36 hours into the massive session, there was no sign of agreement. What’s more: A majority of lawmakers in Buenos Aires believed the 2026 budget would be discussed in December. But everything accelerated dramatically on Wednesday: the bloc bosses got into action, called a parliamentary labor session for the day (which ended before Labour) and began discussing not only the Code of Laws, but also a package including around 150 initiatives.
All of this ended with a session that began in the afternoon, which included several intermediate halls, where Jorge Macri, along with the Public Prosecution, was able to approve the aforementioned 2026 budget and the Tariff (Taxes) Law. The vote ended with 38 votes to 21 and no abstentions (out of 59 legislators) with a key fact: “La Libertad Avanza” led by “President of Buenos Aires” Pilar Ramírez accompanied the Yellow Project.
It was a continuing gesture in the October Electoral Agreement quadrilateral and also includes other efforts between the nation and the city on various issues.
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La Libertad Avanza and the Graciela Ocaña space along with Emmanuel Ferrario and other opposition sectors also demanded tax cuts which were finally accepted by the Buenos Aires government. Among other things, there were significant reductions in total income: expanding exemptions for unilateral shareholders and small businesses, reducing the stamp duty tax rate on real estate transactions up to a certain amount – as well as exemptions for single-home mortgage loans. As well as extending the total exemption from ABL to retirees.
The novelty of the Yellow Libertarian Convention was an exclusive topic at the session: they either voted against it or abstained from voting. This time, the hand of the Vice President of the Buenos Aires Legislature, Matias López, a man from Diego Santelli, as well as Paola Michelotto, Chair of the Budget Committee, led the discussion to achieve the final consensus. For his part, it was Ocaña who led the ABL to have more retirees.
“During the campaign, there were those who said it would not be implemented; but today, the project is in the bidding stage. This is the work and this is the administration,” stressed the head of the PRO bloc, Dario Nieto.
“We voted for this budget because it respects the macro aspects, such as the fiscal balance that started with Horacio (Rodríguez Larreta). It also seems to us correct that the investment reaches 20%,” Ferrario said. He added: “But it must be clear that this project was built without method and without the vision of the city, and I have doubts about the priorities, for example, youth housing.” For her part, the head of the Peronist bloc, Claudia Neira, from Union por la Patria, said: “Our bloc presented proposals that were partially integrated and insufficient. At a cost of only $15 billion for the city, today we can end the day and say that no uniter will pay the gross income, as we proposed. However, with the PRO agreement with the LLA, only the first categories have been excluded.”
The 2026 budget expects total spending equivalent to about 17.3 trillion pesos; It calculates a primary surplus of 259 billion pesos; Nearly 20% of the budget is allocated to infrastructure, with a strong focus on transportation and mobility. Within the budget, the largest items refer to education (20% of the total), health (16.5%) and social policies – in addition to investments in public works. Prime Minister Jorge Macri celebrated, saying on Twitter: “For the fifth year in a row, the city has a financially balanced budget.” He added that he had “the consensus and contribution of the majority of political forces. It is an example that, through responsibility and dialogue, we can agree on priorities to further improve the lives of the people of Buenos Aires.”
Among the other topics he mentioned:
- Mobility: Investment has quadrupled compared to 2023, with the total renewal of cars on line B, modernization of lines A and C, the Pampa loop, work on the Dellepiane motorway and the start of line F, the first new subway line in more than 20 years.
- Security: It remains a priority area and one of the areas receiving the most investment.
- Education: remains the area with the largest budget, at 20% of the total.
- Health: More work on hospitals and modernization of equipment and digital medical records across the city.
- Public works: reaches 20% of the budget, which is the highest level in recent years.
New prison service
The legislature approved by 54 votes to just three against the establishment of the Prison and Social Reintegration Service (SPRS) in the city. It will be an organization that will have a specialized security force and civilian professional leadership.
The project, promoted by the city government, was approved by lawmakers in Buenos Aires after five months of deliberations and received unanimous support.
“It is historic to have our own prison service, a great step for our comprehensive security plan and a milestone for autonomy in Buenos Aires,” said Prime Minister Jorge Macri. “Every competition we assume has a direct impact on the lives of 3 million residents and all the people who travel or visit the city every day,” he added. The SPRS will be based on the Ministry of Justice in Buenos Aires, and the Higher Institute of Public Security (ISSP) will be responsible for the permanent training and training of the forces. It will also have prison security agents, who will be an armed and hierarchical civilian force, exclusively responsible for security, detention, transportation and use of force. Its mission is to ensure the safe environment necessary for the development of social reintegration programmes.