News of milei government cuts

Sluggish economy is testing Milei’s spending cuts

26-03-2026 13:25 Eighteen months out from the next presidential election, every additional peso of austerity is more socially and politically expensive for President Javier Milei.

Economic indicators

State spending falls to lowest level in a decade

10-02-2026 09:21 Expenditure has fallen 5.1 points between 2023 and 2025 and now accounts for 14.5% of GDP, says new Fundación Libertad report; Public works and subsidies responsible for most of cuts.

POLITICS & GOVERNMENT

Milei’s ‘deep chainsaw’ targets 30,000 more public-sector lay-offs

03-12-2025 12:23 As of October, the number of state workers stands at 282,000 – the result of a wave of lay-offs that began in 2023 and ended with 58,000 jobs lost. The target is a workforce of 250,000 employees, with cuts eyed at the Cabinet Chief’s Office and state media.

LAY-OFFS: WHERE AUSTERITY HITS

Correo Argentino, ARCA, Trenes Argentinos top redundancy rankings

15-07-2025 11:06 President Javier Milei put deregulation tsar Federico Sturzenegger in charge of cuts across state agencies. The official left almost no area untouched – among state-owned companies, Correo Argentino saw the highest number of lay-offs, with 4,945 jobs cut.

Editorial

The gloomy science as gloom for science

07-06-2025 09:38 If starvation wages are expected to bridge the vacuum between the research structures of the 20th and 21st centuries, there will not be any scientists left for a brave new world.

HEALTHCARE & ECONOMY

Hospital staff march to Obelisk in pay dispute protest

03-06-2025 15:15 Doctors at Argentina’s top children’s hospital march in protest, calling for fair pay, proper staffing and urgent improvements in care as Milei administration goes on attack.

ANALYSIS: SHOCK THERAPY

Milei’s cuts have Argentines driving new cars with paper licence plates

21-05-2025 13:03 The Milei administration is downsizing the National Mint, known as Casa de Moneda, cutting nearly 40 percent of its staff. In addition to outsourcing the printing of money, private companies have been tapped to take over licence-plate production for cars.

BEYOND THE HEADLINES

Towards a smarter state

29-03-2025 06:11 The libertarian government seems intent on cutting back a bloated state to its right size without having any clear idea what that size might be.

by Michael Soltys

GOVERNMENT & POLITICS

Milei government to target state bodies with ‘mega decree’

04-02-2025 16:58 Next stage of President Javeir Milei’s “chainsaw” cuts to state infrastructure could see closure or merger of some 50 government agencies and bodies, according to Casa Rosada source.

GOVERNMENT & POLITICS

Milei wants right-wing forum as restarts ‘chainsaw’

28-01-2025 11:27 La Libertad Avanza leader wants to be the beacon for a movement of right-wing leaders with whom he shares ideological common ground. He will deepen the “cultural battle” in Argentina and move forward with deeper cuts at public companies, prompting a new wave of redundancies in time for the October midterms.

by Juan Pablo Kavanagh

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Argentina posts fiscal surplus after Milei’s budget cuts

17-01-2025 18:49 President Javier Milei made good on his promise to deliver a fiscal surplus in his first year, achieving a feat not seen in over a decade in Argentina’s deficit-prone economy.

Analysis

Midterm elections set limit on Milei’s search for spending cuts

10-01-2025 13:26 Spending cuts in 2024 reached some five percent of Argentina's GDP. Is there room to repeat this feat?

Tax policies

Sturzenegger clarification pours cold water on Milei’s 90% tax reduction claim

11-12-2024 15:55 Argentina’s deregulation czar assures that the government’s idea is to simplify the tax structure but not to reduce the percentage of its burden – a notable difference from President Javier Milei’s first anniversary speech vow.

ECONOMIC POLICY

Milei confirms his ‘chainsaw’ will keep running next year

27-11-2024 15:52 “Full speed ahead,” says Argentina's president, vowing that public spending cuts will continue into 2025.

POLITICS – ANALYSIS

Foreign Ministry set to meet chainsaw after Mondino's failure to cut costs

05-11-2024 10:32 The now former foreign minister not only displeased President Milei, she also failed to cut costs. Mondino’s lack of budget-slashing means La Libertad Avanza’s chainsaw will now descend on the Palacio San Martín.

by Juan Pablo Kavanagh

EDITORIAL

Reducing the issue

12-10-2024 06:16 Both sides fall into the error of reducing this issue to a budget tussle without bringing up the major structural problems of university education.

Marcha Federal Universitaria

Milei vetoes law despite huge march in support of state universities

03-10-2024 01:09 President Javier Milei has made good on threats to veto proposed increases to university funding, with the measure made official early Thursday after a day of major student-led protests.

Marcha federal universitaria

Milei faces fresh protest in Argentina over cuts to universities

02-10-2024 22:31 Public university staff and students take to streets to protest against Milei’s forthcoming veto of a bill that would raise salaries to compensate for sky-high inflation.

POLITICS & ECONOMY

President targets rivals as he confirms he will veto university law

02-10-2024 20:22 President responds to mass demonstration in favour of state universities by confirming he will veto new law; Head of state ramps up rhetoric, namechecking rivals and accusing them of forming “new populist left front.”

EDUCATION

Teaching staff at public universities stage 48-hour strike

20-08-2024 12:06 Strike at state universities gets underway with no classes scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday; Unions claim the government's wage renegotiation proposal is insufficient as Milei administration looks to cut costs.

BLOOMBERG – FEATURE

Rich investors cheer Milei as Argentines bear brunt of austerity

24-05-2024 14:48 Amid Wall Street and investor optimism, critics are questioning how long Javier Milei's spending cuts can be sustained without permanently damaging the economy or fraying the social fabric.

POLITICS – ANALYSIS

The first ‘real world’ punch for Javier Milei

27-04-2024 05:00 The government’s response to the march in defence of the public university system was similar to their usual approach, but the impact wasn’t the same – the social agenda appears to have finally sided against Milei on a major issue.

by Agustino Fontevecchia