A surreal harbinger of what may well transpire in the US some day was today's firing of the president of Argentina's Central Bank Martin Redrado by president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner. The action followed his refusal to release reserves to the government to be used for debt service payments, as well as his refusal to resign. At least in Argentina the Central Bank is answerable to the president, instead of the other way around. The odd development follows Kirchner's enactment of a "Bicentennial Fund" which was to be funded with $6.6 billion of the $17 billion reserves, in order to make debt payments this year: the Argentine government has $13 billion in debt service payments due in 2010. One can imagine their jealously of the US, where such a situation would be met with merely a little more cash printing and a few more $40 billion 3 year auctions.

Market News also reports:

Fernandez de Kirchner called on Redrado to resign, but when he refused she called an emergency cabinet meeting to sign a decree removing him from his post "for misconduct and failure to execute the responsibilities of a public functionary, according to press reports.



And the La Nacion daily reported that the president also ordered Attorney General Esteban Righi to file criminal charges against the Harvard-educated economist.

Ah, to see the day when various other Central Bankers see criminal charges filed against them for insubordination.