Martín Lousteau
Encyclopedia
Minister of Economy of Argentina
The Minister of Economy is the head of the Ministry of Economy and Production of Argentina, concerned with finance and monetary matters. The position within the Government of Argentina is analogous to the finance ministers of some countries and the United States Treasury Secretary...
under the administration of President
President of Argentina
The President of the Argentine Nation , usually known as the President of Argentina, is the head of state of Argentina. Under the national Constitution, the President is also the chief executive of the federal government and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces.Through Argentine history, the...
Cristina Fernández de Kirchner
Cristina Fernández de Kirchner
Cristina Elisabet Fernández de Kirchner , commonly known as Cristina Fernández or Cristina Kirchner is the 55th and current President of Argentina and the widow of former President Néstor Kirchner. She is Argentina's first elected female president, and the second female president ever to serve...
, from December 10, 2007, until April 24, 2008. At the age of 37, Lousteau was the youngest person to occupy this office in more than five decades.
Lousteau has occupied various public offices, as well as positions in the private sector. He was Chairman of the Bank of the Province of Buenos Aires
Bank of the Province of Buenos Aires
The Bank of the Province of Buenos Aires is a publicly-owned Argentine bank and the second-largest in the nation, by value of assets and deposits.-History:...
and of the associated BAPRO group. He served as Minister of Production of Buenos Aires Province
Buenos Aires Province
The Province of Buenos Aires is the largest and most populous province of Argentina. It takes the name from the city of Buenos Aires, which used to be the provincial capital until it was federalized in 1880...
and Chief of Cabinet of the same, and was also a counselor for the Central Bank of Argentina. Previous to that, he was the head economist and then the director of the consulting firm APL Economía, on the areas of macroeconomics
Macroeconomics
Macroeconomics is a branch of economics dealing with the performance, structure, behavior, and decision-making of the whole economy. This includes a national, regional, or global economy...
and politics.
Lousteau is a Licentiate
Licentiate
Licentiate is the title of a person who holds an academic degree called a licence. The term may derive from the Latin licentia docendi, meaning permission to teach. The term may also derive from the Latin licentia ad practicandum, which signified someone who held a certificate of competence to...
in Economics (graduated summa cum laude from the Universidad de San Andrés), and a Master of Science
Master of Science
A Master of Science is a postgraduate academic master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is typically studied for in the sciences including the social sciences.-Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay:...
in Economics (at the London School of Economics
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
). He taught as a postgraduate professor at the Universidad Torcuato Di Tella
Universidad Torcuato di Tella
The Torcuato Di Tella University is a non-profit private university founded in 1991. Located in the Belgrano neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina, it has an undergraduate enrollment of 1,200 students and a graduate enrollment of 1,300. The university is focused primarily on social sciences...
, and as graduate professor at the Universidad de San Andrés.
He is the author of Sin Atajos (No Shortcuts, 2005), a history of Argentina's economic crises, with Javier González Fraga
Javier González Fraga
Javier González Fraga is an Argentine economist and businessman. He served as President of the Central Bank of Argentina from 1989 to 1991, and was nominated as running-mate by Ricardo Alfonsín for his 2011 campaign for the Presidency....
, and Hacia un Federalismo Solidario (Towards a Cooperative Federalism), as well as specialized works and journalistic articles that have been published in Argentina and abroad.
Besides his career as an economist, Lousteau was a tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
instructor (which he quit because of an injury), and also worked as war correspondent
War correspondent
A war correspondent is a journalist who covers stories firsthand from a war zone. In the 19th century they were also called Special Correspondents.-Methods:...
in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
for the magazines El planeta urbano and La Razón
La Razón (Buenos Aires)
La Razón is a local newspaper distributed in the public transportation system in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It was founded in 1905 by Argentine journalist Emilio Morales an as an afternoon and evening newspaper in broadsheet format. The daily was acquired by a prominent news editor, José A...
(before the September 11, 2001 attacks
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
).
Minister of Economy
One of the most salient features of his tenure has been the controversy surrounding his decision to increase the soybean export tax, which was previously fixed at 35%, so that it would fluctuate in line with global prices for the crop. This has been claimed as the major cause of the protests in the Argentine countryside2008 Argentine government conflict with the agricultural sector
The 2008 Argentine government conflict with the agricultural sector started in March 2008, which then extended into a prolonged period of turbulent politics...
which took place in early 2008. Lousteau was heavily involved in talks with farmers' leaders but was later sidelined. After just two months, Lousteau was rumoured to have declared his intention to resign his post following disputes with fellow ministers, particularly Guillermo Moreno
Guillermo Moreno (Argentine politician)
Guillermo Moreno is an Argentine politician. He currently serves as Secretary of Domestic Trade in President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner's administration, and was appointed in that post by her husband and predecessor, Néstor Kirchner.-Biography:Moreno was an active member of the Peronist Youth...
, although he denied he would resign. Nevertheless, there was continued speculation on his resignation or replacement in the wake of the agrarian crisis. Lousteau resigned on April 24, 2008, with the tax agency chief Carlos Fernández
Carlos Rafael Fernández
Carlos Rafael Fernández is an Argentine economist and was, from April 2008 to July 2009, the President's Minister of the Economy....
replacing him.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Lousteau's brief tenure was clouded from the outset by interference from Néstor Kirchner's allies. Lousteau's policy initiatives often seemed to be eclipsed by those of a Kirchner loyalist, Guillermo Moreno
Guillermo Moreno (Argentine politician)
Guillermo Moreno is an Argentine politician. He currently serves as Secretary of Domestic Trade in President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner's administration, and was appointed in that post by her husband and predecessor, Néstor Kirchner.-Biography:Moreno was an active member of the Peronist Youth...
, the secretary of Internal Commerce, described as "the administration's price policeman".
Lousteau is an ardent supporter of the Boca Juniors football team famed for Diego Maradona.