The recent spectacle at Argentina's central bank, in which the country's president, Cristina Kirchner, attempted to dismiss central bank governor Martin Redrado, only to see to see Mr Redrado challenge the decision in the courts, has been likened to a 'soap opera' by some analysts.
The drama began when Ms Kirchner issued an emergency presidential decree on December 14, 2009, to set up the so-called Bicentennial Fund for Stability and Reduced Indebtedness. This was to involve the transfer of $6.56bn of the country's total $48bn reserves to the national treasury, which the government claimed would pay off sovereign debt that matures this year. Mr Redrado, at that point the central bank's governor, only learned about the decree a couple of hours before it was issued and was highly opposed to the move.
