Finance Minister and Central Banker of the Year: The regional winners
Over the past 12 months Roque Fernandez has brought about a major change in operating style at the economy ministry in Buenos Aires, with a low-key approach viewed as a deliberate contrast to the combative and outspoken style of his predecessor, Domingo Cavallo.
The idea is to let the economic data do the talking, and events certainly have been going Fernandez's way. This year Argentina is set to record an impressive double: the fastest GDP growth and the lowest inflation in Latin America. Analysts repeatedly have shifted their forecasts upwards to between 6% and 7% for the GDP number; inflation is expected to be less than 2%. This robust economic growth coupled with low interest rates should give a much-needed stimulus to consumer spending in an economy which is highly sensitive to private-sector consumption. And increased tax collection should improve the fiscal deficit, an area where Argentina is fighting hard to comply with IMF targets.
These conditions have helped Fernandez see off the critics of his low-profile approach to the job. This approach means avoiding embroilment in wider political battles, and instead concentrating on the economy ministry's primary role of reducing the fiscal deficit.