The State Intelligence Secretariat (SIDE) received a new increase in its budget item – the fourth so far this year – for the sum of $26.117.900. In a country where retirees, workers and students suffer the most brutal adjustment in decades, the national government once again makes clear what its true priorities are: while social rights, health and education are cut, the SIDE receives million-dollar budget increases for “reserved expenses”.
The news gained greater relevance in the media when the former Peronist deputy, Alejandro “Toto” Rodríguez published the spreadsheet with the breakdown of the expenses to which those millions would be allocated: “350 million pesos for roofs, 300 million pesos for clothing, 40 million pesos for kitchen and dining utensils” read a post in budget would be used to pay salaries. “The Intelligence Secretariat is one of the many State agencies that ran out of funds,” the government maintained according to a note published in La Nación.
However, while this is the reality of most budget items – mainly because we continue to work with the Budget 2024 extended with adjustments that underestimate inflation – the government decides at its discretion which items to increase. Social Security funds have explained a large part of Milei’s fiscal adjustment. Also this Monday, through DNU 848/2025, the increase in retirements and pensions of 2.34% was announced, and that the $70 thousand bonus will remain frozen. The bond has remained unchanged since March 2024, this represents an enormous liquefaction in real terms that according to estimates from this medium would be 6.6%.
In this way, those who earn the minimum will receive $410,879.59 in the month of December 2025. The increases not only cover regular retirement benefits, but also the basic benefits of the pension system. Thus, the Universal Basic Benefit (PBU) will reach $155,936.86 and the Universal Pension for the Elderly (PUAM) will be $272,703.67 from December, official sources detailed.
Ismael Bermudez points out in an article that “With the increase in December salaries, the income of retirees who receive the bonus of $70,000 (about 5 million people) will accumulate a loss of 10.3% in the last 2 years. Those who collect the PUAM (Universal Pension for the Elderly) the loss rises to 13.9% and the Non-contributory Pensions (PNC) decline by one 15.8%, in all cases above what was lost during previous governments.”
Since Milei took office, his model is based on a profound adjustment plan that pulverized the purchasing power of salaries and pensions. The new pension mobility formula, the freezing of the bonus since March 2024, pushed millions of retirees below the poverty line. In parallel, the budget for education, science, health and social policies suffers historic real cuts.
On the opposite side, SIDE is not only left out of the adjustment, but is seeing its financing grow rapidly. The figure is overwhelming: billions of additional pesos for intelligence, surveillance and control tasks, in a context of extreme social emergency. The so-called reserved expenses also increase, which are funds that the State executes without the obligation to publicly detail how they are used. In the name of “security” and “intelligence”, the Government expands an area historically associated with internal espionage, political persecution and social control. An opaque box that grows while transparency, sacrifice and adjustment are demanded from the popular majorities.
Faced with the situation of extreme vulnerability that older adults suffer under this government, we must support their fight and surround the march every Wednesday with solidarity. They fight for a minimum pension that is enough to live on, for the restoration of free medicines, among other things. For these fights to succeed, Milei’s adjustment plan, the businessmen and the IMF must be faced.
Source: www.laizquierdadiario.com
