The report by Fundación Libertad reveals the cost of politics. Río Cuarto and Villa María are also under scrutiny
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The management of public resources has faced much more exhaustive oversight since Javier Milei assumed the national presidency. In an economic context that demands absolute fiscal austerity, Fundación Libertad has revealed how much money municipalities are currently spending on politics. The study analyzes the costs of city councils in 76 cities, focusing mainly on Córdoba's expenses.
The Córdoba Capital City Council plans to execute a total budget for 2025 that exceeds 19.667 billion pesos. When breaking down this enormous figure for each of the 31 seats, the annual cost per councilor amounts to 634 million pesos. Although it is not the most expensive in the country, this amount represents a very significant tax burden for residents who pay all their taxes.
Although the permanent staff appears to be under control, there are important nuances regarding the true size of the current Córdoba municipal government. The report doesn't initially count contracted employees and interns, who raise the total payroll to more than 700 people in the Council.
Este pequeño recinto es el Concejo Deliberante de la ciudad de Villa María, que cuenta con 12 ediles que representan un costo individual de 115 millones de pesos al año.
Disparities in the interior: Río Cuarto and Villa María
The study also scrutinized cities in the interior, showing notable differences compared to the expenses of the provincial capital. In Río Cuarto, the cost for each of the 19 councilors exceeds 151 million pesos from the local budget. Although it is lower than Córdoba's, it remains a structural expense that is financed purely by the efforts of the local private sector.
Meanwhile, the Villa María Council has 12 councilors who represent an individual cost of 115 million pesos per year. An alarming fact about this locality is that more than 85% of the expenditure is allocated exclusively to salary payments. This demonstrates that almost all resources are used to maintain the political staff structure and all advisors.
Both interior cities allocate a higher percentage of their total budget to their respective legislatures than the Capital does. While Córdoba assigns 1.41% of its funds, Villa María and Río Cuarto exceed 1.60%, dangerously approaching the national average. These figures highlight the enormous weight that sustaining the local political "caste" has on the accounts of different municipalities.
Eduardo Accastello y Guillermo De Rivas, intendentes de Villa María y Río Cuarto, respectivamente.
The national waste ranking and extreme cases
At the national level, the disparity in political spending is abysmal and reveals cases of obscene waste in several provinces of Argentina. The city of Posadas leads the shame ranking with a cost of 1.44 billion pesos per councilor per year. There, the legislative structure has more than 1,500 public employees to assist only 13 local representatives.
The national average indicates that 85% of city council funds are used solely to pay local government salaries. Fundación Libertad thus exposes the urgent need to review these expenses to relieve the tax burden on working people. Efficiency in public spending must not be an option but a moral obligation to safeguard taxpayer money in this crisis.
Relevamiento realizado por La Voz del Interior en el marco de la discusión sobre el personal del Concejo Deliberante capitalino.
