Presidency of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner 10, 2007, facing challenges including inflation, union demands for higher salaries, private investment in key areas, lack of institutional credibility (exemplified by the controversy surrounding the National Institute of Statistics and Census of Argentina, INDEC), utility companies demanding authorization to raise their fees, low availability of cheap credit to the private sector, and the upcoming negotiation of the defaulted foreign debt with the Paris Club. Kirchner was the second female president of Argentina, after Isabel Martínez de Perón, but unlike Perón, Kirchner was the head of the ballot, whereas Isabel Perón was elected as vice president of Juan Domingo Perón
YPF Investment in exploration at YPF as a percentage of profits had been far below those in most other Repsol subsidiaries. Market analysts and Repsol blamed the decline in exploration and production on government controls on exports and prospecting lease awards, and price controls on domestic oil and gas. Political risks and government intervention, including price controls, have discouraged foreign investment in oil production in Latin America in general. President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner raised YPF frequently in speeches during March 2012, claiming that underinvestment and excessive dividends at the firm had caused declines in output. Governors in six fossil-fuel producing