Argentina’s Milei pledges to protect fiscal balance in budget speech Reuters

By Hernan Nessi

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – Argentina’s President Javier Milei said during a presentation to Congress on the 2025 budget on Sunday that he would defend his government’s commitment to fiscal balance and veto any bills that threaten it.

Milei, who took office in December, enacted strict austerity measures to combat rampant inflation and stabilize the economy and named a non-negotiable balanced budget.

He stated that he would only consider increasing spending if spending elsewhere was cut equally.

“If not, it will be blocked,” he said.

Milei also said that his goal is to maintain fiscal balance, regardless of macroeconomic aspects.

“This draft budget … has a methodology that protects the fiscal balance regardless of the economic scenario,” he said.

The draft budget calls for the economy to expand by 5% in 2025, with inflation at 18.3% and the exchange rate reaching 1,207 pesos to the dollar by the end of the year.

It also projects gross domestic product growth of 5% in 2026 and 5.5% in 2027.