Buenos Aires, Argentina: Argentina is trying again to criminally prosecute people who publish independent inflation data. The case against Orlando Ferreres and other economists comes as Congress opens debate on the 2014 budget, which assumes good times next year for the South American nation’s economy.
The government predicts strong annual economic growth of 6.2 per cent, inflation of just 10.4 per cent and a peso dropping only 10 per cent against the dollar.
Independent economists say these numbers are wildly optimistic.
Commerce Secretary Guillermo Moreno wants four consulting firms to face criminal charges of speculation. But Ferreres said on Friday that the charges make sense only in an “upside down world.”
