Central Banks
Milei Picks Santiago Bausili to Lead Argentina Central Bank
- Bausili is a close ally of incoming Economy Chief Luis Caputo
- He finds a central bank with a pile of local debt, no reserves
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Argentina’s President-elect Javier Milei picked an ally of his future economy minister to lead the nation’s central bank, with the mission to help find a solution for a pile of local-currency debt, lift currency controls and possibly introduce the dollar as an alternative to the peso in the future.
The appointment of Santiago Bausili, a close friend to incoming Economy Minister Luis Caputo, was confirmed by Milei’s spokesperson on Tuesday. The nomination, which needs to be approved by the Senate, broadens the powers of the economic team Caputo is building to implement austerity measures and fight inflation. It also signals the new government isn’t planning to have an independent monetary authority for now.