Familiarity has not bred contempt, judging by his passion when speaking about inflation targets and more esoteric bank matters. Mr Ortiz has undoubtedly had an easier time here than when he was finance minister during the Tequila crisis, which exploded in 1994. He has certainly been criticised less.
Admittedly, the economy is forging ahead with annual GDP growth of almost 8 per cent in the first quarter. As a result, the bank has been forced to revise its target for growth in 2000 up to 6 per cent, while inflation looks to be well under the bank’s 10 per cent ceiling for the year, perhaps as low as 9 per cent, as long as demand slows in the second quarter.
