.
Furthermore, in 2026 the price index would be boosted with the removal of rate subsidies. In this way, the Government decided to continue manipulating statistical information to hide the economic failure.
In an interview with Jonatan Viale, Luis Caputo confirmed that Lavagna’s departure was due to the implementation date of the new consumer basket to measure inflation. “With the President we always had the vision that the change had to be implemented once the deflation process was fully consolidated,” he stated.
He also assured that there is no date for the update and the old way of measurement – which underestimates the real index of price evolution – “will continue for several more months.”
Different analysts see a loss of credibility in this definition of the Government. Also in the face of international organizations that had been demanding an update. Thus the Government is weakened, while its only support is the financing of Trump, who already faces his own problems.
In one year, with the chainsaw and ironed salaries, the organization suffered the loss of 110 workers, almost 10% of the workforce. Marco Lavagna, responsible for managing the Milei policy at Indec (which included the delay of this methodology that had already been ready for quite some time) was in charge of managing the degradation of the Institute’s quality, with miserable salaries and a contractual situation that discourages workers from remaining in the State.
While the population feels that salaries are pulverizing and moonlighting is growing, official data show a “moderate” inflationary increase, also used by the Government to iron out parity. This gap between social reality and statistics fuels widespread mistrust, even among specialists.
The combative sectors of Indec workers have been arguing that statistics should reflect the reality of society. The need for a statistical organization independent of the governments in power and that does not receive pressure or audits from the IMF.
An Indec independent of the governments in power can only be guaranteed when they are the workers and technicians themselves, supported by a body of specialists from universities and other users interested in ensuring that statistics are not behind reality.
Source: www.laizquierdadiario.com
