Overview
- Government spokespeople publicly rejected President Javier Milei’s call to alter INDEC methods and said there are no plans to change official statistical procedures now.
- The dispute followed INDEC’s July EMAE release, which showed a 1.4% year‑on‑year drop and a 2.9% month‑on‑month fall in the desesasonalized series while the trend‑cycle rose 0.2%, a divergence officials said reflects short‑term volatility.
- Citing Tuesday’s INDEC figures, presidential spokesman Adrián Ravier said desesasonalized series can mislead when seasonality shifts during structural change and confirmed the government prefers reading the trend‑cycle measure.
- Ravier acknowledged that some methodological updates are needed but argued they should be deferred to avoid changing measures during an active stabilization effort and with the electoral year approaching.
- Analysts note the row recalls February’s exit of former INDEC chief Marco Lavagna after a push to update methods, and the current pause could extend uncertainty about how Argentina’s recovery and public trust in statistics are assessed.