Buenos Aires – A critical test looms for president Javier Milei‘s management as Argentina’s Interior Minister, Diego Santilli, races to secure congressional support for the proposed 2024 budget before a December 10 deadline. The budget faces significant headwinds from provincial governors demanding a greater share of national funds, adding complexity to Milei’s enterprising austerity measures. Negotiations are being closely managed by a small circle including Chief of Staff Manuel Adorni and the President’s sister, Karina Milei, as Santilli undertakes a series of meetings with key leaders across the country.
Argentina’s Interior Minister, Diego Santilli, is working to secure support for the government’s budget proposal as a December 10 deadline approaches. The budget faces scrutiny from provincial governors seeking assurances of adequate funding, adding complexity to President Javier Milei’s economic agenda.
Santilli has spent recent days meeting with governors, collecting requests that are meticulously documented in a folder and a separate notebook maintained by Chief of Staff Manuel Adorni. These requests are then relayed to President Milei’s sister, Karina Milei, the president’s secretary general – a key trio navigating the negotiations.
With just over two weeks remaining before the deadline for calling extraordinary sessions, questions linger about Santilli’s ability to meet provincial demands and secure the necessary votes for approval. The current budget proposal, submitted to Congress in September, will lose parliamentary status when ordinary sessions conclude.
The government intends to build upon a draft already approved by committee during the extraordinary sessions, incorporating amendments deemed acceptable after discussions with provincial leaders. Santilli aims to have a committee-approved draft by December 15, paving the way for a full session vote. This budget approval is a critical test for the new administration.
Those who have observed Santilli recently describe him as optimistic, but also cautious, distancing himself from those who believe the budget’s passage is already assured. Officials within the Casa Rosada, Argentina’s presidential palace, are willing to make concessions, but remain firm on two core principles: maintaining a fiscal surplus and requiring governors to balance their own budgets. “Neither zero, nor everything, but something must be worked out,” is a common refrain among officials regarding potential budget adjustments.
Economy Minister Luis Caputo and Secretary of the Treasury Carlos Guberman are expected to play key roles as negotiations progress. Santilli is scheduled to meet with Hugo Passalacqua in Misiones on Tuesday, and also has meetings planned with Jorge Macri (Buenos Aires City), Carlos Sadir (Jujuy), and Claudio Vidal (Santa Cruz). He remains open to engaging with dissenting governors, prioritizing discussions with the 20 who have expressed a willingness to negotiate with Milei.
Axel Kicillof (Buenos Aires Province), Ricardo Quintela (La Rioja), Gildo Insfrán (Formosa), and Gustavo Melella (Tierra del Fuego) have been excluded from the initial round of talks. Santilli is providing regular updates to Adorni and Karina Milei, sometimes directly to the President, and reportedly dismisses claims that his management is being hampered by the presidential sister and former spokesperson. “I don’t take offense, it’s a team effort,” he has told several sources.
Before the December 10 deadline, Santilli plans to present a “control panel” to Caputo and Guberman, outlining the governors’ requests and his recommendations. This will inform final decisions on potential funding and project approvals. The move underscores the administration’s commitment to a data-driven approach to budget negotiations.
Despite ongoing discussions, Kicillof continues to seek a meeting with national officials, while Insfrán appears unconcerned about being excluded from the talks, reportedly asking, “What for?” Ricardo Quintela has received support from Gerardo Zamora of Santiago del Estero, who urged Santilli to listen to his colleague’s concerns. Zamora also requested that the national budget include direct transfers for ATN and fuel taxes, as proposed in a previous governors’ bill.
While officials are not publicly acknowledging it, there is speculation about a potential request for Peronist governors to break ranks with the Unión por la Patria (UP) bloc in both chambers of Congress. Adorni and Santilli have sought to demonstrate a more streamlined process for addressing provincial concerns compared to their predecessors, Guillermo Francos and Lisandro Catalán. Through conversations and decrees, they have facilitated a credit for water and sanitation projects in Mendoza, resumed discussions on the bioceanic corridor for Salta, and eliminated export taxes on conventional oil for Chubut.
However, the government still has outstanding financial obligations to the provinces as stipulated by law. These issues are currently before the Supreme Court, and governors have summarized their demands with the simple phrase, “give me mine.” Some within the Casa Rosada are optimistic, noting that previous administrations fulfilled none of these commitments. “They set the bar low. They fulfilled zero to everyone so far. So, who says we can’t get the numbers to approve with very little?”
