Alphacast Highlight - Argentina's opposition has key to Budget Bill
By Matías Carugati (matias@alphacast.io)
Read more Alphacast Highlights here
Argentina's government has sent the 2023 Budget Bill to Congress, but approval might not be a "walk in the park", particularly in the Upper House. With 118 seats in the Chamber of Deputies, the officialism is short 11 seats to reach simple majority and move the discussion to the Senate. In that chamber, the government's position is better, as it has 35 seats and would only require an extra ally to pass the bill. The political composition of Congress forces the government to negotiate part of its legislative agenda.
This year's Budget Bill was not approved by Congress and Alberto Fernández is running the government without one, which is more than an administrative nuisance. The Budget Bill sets fiscal policy, provides some basic macro forecasts and is the legal authorization for funds to be distributed (and spent) by all branches of government. Even the IMF has included the approval of Budget Bills in its recent deal with Argentina. Negotiations between officialism and opposition will be needed if Alberto Fernández wants to have a Budget Law in his last year as President.