News of spending cuts

State spending falls to lowest level in a decade

Today 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.

PUBLIC SPENDING STATS

Milei’s chainsaw slashes 50 trillion pesos in spending

23-12-2025 16:35 Data from the IARAF institute shows government has cut almost US$8 billion in spending since taking office – and President Milei is going for more, saying he will readjust spending even if 2026 Budget is approved.

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.

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

HEALTH & ECONOMY

Milei government eliminates Argentina's national cancer institute

06-03-2025 21:15 In a statement, Argentina's Health Ministry announced the closure of the Instituto Nacional del Cáncer because of a "duplicity of tasks" and to have "greater control of actions."

Milei-Musk

The tale behind Milei’s chainsaw gift for Elon Musk

21-02-2025 17:06 President Javier Milei presents billionaire Elon Musk with a replica of the chainsaw he keeps at the Casa Rosada — how a tool manufacturer found a niche in the libertarian marketplace.

SPENDING CUTS

Scientists warn Milei wants to 'deepen' cuts, slash state research

10-01-2025 14:51 Scientists and academics warn the Milei administration wants to cut research funding across social and environmental sciences.

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?

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

It’s the education, stupid

05-10-2024 06:24 When presenting the 2025 Budget in mid-September, Milei defined his fundamental fiscal principle as first defining the available revenue and then adjusting the spending to it – modernising the university system to that end could be an interesting application of that principle. But instead his primitive proposal is literally to cut university spending in half with his chainsaw.

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.

POLITICS & SOCIETY

Gender policies hit by chainsaw in Milei’s Argentina

15-08-2024 07:45 Since assuming office on December 10, 2023, President Javier Milei’s government has slashed and eliminated programmes designed to help women suffering from violence. Among them, the elimination of a ministry, staff lay-offs and cuts to the team staffing the 144 emergency hotline.

by Juan Pablo Kavanagh