On September 17th, Finance Minister Nicolás Dujovne presented the general guidelines of the 2019 Budget, under which the Government hopes to achieve fiscal balance. Parliamentary discussion was resumed on Thursday with Dujovne and his team. Interior Minister Rogelio Frigerio and the Director of the Parliamentary Budget Office Marcos Makon were called to attend next week. The government expects to pass the law within the next month. In the following days the update of the 2017 Fiscal Pact between national and state governments is expected to reach the Senate.

According to official estimates, national economy will contract by 0.5 percent in 2019 as a result of the 2 percent drop in 2018. Inflation rates will reach 42% in 2018 and 23% next year. The decrease in real primary expenditure will be of around 7.7%. Due to a drastic cut in funds for the development of public infrastructure, efforts will be focused on strengthening the participation of private investment within the public-private partnership framework. On the other hand, national and state governments are negotiating a stop to the gradual reduction of the stamp tax and the personal property tax in 2019 and the transfer of electricity, water and transportation subsidies.

After strenuous negotiations, the government would have reportedly obtained just over 131 votes. This number is sufficient to pass the bill but does not preclude the possibility of changes. The ruling party will have the support of some provincial blocs. The Frente Renovador block could abstain while it is likely the Argentina Federal bloc will not have a unified position in the voting. However, it is not expected that neither of these blocs will hinder approval.