Executive Branch Introduces 2020 Budget Bill to Congress
Argentina
20 septiembre 2019

On September 16, Finance Minister Hernan Lacunza presented the Administration’s General Budget bill for 2020 to Congress. (Access summary here). The bill estimates a 43.1% inflation rate in 2020 and a dollar at an average of 67 pesos. It also forecasts a GDP growth of 1% and a 7% increase in exports. This year is expected to end with a 2.5% drop in growth and an inflation rate of 53%.     

The bill is projected for discussion after the October 27 general elections and deputies are keen to avoid what happened in 2015, when the budget that had been passed was entirely reformulated by Mauricio Macri’s incoming government. The draft will first be dealt with by the Budget Committee in the Chamber of Deputies.

“The results of these four years have been lower than we expected,” Lacunza said at the start of his presentation, adding that this was due to “the legacy inherited, the lack of coordination in the economic program, and external and internal factors.”

He also referred to the public debt and said that this is an “instrument which is necessary to mitigate the social impact” and that “this is the result of the deficits accumulated over a period. The current debt is 85% of GDP. What matters is the repayment capacity. In our opinion, this is not a problem of solvency but of liquidity,” he added.

The bill is projected for discussion after the October 27 general elections and deputies are keen to avoid what happened in 2015, when the budget that had been passed was entirely reformulated by Mauricio Macri’s incoming government. The draft will first be dealt with by the Budget Committee in the Chamber of Deputies.

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