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ECONOMY | 28-08-2019 09:55

INDEC chief: Bureau's independence would be lost under the opposition

Jorge Todesca slams Peronist opposition in unprecedented letter, warning that Kirchnerite leaders may undermine the legitimacy and independence of the INDEC national statistics bureau.

The director of the INDEC national statistics bureau, Jorge Todesca, has released an unprecedented letter attacking the Peronist opposition and questioning whether the likely next government will uphold the independence of the organisation he leads.

In the letter, released to the press yesterday, Todesca expressed concerns that the credibility and independence of INDEC may not be respected by those who, he alleged, starred in its "deep institutional uproar between 2006 and 2015."

That remark was a reference to the bureau's controversial time under the control of previous Kirchnerite administrations led by Néstor Kirchner and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. Both former presidents famously interfered in the running of INDEC, imposing their own appointees, producing much-questioned statistics and compromising the institute's integrity. 

"It is hard for me to be confident that the independence ... would eventually be respected," the INDEC director said in his letter, hailing the "full recovery of the service of official statistics of Argentina" under President Mauricio Macri. 

He said the evidence for his fears came from "demonstrations that come from those who, from the highest offices of government, have been passive witnesses or direct actors of the deep institutional uproar between 2006 and 2015."

Todesca – the father of Cecilia Todesca Bocco, a key economic adviser to Alberto Fernández – made clear Tuesday that his support lies for the Macri administration, highlighting in his letter that the statistics bureau was operating under "absolute independence."

He said doubted that the next incoming government would respect the need to publish independent and verified public statistics, and said that "the political will of President Mauricio Macri and his defence of the truth allowed the reconstruction of INDEC," claiming that the institution was now viewed as a "success" story.

"Today we can proudly say that the world speaks of us for good reasons: the recovery of Indec is considered a success story," said the official in his letter.

– TIMES/NA/TÉLAM

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