Argentina’s Congress has approved the country’s 2026 budget, marking the first spending plan endorsed by legislators since President Javier Milei took office in late 2023 and a key milestone for his austerity-driven economic agenda.
The budget was passed last Friday by 46 votes to 25, with one abstention.
It provides a total spending of US$102 billion, equivalent to 148 billion Argentine pesos, and forecasts that South America’s second-largest economy will expand by 5% in 2026, with inflation easing to 10.1%.
The bill also projects a primary budget surplus equal to 1.2% of gross domestic product.
The last budget approved by Congress was for 2023. During the first two years of Milei’s presidency, the government repeatedly extended the previous year’s budget without legislative approval, a move that left several sectors exposed to surging prices as inflation accelerated, reaching an annual rate of nearly 300% in April 2024.
According to an analysis by the Buenos Aires-based think tank Civil Association for Equality and Justice (ACIJ), the newly approved budget represents a 7% increase in real terms compared with 2025, but a 24.6% decline in real terms relative to the last Congress-approved budget in 2023.
The group also warned that some inflation assumptions used in the budget were significantly lower than its own projections.
Milei has governed through sweeping austerity measures since taking office, policies that have triggered frequent mass protests but also delivered Argentina’s first budget surplus in more than a decade in 2024.
Despite the fiscal restraint, Congress earlier this year overrode presidential vetoes on legislation increasing funding for public universities, paediatric health care and support for people with disabilities.
While the 2026 budget increases allocations for social services, including health, social security and education, the ACIJ said the additional funding does not offset the sharp real-term reductions recorded over recent years.
The passage of the budget follows a strong performance by Milei’s La Libertad Avanza party in October’s midterm legislative elections.
The party emerged as the largest minority bloc in the lower house and expanded its presence in the Senate, strengthening the government’s hand as it seeks to advance further reforms, including overhauls of Argentina’s labour and tax systems, in the months ahead.
