Marco Lavagna's resignation as INDEC director has sparked a crisis in Argentina's statistics agency, with accusations of data manipulation to support Javier Milei's government narrative. Analysts draw parallels to Kirchnerist practices, as the administration attempts damage control and plans a new inflation index for August 2026.
Marco Lavagna's departure from Argentina's National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INDEC) has reignited concerns over the integrity of official data. Economists like Diego Giacomini have accused Javier Milei's government of trying to tailor statistics to fit its economic narrative, particularly on inflation and activity. "We are facing a government that wants to use official statistics," Giacomini stated on Radio 10, adding that tampering with inflation data violates privately indexed contracts and creates a "statistical blackout".
The dispute arose after Lavagna's resignation, a position he held for over two years. Official sources say the decision to revert to the old Consumer Price Index (IPC) methodology was made by President Milei and Economy Minister Luis 'Toto' Caputo to avoid "media speculation". Caputo refuted Lavagna's claims on social media, stating the new index would have shown January inflation a tenth lower than current figures. However, no confirmed date exists for implementing the new consumption basket, though August 2026 is presumed, when Milei forecasted inflation starting at zero.
Giacomini also highlighted tweaks to the Monthly Economic Activity Estimator (EMAE) for August and September, turning a decline into 5% year-on-year growth to avert a formal recession declaration. The government linked Lavagna to Sergio Massa and praised his replacement, Pedro Lines, as a solid technician unconnected to Guillermo Moreno's era. This crisis has affected sovereign bonds with market drops and prompted transparency calls from the 'city' financial circle. The administration launched a media campaign to calm tensions, inadvertently echoing past Kirchnerist practices.
