Argentina central bank chief vows to stay on

25 Jan, 2010

The embattled head of Argentina's Central Bank said on Sunday he would stay in his job despite a new legal ruling that the government said meant he had to leave.
President Cristina Fernandez fired bank chief Martin Redrado earlier this month because he opposed her plan to use $6.6 billion in foreign currency reserves to pay debt, but a court ordered his reinstatement a day later.
Another court ruled on Friday that Congress should decide whether Fernandez was right to fire Redrado, but government ministers interpreted the ruling as also saying he had to quit.
"I maintain my decision to continue carrying out my duties as an official unless Congress says otherwise in order to comply with the law and my convictions," Redrado wrote in a letter published in daily La Nacion.
Friday's court rulings dealt another setback to the cash-strapped government's plan to tap central bank reserves, upholding an earlier court freeze on the transfer of funds to the Treasury. Late on Friday, Cabinet Chief Anibal Fernandez said Redrado would not be allowed to continue working at the bank and the bank's pro-government board of directors named Vice President Miguel Pesce as Redrado's replacement.

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