La Plata – A deepening rift between the executive and legislative branches in Buenos Aires province has emerged following Governor Axel Kicillof‘s partial veto of the 2026 budget approved for the provincial Chamber of Deputies. The governor’s move, announced Wednesday, centers on concerns over the legislature’s proposed $222.8 billion peso budget and has ignited accusations of political maneuvering from both sides. The dispute raises questions about the balance of power and financial autonomy within the province as lawmakers weigh their options, including a potential challenge to the veto’s legality.
LA PLATA – A dispute is escalating between the executive and legislative branches of Buenos Aires province after Governor Axel Kicillof partially vetoed the 2026 budget approved for the provincial Chamber of Deputies. The move, announced Wednesday, stems from Kicillof’s contention that the funding allocated to the legislature represents a “palpable disparity” compared to other provincial government entities.
At the heart of the conflict is the Chamber of Deputies’ approved budget of $222.8 billion pesos, which was passed in the early hours of November 26 following a closed-door session during the broader provincial budget approval. The budget’s passage lacked public debate, fueling tensions.
The situation has led to accusations of “extortion” from both sides, with lawmakers and government officials pointing fingers at each other. Within the legislature, criticism is directed at Kicillof’s ministers, while the governor’s office blames factions within the Kirchnerist and Massist political movements.
Lawmakers have complained about delayed funding this year, stating, “This year, as it closes, they owed us fortunes.” Article 15 of the Chamber’s budget aimed to prevent similar delays in the future, according to information provided to LA NACION.
Kicillof vetoed articles 14, 15, 16, and 18, all of which were designed to ensure the Chamber of Deputies had financial control, including the ability to make “budgetary adjustments” with notification to the Provincial Accounting Office. The veto underscores the governor’s effort to maintain control over provincial finances.
The vetoed articles also stipulated that the Provincial Court of Accounts would intervene in the event of non-compliance by the executive branch.
Kicillof justified the veto by arguing that the Chamber of Deputies – initially under the leadership of Alexis Guerrera, an ally of Sergio Massa, and now Alejandro Dichiara, aligned with Máximo Kirchner – had altered the province’s accounting procedures.
Officials in the governor’s office claim the legislature mandated the Banco Provincia to make daily transfers based on the province’s available income, a system deemed “unacceptable” by the executive branch.
In the veto notice, signed by Economy Minister Pablo López and Government Minister Carlos Bianco, the executive branch argued that the Chamber’s changes to accounting procedures disrupted the “balance and equity” of public administration. The move highlights a power struggle over financial autonomy within the province.
Furthermore, the ministers stated that “articles 15 and 16 of the bill, closely related to 14 and 17 of the enacted standard, by innovating with a permanent vocation in the subsystem of the Province’s Treasury, establishing modalities of daily and automatic transfers and adjustments, put the functioning of the entire provincial public sector, the judicial power and the legislative power itself in crisis.”
According to the ministers, implementing these provisions would create a “palpable disparity between powers with a differential treatment for the Honorable Chamber of Deputies, even with respect to the Honorable Chamber of Senators, detrimental to the balance of powers.”
Kicillof’s ministers also reminded the Chamber of Deputies of the province’s “extreme financial unpredictability” due to cuts imposed by the national government, noting that the legislature itself had declared a state of economic emergency in the same November 26 session.
The partial veto has sparked outrage among the Peronist coalition’s allies, with lawmakers arguing that the Chamber’s budget cannot be vetoed under the provincial constitution. They point to Article 94 of the Buenos Aires Province Constitution, which states that “the Legislature shall enact its budget, agreeing on the number of employees it needs, its allocation and the way in which they must be provided. This law may not be vetoed by the Executive Branch.”
The Chamber of Deputies is now considering two unprecedented options: insisting on the original bill or filing a complaint with the province’s Supreme Court of Justice.
Details of the Chamber’s planned spending reveal that approximately $150 billion pesos of the $222.8 billion budget is allocated to personnel costs. This includes salaries for 1,154 permanent employees, 10 officials, 92 lawmakers, and 359 temporary employees. The budget also approved educational scholarships for permanent and temporary staff, excluding political blocs.
The presidency of the Chamber, which will be rotated between Dichiara and Guerrera, was authorized to make “restructuring and modifications to expenses.”
The provincial legislature’s budget is legally capped at 0.9 percent of the province’s total expenses, which this year amount to 43 trillion pesos. This budget was enacted Tuesday, one day before Kicillof’s partial veto of the Chamber of Deputies’ budget.
