Sergio Massa, Minister of Economy and pre-candidate for president for Union for the Fatherland, relived a moment of tension during a live interview when he was asked by a journalist about the inflation numbers.
On Radio Mitre, the national official was asked if he was self-critical about his 3% inflation target for April 2023. According to the National Institute of Statistics and Census through the consumer price index (CPI) was 8.4%.
"No, that's not true. I said start with 3," he replied. To which the journalist Rolando Barbano asked him to let finish his question.
"If you ask lying I have to correct you. The note is in profile and I said 'I aspire to start with 3'. I didn't promise, I said 'I aspire to start with 3'. And I am here to do self-criticism. Don't lie in the question," the minister said.
The journalist then asked him "not to lie in the answer" and insisted that his words were of an inflation around 3% for the month of April of this year, which finally was not fulfilled.
The tension between the ruling party candidate and Barbano continued. "It's very difficult like this, Sergio. I'm asking you something you raised when you started your term as economy minister," the journalist said.
But the national official maintained his position of confronting and denying that he promised that number by April of this year.
"Is there something you did wrong as economy minister, do you make any self-criticism? Because what was expected was something else and what is being seen and what economists say is that you have a 'plan to endure' so that the bomb does not explode before the elections," Jorge Lanata's team member told him.
Massa chided him with the fact that the journalist, instead of asking a question, made "half editorial" and asked him to finish with the answer, before an intervention by Barbano to clarify his question about inflation.
"I didn't promise, I said it was a goal. When the objective was proposed, there was no drought, which changed Argentina's trade account by 25%, which is key to stabilizing macroeconomic variables. It seems to me that on the way you are forgetting something," he reproached.
To which the journalist insisted that the current inflation is crushing the salary of people, who when they go to buy at the supermarket find increases of 10, 15 and 20% since he took office.
"From August to December we had traveled a path of reducing inflation, there is a brutal change in January and February due to the impact of the drought. Unfortunately, if I had to make a strong self-criticism, I would say it was a big mistake not to tell society the impact that the loss of 25% of exports would have for the whole year and in terms of the functioning of the economy and loss of value of our currency. Yes, it was a big mistake," he acknowledged.
Days ago, during his visit to Cordoba on Thursday, a group of journalists asked Minister Massa about inflation and the price of the blue dollar, which that day closed at $ 570 and the official got angry and crossed his interlocutor, whom he accused of being "making the spicy".
"It's very easy to talk, grab a microphone and ask questions while spicy. But Argentina lost 25% of its exports," was the phrase with which the candidate decided to answer a question about high inflation in Argentina.
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