Felisa Miceli | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Minister of Economy of Argentina | |
| In office 28 January 2005 – 16 July 2007 | |
| President | Néstor Kirchner |
| Preceded by | Roberto Lavagna |
| Succeeded by | Miguel Peirano |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1952-09-26)26 September 1952 (age 72) Carlos Casares, Buenos Aires, Argentina |
| Political party | Justicialist |
| Spouse | Ricardo Velasco |
| Alma mater | University of Buenos Aires |
Felisa Miceli (born 26 September 1952) is anArgentine economist, and a former Minister ofEconomy and Production of Argentina.[1][2] She was appointed byPresidentNéstor Kirchner on January 28, 2005, in place ofRoberto Lavagna, and was the first woman ever to lead that ministry.[3]She resigned to the position on July 16, 2007, as prosecutors stepped up an investigation into a bag of cash found in her ministry offices.[4][5]
Born inCarlos Casares,Buenos Aires Province, Miceli was a student of Lavagna's at theUniversity of Buenos Aires. She was aleft-wing activist in the 1960s, and later served as Director-Secretary of theBank of the Province of Buenos Aires duringAldo Ferrer's tenure as bank president between 1983 and 1987. She then worked in Lavagna's consultant firm,Ecolatina, in the beginning of the 1990s. In May 2002, during the presidency ofEduardo Duhalde and at the height of the1998–2002 Argentine great depression, she became part of Lavagna's team as a representative of the Ministry of Economy before theCentral Bank. On May 30, 2003, she became the chairperson of theBanco Nación.
She was widely considered a follower of Lavagna, and the successful economic policies instituted by the former Minister were expected to continue in force, but Miceli was viewed as moreprogressive, as well as less independent from the President (with whom Lavagna had had disagreements). In interviews, she stated that the main goal of her administration would be improvingincome distribution. Argentina's economy grew by an annual 9% during 2004 and 2005, but average wages in real terms did not recover to the level before the 2002devaluation of theArgentine peso until 2006,[6] andincome poverty, though greatly reduced, remained high by historical standards.
On the topic ofinflation, which climbed to over 10% in both 2005 and 2006, Miceli said that "inflation [would be] a little higher than expected, but it's that or the peace of the graveyards" - a reference to recommendations of theIMF in favor ofcutting public spending and increasing interest rates to contract the economy. Miceli also denied that increased wages were a source of inflation, attributing it instead to lack ofinvestment to supply rising demand. Miceli expressed her intention of conducting a comprehensivetax reform, and reviewing the performance of the private retirementpension fund system, which she considered a failure. Upon her designation, the Argentine markets reacted briefly with surprise; the MerVal index of theBuenos Aires Stock Exchange fell by 4.5% and the price of thedollar rose slightly.[7]
Minister Miceli pursued aprogressive economic policy during her tenure, advocating forlabor rights andincome redistribution, and againstglobalization generally; herfiscal policy was moderate, however, and she maintained abudget surplus of 1.8% of GDP. Argentine GDP continued to grow at an 8.5% rate as it had since 2003, whilecurrent account surplus remained high at 3.5% of GDP.[8] She also supported thedebt restructuring and "disindebtment" strategy adopted by the government since the beginning of 2005, which consisted in paying the IMF in time and in full without negotiation when possible, so as to reduce the debt and gain financial independence from it; the final step in this policy was the cancellation of the remaining debt to the IMF in January 2006 with a single payment of about US$9.5 billion.[9] Miceli worked with the Central Bank to prevent arevaluation of the peso below 3 per U.S. dollar for the sake ofexport competitiveness, maintaining a policy of frequent dollar purchases by the Central Bank; the Central Bank's reserves thus surpassed their pre-IMF repayment levels on September 27, 2006.[10]
In July 2007, Miceli was involved in a controversy for a bag containing US$31,000 and AR$100,000 which the police found in a cupboard in her office bathroom.[11][12] Miceli claimed it was money lent to her by her brother as adown payment in a real estate purchase. The Argentine peso bills, however, were sealed in a special numbered wrapper issued by the Central Bank, and were traced to a financial firm that did not have records of the withdrawing of any such amount, and did not count Miceli or her brother as clients. Federal prosecutor Guillermo Marijuán demanded a hearing with Miceli.
In the midst of this scandal, the minister was forced to resign on 16 July. The First Lady and presidential candidate SenatorCristina Fernández de Kirchner stated: "We are a government that has the fight against corruption as our banner, and we cannot allow doubts in this regard." Miceli's successor,Miguel Peirano, until then the Secretary of Industry, was designated and announced on the same day.[13]
Felisa Miceli was found guilty on December 17, 2012, and sentenced to 4 years in prison; she appealed the sentence.[14]
| Preceded by | Minister of Economy 2005–2007 | Succeeded by |