Argentina's Energy Secretary Javier Iguacel resigned amid reports that electricity prices in his country are to increase next year at a time when Argentina is struggling with high inflation and economic contraction.
'For reasons I explained to the President, I resigned the office of secretary of energy, making me available to continue accompanying the transformation carried forward,' Iguacel said Friday via social media.
'The task to build a united, honest and fair country is titanic. It requires passion and perseverance,' he said on his Twitter account.
Argentina's energy department announced in a statement that Gustavo Lopetegui, an advisor to President Mauricio Macri, would become the new energy secretary.
From December 2015 to September 2018, Lopetegui served as Secretary of Coordination of Public Policies of the Cabinet Office, according to the statement.
It was reported on Thursday that Macri's administration was preparing a plan to increase electricity prices in the country by around 35 percent in 2019, according to international media.
Macri, who is also preparing for re-election in October 2019, is trying to tame rising inflation that stood at 48 percent in November this year.
Lowering high inflation was one of the main conditions for Argentina's $56 billion bailout deal made with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in October.
Argentina's economy contracted by 3.5 percent in the third quarter and 4 percent in the second quarter of 2018, compared to the same quarters of 2017, according to the country's National Institute of Statistics and Census under the Ministry of Treasury of Argentina
Gross domestic product in the country is down by 1.4 percent during the January-September period this year, compared to the same period of last year, the official data showed.
The IMF expects Argentina's economy to shrink by 2.6 percent in 2018 and another 1.6 percent in 2019.
By Ovunc Kutlu
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr