In the first 26 months of office, the Government of Javier Milei achieved a cumulative reduction in public spending equivalent to 67 billion dollars, consolidating the fiscal surplus as one of the central pillars of the economic program.
The data comes from a report by the Argentine Institute of Fiscal Analysis (Iaraf), led by economist Nadin Argañaraz, which analyzed the magnitude of the adjustment to public accounts and their destination.
According to the study, the cut in spending was significant in terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In the last twelve months to February 2026, national government spending went from representing 19.5% of GDP in 2023 to 14.32%, implying a fall of
5.2 percentage points.“The fact that this enormous fall occurred in just two years implies a major short-term economic adjustment to economic flow,” the report states.
Added to this reduction is a drop in the weight of interest on the debt. “The real thing today is that annual interest expenditure (on the line) went from representing 1.7% of GDP in the accumulated amount as of December 2023 to 1.2% of GDP in the cumulative amount of the last 12 months.” Thus, the total decrease in spending reaches 5.7 points of GDP
.Iaraf's work also measures the scope of the adjustment compared to the tax system. The effective reduction in spending “is equivalent to 70% of the collection of the most distortive taxes that exist in Argentina”, reflecting the magnitude of the process
