Amid a parliamentary week marked by the rejection of several key Executive decrees, the Senate of the Nation sparked a new scandal by approving an increase that will raise national legislators' salaries to more than $10.2 million gross per month starting in November. The decision caused an immediate outcry from President Javier Milei, who once again lashed out against what he calls "the political caste" for acting behind the people's backs.
Through his official X account, Milei expressed harshly: "On the very day that the honorable senators vote for laws to destroy the economic program that will impoverish Argentinians, they once again raise their own salaries, as they've done throughout the year, spitting in the face of Argentinians who've made so much effort to move forward. A disgrace that we hope will end in October."
The message was published shortly after the new wage agreement was announced for Congress workers, whose impact directly affects legislators' income. According to the current scheme, approved in April 2024 without public debate, the salary consists of 2,500 basic modules, 1,000 for representation expenses, and 500 additional for displacement, the latter collected by all senators except four. Since then, legislators' salaries have been tied to the collective bargaining agreements of Congress employees.
In addition, there is an annual additional salary to compensate for the bonus, which brings the total to thirteen payments per year. Although in 2023 a salary freeze had been ordered until March 2024, since April the automatic adjustment resumed.
