President of institute that measures inflation in Argentina resigns.
Marco Lavagna's resignation comes eight days before the release of the new inflation methodology, which alters the consumption basket and the weighting of housing and services.
247 - The president of the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (Indec), the body responsible for measuring inflation in Argentina, Marco Lavagna, resigned on Monday from the position he had held since 2019. The information was confirmed by a source within the organization itself, without detailing the reasons for the decision.
The departure comes just eight days before the release of the first inflation index results calculated using the new methodology led by Lavagna. This information was initially reported by the newspaper. La Nación, who listened to representatives of the institute's workers and monitored the changes made to the measurement system.
The resignation provoked an immediate reaction among Indec employees. For the workers' representative, Raúl Llaneza, the timing of the decision is a cause for concern. "The resignation eight days before the release of the new index is extremely alarming," he stated. He then reinforced the demand for institutional autonomy: "We demand an Indec independent of political power," he declared. La Nación.
An economist close to the Peronist opposition leader and former presidential candidate Sergio Massa, Lavagna remained at the head of Indec even after the inauguration of the ultraliberal president Javier Milei in December 2023. His continued tenure was seen by analysts as a factor of continuity and credibility during a period of profound changes in the country's economic policy.
Under the Milei administration, inflation slowed sharply after a historic peak. The annual rate fell from 211,4% in 2023, the year the president promoted a 50% devaluation of the Argentine peso, to 31,5% in 2025, the lowest level in eight years. The government often presents this trajectory as its main economic achievement.
Despite the accumulated drop, the latest available measurement, referring to December, indicated a monthly increase of 2,8% in prices, signaling an accelerating trend that began in June of last year. This data was still calculated using Indec's old methodology.
The new calculation model seeks to more accurately reflect the current consumption habits of the population. The previous methodology used a price basket based on 2004, which did not include expenses now considered essential, such as mobile telephony, internet, and cable television. Furthermore, it assigned less weight to housing and public service expenses.
The new basket of goods and services is based on household income and expenditure surveys conducted between 2017 and 2018 and follows international recommendations, according to the organization itself. The expectation was that the first index under these standards would be released on the 10th of next month.
Lavagna's resignation adds to a recent history of internal instability at Indec. By the end of 2025, the institute had already registered several employee departures amid conflicts related to low salaries, which increased attention on the institution's future and the continuity of ongoing reforms.