| Guillermo Moreno | |
|---|---|
| Secretary of Domestic Trade | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 2005 |
|
| Under-Secretary of Production for the City of Buenos Aires | |
| In office 1990 – 1993 |
|
| Personal details | |
| Born | October 15, 1955 Buenos Aires, Argentina |
| Political party | Frente para la Victoria |
| Residence | Buenos Aires, Argentina |
| Alma mater | Universidad Argentina de la Empresa, BA in Economics |
Guillermo Moreno (Buenos Aires, October 15, 1955)[1] 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.
Moreno was an active member of the Peronist Youth in the 1970s, a left-wing branch of the Peronist movement that favoured a social revolution on the lines of the Cuban revolution.[2] After democracy was re-established in Argentina in 1983, he opened a hardware wholesale store in Buenos Aires and graduated in Economics at the Argentine University of Business (UADE).[2]
His first Government position was Under-Secretary of Production in the Buenos Aires City Government, under Mayor Carlos Grosso, in the early '90s.[2] He later became an assistant to the Trade Secretary during the Presidency of Eduardo Duhalde (2002–2003).[3]
Moreno became close to Néstor Kirchner before Kirchner reached the Presidency in 2003.[2] He was one of the members of the Calafate Group, a think-tank created by, among others, Néstor Kirchner himself as a forum to foster heterodox ideas that would revert the neoliberal policies of the 1990s.
During Kirchner's Government, Moreno served as Secretary of Communications for a couple of years, before taking over as Secretary of Domestic Trade, a post he held after Néstor Kirchner was succeeded by his wife, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner on December 10, 2007. Moreno is often referred to as "the cowboy" due to his harsh methods in dealing with corporations and politicians.[4] He became notorious, among Argentine CEOs, by openly threatening to resort to violence and for brandishing a pistol during meetings in his office.[5]
He became the target of nationwide criticism following his removal of Graciela Bevacqua, the chief statistician overseeing the formulation of consumer price data at INDEC, the nation's statistical office,[6] and other officials who would not agree to understating the inflation rate.[7][8][9] He allegedly followed these moves by having phones tapped and using other surveillance methods to control internal disagreements at the bureau.[10]
Moreno has been described as a highly authoritarian, extremely inefficient and incompetent official,[11] and it has often been argued that he exerts far more influence in national politics than it would be reasonably expected, considering his office as a Secretary, formally subordinated to the Minister of Economics. It is believed his power struggle against former Minister Martín Lousteau was the main reason behind the latter's resignation in April 2008, after a mere four months in office.[12]
Moreno is separated from his wife, with whom he has a son and a daughter.[2]