Argentine economy minister fired amid spiralling inflation

Martin Lousteau, 36, is to be replaced Friday by Carlos Fernandez, the head of Argentina's tax collection agency, the state news agency said. "The president asked Lousteau for his resignation because of differences on how to carry out her economic policy," a government official told AFP early Friday.Fernandez, an expert on state finance close to former president Nestor Kirchner (2003-2007), is to be sworn in Friday at the presidential palace, state news agency Telam said.Lousteau who took over the economy portfolio when Kirchner was sworn in on December 10, leaves his post as her government struggles to resolve a bitter dispute with farmers who staged a crippling three-week strike last month.At a government function late Thursday, Nestor Kirchner questioned "economists and leaders who want to cool down the economy," with its accumulated growth rate of 45 percent over five years."If the economy cools down, Argentines dont consume, they dont eat, and without consumption, they can export more and earn more," Kirchner said, in a veiled reference to the countrys agricultural producers.On April 2, Argentina's farmers declared a 30-day halt to a their strike, which was the first major test of the new Kirchner government and, some say, sharply eroded its power.During their 21-day strike, thousands of farmers erected some 400 road blocks in central Argentina, leading to unprecedented shortages of food and raw materials in major urban centers.