Argentina’s President-elect Javier Millay announced on Wednesday that he had chosen a former finance minister for the economy portfolio, but he dashed hopes for a quick recovery in the deep-crisis country by warning of stagflation ahead.

Luis Caputo, 58, an economist and former New York Stock Exchange trader, also briefly headed the central bank under liberal Mauricio Macri (2015-2019).

He accompanied Javier Miley for two days in the USA, where the future head of state, whose inauguration will take place in twelve days, met with the advisers of American President Joe Biden. Caputo also participated in a technical meeting with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Javier Millay recently called Caputo “the best financial expert in the country.”

“When you look at the nature of Argentina’s problems, when you see that out of 15 points of the budget deficit (according to Javier Milea, no), ten come from the central bank, it becomes clear that the first problem that needs to be solved is it’s Leliky,” he said on La Red radio. And in his opinion, Luis Caputo is the best fit for the job.

Leliqs are short-term peso-denominated debt instruments issued by the central bank to support the national currency. But according to Miley, they are now at a level of insolvency that threatens Argentina with “hyperinflation”.

Under Mauricio Macri, Finance Minister Caputo received particular credit in 2017 for the so-called “centennial bond” operation, the issuance of 100-year bonds that found buyers in the capital markets, a signal then considered positive, respectively, despite the crisis. the country passed.

After his election on November 19, Javier Miley once again dashed hopes for a quick recovery in Argentina, Latin America’s third-largest economy, mired in 143% annual inflation and a chronic shortage of foreign reserves.