Title: Buenos Aires Governor’s Budget Bid Stalls as Internal Disagreements and Opposition Block Vote
In a setback for Governor Axel Kicillof, the Buenos Aires provincial legislature failed to approve his 2025 budget and tax law due to internal disagreements within the ruling party and a lack of support from the opposition. The governor’s chief of staff, Carlos Bianco, openly asked the opposition for support, pleading, "Please help us with the budget. We need the debt issuance, the law to collect what we will spend to have a normal and quiet administration."
The opposition blocked the vote last week, formally citing the lack of agreement on new borrowing. However, it was internal political negotiation failures that ultimately derailed the process. Union por la Patria, the ruling party, was divided into four sectors during negotiations, making consensus elusive. As a result, Kicillof must now wait until at least after Christmas to retry approval, with a session scheduled for December 27. The delay could affect ARBA’s ability to issue receipts, according to government sources.
An opposition legislator likened the situation to a bomb exploding outside Kicillof’s office, with the Peronist internal struggle preventing a vote on the budget and tax law. The opposition identified several reasons for the internal tug-of-war, centering around the lack of leadership in Union por la Patria, rather than just the debt issue. Meanwhile, Bianco put pressure on the opposition, arguing that they didn’t provide the necessary votes.
Bianco referred to the demand by mayors for a municipal financing fund of at least 400 billion pesos, a figure the province is unwilling to meet. Although opposition mayors are leading the charge, peronist legislators are exerting similar pressure within the legislature and government house. Bianco reiterated the need for opposition collaboration to secure debt issuance and the tax collection law.
Sources close to the situation hinted at a budget and fiscal agreement between Alexis Guerrera and Facundo Tignanelli (Union por la Patria), but the opposition is unlikely to provide the necessary two-thirds majority for debt approval in the upcoming session.
The province plans to spend 3.4 trillion pesos in 2025, with a primary deficit of 600 billion pesos and a financial deficit of 1.4 trillion pesos. The government seeks permission to issue new net debt totaling 1.1 trillion pesos, along with treasury bonds and multinational organization financing. This amounts to roughly 1,350 million dollars in new debt.
While the tax law and debt issuance permit are minor hurdles, the main challenge lies in the conflicting interests within the Union por la Patria bloc, including disagreements over the reelection of incumbent mayors, Kicillof’s proposed electoral reforms, and funds transfers to municipalities. Ultimately, the opposition’s refusal to provide the two-thirds majority needed for debt approval led to the impasse.
The opposition, divided into eight blocks, holds the key to approving Kicillof’s debt plan, as they must provide two-thirds of the 92 votes in the legislature. As negotiations continue, the prospect of a swift resolution remains uncertain.
