Buenos Aires 2015 Blog: Minister Axel Kicillof on Balancing Argentina's Economy

By
Elizabeth Gonzalez

The economy minister disusses the country's experience with an open market policy and the challenges a new adminstration will face. 

Argentina has a rich experience of economic ups and downs, said Economy Minister Axel Kicillof. He said two models stand, which can be distinguished between the current administration in comparison to the 1990s. One of the main distinctions was an indiscriminate open market policy that Kicillof said destroyed businesses in the twentieth century. As such, the new administration—to be elected October 25—should take care to balance proposals for opening the economy to more exports and imports while considering employment rates and workers’ salaries. “[That policy] has never helped the development of the country,” said Kicillof.

On the other hand, he argued that the Kirchner governments have helped the country’s economy transition, attracting some of the highest levels of investment—amounting to 23 percent of GDP, which were mostly private.

Kicillof also noted that as the global economy continues to decelerate—with recent currency devaluations in China and elsewhere—Argentina maintains a low unemployment rate. Ultimately, Argentina’s challenge will be to grow consumption and investment simultaneously, and he argued that these goals don’t have to be at odds with each other.

Watch Kicillof's presentation: