Milei’s party successfully steers 2026 Budget bill through Senate

President Javier Milei’s government scored a victory in Argentina’s Senate on Friday when the upper house voted to back his 2026 Budget bill in principle. 

Senators voted 46 in favour, 25 against to back the proposal, with one abstention, after eight hours of debate.

The upper house will now vote on the bill article-by-article.

The approved Budget bill forecasts inflation of 10.1 percent, GDP growth of five percent next year and reaffirms the goal of achieving fiscal balance.

Milei did not manage to pass a Budget bill in his first two years in office and was forced to work off a law passed by former president Alberto Fernandez. He has been able to do so this time after voters granted him a stronger legislative hand in last October’s midterms. 

The ruling La Libertad Avanza (LLA) party was supported by most of the so-called “pro-dialogue” caucuses, including the Unión Cívica Radical (UCR), PRO, a small group of Peronists aligned with the Convicción Federal caucus and a few senators seen as beholden to provincial governors. 

Senator Patricia Bullrich, leader of the LLA bloc in the upper house, said during debate that “zero deficit is non-negotiable: it is the red line separating the future from disaster.”

“We are not going to spend more than we take in. We are going to put our accounts in order,” agreed pro-government Senator Ezequiel Atauche as he opened the session.

In the article-by-article vote, senators also approved a controversial chapter that removes minimum funding floors for education, science and defence. It also introduces stricter administrative requirements for universities to access fund transfers.

The main opposition Peronist caucus, led by José Mayans, voted unanimously against the bill, which won approval from the lower house Chamber of Deputies last week.

“When you go to bed tonight, tell your children ‘I’m happy because I blew up the education system’,” Mayans declared.

He also criticised the “fast-track handling” of the Budget, which he said “is completely outdated” and “represents the decay and corruption of the government.”

Bullrich defended Milei’s administration. “We are not adjusting at the expense of those who have the least. We are installing freedom,” she said.

Backed by his expanded parliamentary ranks, Milei is seeking to deliver major reforms in the second half of his term.

Debate on one of the most sensitive of these topics, labour reform – which has sparked union opposition and street protests – has been postponed until February.

The government is also signalling that tax and pension reforms will be lined up in the coming months.

“Fasten your seatbelts because there will be many more reforms,” Milei said recently.

– TIMES/NA/AFP