⚠️ WEATHER ALERT · WEATHER

Alert for the "deluge of the year": severe storms, gusts of up to 100 km/h and a polar cold wave hit Argentina

The National Meteorological Service maintains a yellow alert in force for this Monday, August 31, which includes hail, strong gusts of wind, electrical activity and risk of flooding in six provinces of the country.

📅 Publication date	August 31, 2026
⏱️ Reading Time	Approx. 4 minutes (≈ 780 words)
🗂️ Category	General Information / Climate
📍 Coverage	Formosa, Corrientes, Misiones, San Luis, Córdoba and La Rioja
🏷️ SEO keywords	weather alert Argentina, storms August 31, SMN yellow alert, hail, polar cold wave

 

Image source: Meteored / Composition in Canva, via El Cronista.

Argentina started the last week of August under a scenario of strong atmospheric instability. The National Meteorological Service (SMN) has maintained a yellow alert since early Monday morning for strong storms that, according to the agency, could lead to what is already colloquially described as "the deluge of the year". The combination of intense rains in short periods, wind gusts that would reach 100 km/h, hail and a subsequent thermal drop due to the entry of polar air configures a panorama that requires special attention in at least six provinces.

The phenomenon is part of the advance of a frontal system of great development, which specialists link to a cyclogenesis process of up to 48 hours duration. While the center and north of the country remain on alert, the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires (AMBA) is not, for the moment, among the areas of severe risk.

According to the latest report from the SMN, the most unstable conditions of the day are concentrated in Formosa, Corrientes, Misiones, San Luis, Córdoba and La Rioja. In these jurisdictions, some storms could intensify quickly and discharge large volumes of water in very short periods of time, accompanied by frequent electrical activity and hail in a timely manner.

•  Formosa, Corrientes and Misiones: greater probability of strong storms and abundant rains.

•  San Luis, Córdoba and La Rioja: episodes of severe weather of isolated development but rapid intensification.

Photo: Foco Uy, via El Cronista.

One of the sources of concern is the volume of water that can accumulate in a short time. Official projections place the accumulated between 20 and 50 millimeters, although it is not ruled out that this threshold will be exceeded occasionally in certain localities. This type of discharge can result in temporary flooding in streets, routes and urban or peri-urban sectors with drainage problems, so it is recommended to avoid driving in areas with water accumulation.

Beyond rain, the risk combo includes intense wind gusts – which in some areas could approach or exceed 90-100 km/h – frequent lightning and hail. Each of these phenomena represents a different threat: the wind can detach branches, signs and light structures; lightning poses a direct risk to those left outdoors; and hail can damage vehicles, roofs and crops when storm cells gain intensity.

The SMN anticipates that, after the passage of the front, a polar air mass will enter that will cause a marked thermal drop. In Misiones, one of the most compromised provinces, the minimums would range between 15°C and 18°C this Monday, with an additional drop expected for Tuesday. This thermal contrast – heat and humidity before the storm, dry cold afterwards – is common in cold fronts at the end of winter and usually coincides with the moment of greatest instability.

In contrast, the AMBA will go through the day without alerts for severe phenomena, with partly cloudy skies, minimums close to 11°C, maximums around 19°C and moderate winds from the east and southeast.

Faced with this scenario, the authorities and the SMN itself recommend taking extreme precautions. Among the main preventive measures are:

•  Avoid going out during the development of storms, unless strictly necessary.

•  Do not drive on flooded streets, routes or roads.

•  Clean drains and drains, and do not take garbage out on public roads.

•  Check roofs, gutters and balconies before the wind picks up.

•  Secure or remove light objects (flower pots, awnings, garden chairs) that can be displaced by the wind.

•  Avoid taking shelter under trees, poles, canopies or unstable signs.

•  Disconnect appliances if there is a risk of water ingress.

•  Stay informed through official channels and updates from the SMN.

The yellow alert is the first step of the National Meteorological Service's warning system and warns of phenomena with the capacity to generate inconveniences in daily activities and certain specific risks for the population, without yet reaching the level of danger of the orange or red alerts. Its validity can be updated as the frontal system evolves, so it is recommended to closely follow the weather reports during the rest of the day.

🔎 Sources consulted

🔗  El Cronista — The deluge of the year is approaching on Monday, August 31: hailstorms, strong gusts of wind and risk of flooding in these six provinces of Argentina

🔗  El Cronista — The deluge of the year is approaching on Monday, August 31: hailstorms, strong wind gusts of 70 km/h and a polar cold wave in this province

 

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🏷️ Meta title (≤60 characters)

→  Alert for the "deluge of the year": storms and polar cold in Argentina

📝 Meta description (≤155 characters)

→  SMN issues a yellow alert for storms, hail and gusts of up to 100 km/h in 6 provinces, followed by a polar cold wave. Recommendations.

🔑 Primary and secondary keywords

•  Main: weather alert Argentina August 31

•  Secondary: hailstorms, wind gusts 100 km/h, yellow alert SMN, polar cold wave, floods Argentina

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→  /climate/alert-deluge-of-the-year-storms-cold-polar-hail-argentina

🗺️ Hn structure (semantic hierarchy)

•  H1: main title of the news (only once)

•  H2: thematic blocks (provinces, floods, wind/hail, polar cold, recommendations)

•  H3: subtopics and sources, with natural long-tail keywords

🧠 Recommended structured data (Schema.org)

•  NewsArticle: headline, datePublished, dateModified, author, image, articleSection.

•  FAQPage: frequently asked questions ("Which provinces are on alert?", "How much can it rain?") to enrich generative AI (GEO) results and responses.

•  BreadcrumbList: Home > Weather > Weather Alert.

⚡ Technical and Experience Optimization

•  Images with descriptive alt attribute ("Argentina storm alert August 31") and lazy-loading.

•  Internal links to related climate notes and to specific provincial coverage.

•  Outbound links to official sources (SMN) to reinforce the authority signal (E-E-A-T).

•  "Above the fold" content with direct response (provinces, time, risk) for featured snippets.

•  Date update (dateModified) if the alert is extended or changes level, for a sign of freshness.

❓ Suggested FAQs (for FAQs)

•  Which Argentine provinces are on alert for storms today? → Formosa, Corrientes, Misiones, San Luis, Córdoba and La Rioja.

•  How much wind is expected? → Gusts that could approach 90-100 km/h in the most affected areas.

•  Will it be cold after the storm? → Yes, a polar air mass enters with a marked thermal drop.

ECONOMY · LABOR POLICY

Failure in the Wage Council: the CGT and the two CTAs withdraw and the Government will set the new Minimum Wage by decree

Without a quorum or agreement between unions and employers, the Executive Branch will have to unilaterally laud the new value of the SMVM, in the midst of a fall in purchasing power that has already accumulated more than four tenths since November 2023.

🕒 Reading Time: 8–9 minutes

📅 Updated: August 29, 2026

📍 Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina

 

The National Council for Employment, Productivity and the Minimum, Vital and Mobile Wage failed again. The plenary meeting, convened for this Friday virtually, ended abruptly after the CGT, the Autonomous CTA and the CTA of the Workers decided to withdraw from the meeting and leave it without a quorum, according to multiple media that covered the day.

The three trade union federations participated only in the technical salary commission – an instance in which each sector presents its proposal for an increase – but refused to continue in the plenary meeting, where the State, employers and unions must agree on the increase or define it by vote. The underlying claim, as it transpired, was both for the amount offered and for the virtual modality of the meeting: the unions had been demanding that the Council return to meet in person.

"We demand a true dialogue, with proposals that allow workers to live with dignity" — CGT communiqué after the withdrawal of the plenary

 

With the meeting broken and without agreement between the parties, the definition of the new salary floor remains, once again, in the hands of the national Executive Branch, which must set by decree the update of the Minimum, Vital and Mobile Wage (SMVM), as happened in the previous calls of the body.

The distance between the parties largely explains the breakdown of the negotiations. While the business sector offered a scheme of gradual increases, the labor federations demanded a much faster recomposition of purchasing power.

📊 The positions in conflict •     Value effective from August 2026: $376,600 per month for monthly workers and $1,883 per hour for daily workers. •     Business proposal: +1.8% in September and +1.7% monthly between October and April, reaching $468,000 in April 2027. •     Union demand: not to fall below $911,202 in July and to reach $993,300 in December 2026. •     Result: without an agreement, the Executive Branch will set the amount by decree, as in the five previous calls of this administration.

 

Concept	Proposed amount	Validity
Current SMVM floor	$376,600	August 2026
Business offer (floor)	$468,000	April 2027
Union claim (floor)	MX$911,202	July 2026
Union claim (floor)	$993,300	December 2026

The Council's new failure comes in a context of sharp deterioration in the purchasing power of the minimum wage. According to a report by the Interdisciplinary Institute of Political Economy (IIEP) of the UBA-CONICET, the real SMVM fell again in July 2026, with a monthly contraction of 0.8%, and accumulates a real loss of 40.5% since November 2023.

To measure the fall, the researchers calculated that the purchasing power of the minimum wage in November 2023 would be equivalent today to $626,106, well above the nearly $372,400 that represents the current value in real terms. The deterioration led the real minimum wage to be below the level it had in 2001, before the collapse of convertibility.

Another study, by the Center for Research and Training of the Argentine Republic (CIFRA-CTA), adds historical perspective: it maintains that the minimum wage was at real levels 45.6% lower than in November 2019 – the end of the Cambiemos government – and 58.4% lower than in November 2015.

Comparison	Cumulative Actual Drop
Since November 2023 (IIEP-UBA)	-40,5%
Compared to November 2019 (FIGURE)	-45,6%
Compared to November 2015 (FIGURE)	-58,4%
Compared to the all-time high of Sept. 2011	-66,7%

This Friday's outcome is no exception: it is the continuity of a mechanism that has been repeated since the beginning of Javier Milei's administration. According to a survey by CIFRA, the five previous meetings of the National Council for Employment, Productivity and the Minimum Wage ended without an agreement between workers and employers, so it was the Ministry of Labor that ended up setting the increases, in general very close to the proposal of the employer sector.

Recent timeline of the SMVM

Period	Fixed amount	Mechanism
December 2023	$156,000	Starting point of the current management
November 2025	$328,000	Decree (Resolution 9/2025)
December 2025	$334,800	Decree (Resolution 9/2025)
August 2026	$376,600	Last section of the current decree
Next leg	To be defined	New decree after the failure of 28/08/2026

 

Accumulated inflation between December 2023 and July 2026 reached about 365%, while the nominal SMVM rose in that period by around 135%, according to calculations released by different economic think tanks, which explains much of the real liquefaction of the minimum income.

In addition to the official statement of the CGT, the general secretary of ATE, Rodolfo Aguiar, questioned the functioning of the organization and proposed that it should operate as a salary reference for sectors that do not have their own paritarias. According to his reading, the lack of a real agreement leaves a large portion of informal and low-skilled workers unprotected.

On the official side, the government's strategy – according to reports – aims to make collective bargaining by branch of activity, and not the minimum wage, the main tool to improve incomes: it is sought that the parity agreements place the salary floors of registered workers at around $1,000,000, leaving the SMVM as a reference limited to very specific sectors of the labor market.

The unions, for their part, anticipated that they will take the claim for the modality and result of the Council to international bodies, within the framework of the International Labor Organization (ILO), according to reports collected by specialized media.

🔜 Next steps •     The Ministry of Labor must prepare and publish a decree or resolution with the new scheme of increases in the SMVM. •     The amount that is set will also impact unemployment benefits, which take the minimum wage as a calculation reference. •     The unions are evaluating additional claims before the ILO for the lack of face-to-face negotiation instances. •     The Council could convene again in the coming months to review new sections, following the pattern of staggered decrees of the last two years.

The Minimum, Vital and Mobile Wage not only sets the legal floor that a worker must receive for a full day: it also functions as a benchmark for other income and social benefits, including unemployment insurance. For this reason, each decree that updates it – or that fails to recompose its purchasing power – has repercussions beyond the workers directly reached by that wage floor, reaching a broader universe of the popular and informal economy.

The new chapter of this dispute leaves, once again, two certainties: that the Wage Council continues without achieving tripartite consensus since the beginning of the current administration, and that it will be the Executive Branch, by decree, that determines alone the course of the minimum income of millions of Argentine workers.

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Metadatos on-page

🏷️ Meta title (≈60 car.) •     Salary Council: negotiation fails and Milei will set the SMVM by decree

 

📝 Meta description (≈155 car.) •     CGT and the two CTAs withdrew from the Wage Council. Without agreement with the employers, the Government will define by decree the new SMVM. Numbers, context and what's next.

 

🔑 Primary Keyword •     Salary Council

🧩 Secondary/Semantic Keywords (LSI) •     Minimum Living and Mobile Wage, SMVM 2026, CGT plenary withdrawal, Milei minimum wage decree, minimum wage increase Argentina, CTA Autónoma, CTA de los Trabajadores, purchasing power minimum wage, unemployment insurance Argentina, paritarias 2026

🔗 Suggested Slug •     Failure-Salary-Council-Decree-SMVM-2026

🖼️ Suggested alt text for featured image •     Virtual meeting of the Wage Council in Argentina with representatives of the CGT, the CTAs and the business sector

Advanced SEO techniques applied

•Hierarchical structure H1-H2-H3 with the main keyword in H1 and in the first paragraph (early topical relevance rule).

•Headings formulated as micro-replies ('what happened', 'what's next') optimized for People Also Ask and featured snippets from Google.

•Data blocks in featured tables and boxes, favorable for 'Search Generative Experience' (SGE/AI Overviews) by offering extractable and verifiable answers.

•Linked to primary sources with descriptive anchor text, reinforcing the E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authority, Trustworthiness) signal.

•Specific numerical data and exact dates to rank in searches for freshness (recent news content) and Google News / Discover.

•Technical recommendation: mark the article with schema.org/NewsArticle (datePublished, dateModified, author) for eligibility in Top Stories.

•Technical recommendation: optimize Core Web Vitals of the featured image (WebP format, lazy loading) when publishing to the blog's CMS.

•Suggested internal links: previous notes on 'paritarias 2026', 'cumulative inflation 2026' and 'unemployment insurance' to reinforce thematic architecture (topic cluster).

•Use of synonyms and variations (SMVM, minimum wage, minimum income, wage floor) for semantic coverage without over-optimization of the exact keyword.

•     The negotiation for the minimum wage failed and there will be a decree — https://www.infobrisas.com/noticias/2026/08/28/105962-fracaso-la-negociacion-por-el-salario-minimo-y-habra-decreto (Infobrisas)

•     Scandalous end of the Minimum Wage Council — https://www.infobae.com/politica/2026/08/28/escandaloso-final-del-consejo-del-salario-minimo-la-cgt-y-las-cta-abandonaron-el-encuentro-y-el-gobierno-fijara-el-aumento/ (Infobae)

•     Salary Council: there was no agreement and the Government will define the new amount — https://www.jujuyalmomento.com/consejo-del-salario/consejo-del-salario-no-hubo-acuerdo-y-el-gobierno-definira-el-nuevo-monto-n206516 (Jujuy al Momento)

•     In the midst of internal differences, the CGT and the CTA desisted from mobilizing — https://www.infobae.com/politica/2026/08/28/en-medio-de-diferencias-internas-la-cgt-y-las-cta-desistieron-de-movilizarse-hoy-cuando-delibere-el-consejo-del-salario-minimo/ (Infobae)

•     The Wage Council failed and the government will define the new minimum wage by decree — https://www.sanrafaeldigital.com/post/fracas%C3%B3-el-consejo-del-salario-y-el-gobierno-definir%C3%A1-por-decreto-el-nuevo-salario-m%C3%ADnimo (San Rafael Digital)

•     The CGT and the CTA rejected the new minimum wage and walked out of the meeting — https://www.gentedesalta.com/politica/la-cgt-cta-rechazaron-nuevo-salario-minimo-abandonaron-reunion-milei-debera-definir-monto-decreto-n11309 (Gente de Salta)

•     The Wage Council failed and the Government will define the increase — https://www.redboing.com/consejo-salario-gobierno-paritarias/ (RedBoing)

•     The Wage Council was reactivated after half a year of paralysis — https://www.lanacion.com.ar/politica/se-reactiva-el-consejo-del-salario-tras-medio-ano-de-paralisis-y-los-gremios-exigen-una-suba-de-100-nid26112025/ (La Nación)

•     Historical setback: the minimum wage under Milei is worth less than before the 2001 crisis — https://elargentinodiario.com.ar/zona-destacada/30/05/2026/retroceso-historico-el-salario-minimo-bajo-milei-vale-menos-que-antes-de-la-crisis-de-2001/ (El Argentino Diario)

•     To recover its pre-Milei value, the Minimum Wage would have to double — https://www.minutouno.com/economia/para-recuperar-su-valor-previo-la-gestion-javier-milei-el-salario-minimo-deberia-duplicarse-n6312724 (Minuto Uno)

•     The Government convened a meeting to update the devalued Minimum, Vital and Mobile Wage — https://www.minutouno.com/economia/el-gobierno-convoco-una-reunion-actualizar-el-devaluado-salario-minimo-vital-y-movil-n6312715 (Minuto Uno)

Note: for copyright reasons, this document does not reproduce journalistic photographs of third parties; it is recommended to incorporate in the CMS of the blog an image of your own or with a free license, citing the corresponding source if using agency material.

POLITICS · JUSTICE · ROAD INFRASTRUCTURE

The administration of Ricardo Quintela asked to intervene as a plaintiff in a federal case that investigates the destination of resources from the Integrated Road System (SisVial). The filing argues that more than $1 trillion would have been placed in financial instruments while a substantial part of the funds were not applied to road works.

Updated August 25, 2026

Reading Time: 8 minutes

Suggested section: Politics/Economy/Justice

Editorial authorship: Redacción MiDire

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1. Photo by Ricardo Quintela — image available under CC BY-SA 4.0 license on Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:RQ_WIkipedia.jpg · Alt: "Ricardo Quintela, governor of La Rioja".

2. Pircas Negras International Pass — free-use photography under CC BY-SA 4.0: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vista_del_Paso_Pircas_Negras_desde_la_Ruta_76.jpg · Alt: "Route to the Pircas Negras Pass, La Rioja".

3. Reference journalistic image of Pircas Negras: https://cdn.eldestapeweb.com/eldestape/112025/1762527454666.webp?ch=506&cw=900&extw=jpg · Verify reproduction rights before publishing.

 

 

La Rioja takes the dispute over road funds to court

The Government of La Rioja, headed by Ricardo Quintela, appeared before the Federal Court to request that the Province be recognized as a plaintiff in the investigation that analyzes the destination of resources from the Integrated Road System (SisVial). The presentation targets President Javier Milei, Economy Minister Luis Caputo and other officials, and seeks to determine if there were irregularities in the management of funds that had a specific impact on road infrastructure.

The data that placed the file at the center of the political agenda is of enormous magnitude: according to the presentation of La Rioja and the journalistic reports that reconstructed the case, as of May 31 there was more than $1 trillion of SisVial placed in financial instruments, including fixed terms and Treasury Bills. At the same time, the information released on the execution of the resources indicates that only 26.2% of the funds allocated during the current administration would have been effectively allocated to road works.

The complaint does not amount to a conviction nor does it prove by itself the existence of a crime. The central point that the Justice must establish is whether the administration and placement of these resources were in accordance with the legal framework of the trust, its specific purpose and the powers of the intervening officials. This distinction is fundamental to understanding the institutional scope of the case.

🔎 The data that explains the controversy

What is SisVial and why does it matter?

The Integrated Road System is part of the architecture of trust funds linked to transport infrastructure. Its financing is related to tax resources that have a specific allocation. Decree 301/2018, in its updated text, establishes that the resources integrated into the trust must be distributed among the systems that make up the scheme; after Decree 526/2024, 50% corresponds to SisVial, 32.5% to the integrated automotive transport system and 17.5% to the railway system. [1][2]

The legal importance of this allocation is that it is not, in principle, an undifferentiated box of freely available resources. The legal regime establishes a specific purpose and contains rules on the administration and destination of the funds. Law 27,431, in addition, provides that certain assets assigned to the SisVial and the railway system intended for the payment or financing of works may not be reassigned to different obligations, except in the case of surplus funds once these obligations have been fulfilled. [3]

For this reason, the judicial debate is not reduced to asking whether the State can temporarily place money in a financial instrument. The relevant question is more precise: what funds were placed, under what authorization, for how long, for what purpose, what was their availability to execute works and whether these operations were compatible with the legal allocation of resources.

The presentation of La Rioja: what the Province is demanding

The Quintela administration maintains that the retention or financial placement of road resources had concrete consequences on the territory of La Rioja. The judicial presentation especially mentions the paralysis of works considered strategic, including those linked to the bioceanic corridor and the Pircas Negras International Pass, a connection of logistical interest for integration with Chile. [4][5]

The Province intervened with the sponsorship of lawyer Jorge Yoma and asked that the possible responsibility of national officials be investigated. The coverage of the presentation identifies, among the legal figures that are intended to be investigated, possible crimes such as embezzlement of public funds, fraudulent administration to the detriment of the Public Administration, abuse of authority and breach of the duties of a public official. The final classification, however, corresponds to the Justice and may be modified during the investigation. [4][6]

The Riojan proposal adds a federal dimension to the conflict: if the resources allocated to the road system remained immobilized or were used in financial operations while national works remained paralyzed, the eventual damage would not only be accounting. It could involve infrastructure, regional connectivity, road safety, economic activity and logistical capacity.

The origin of the controversy: $1.5 billion raised and a much lower execution

The discussion gained strength after a journalistic investigation that reconstructed the flow of resources from SisVial. According to data cited by EL PAÍS from that investigation, from the beginning of Milei's administration until mid-2026, approximately $1.5 billion had been collected through the tax route linked to the system, but only about a quarter had been allocated to road works. The rest — equivalent to almost US$668 million according to that publication — appeared to be placed in financial investments such as fixed terms and public securities. [7]

The presentation of La Rioja uses a time cut and a different methodology and places the amount placed in financial instruments at more than $1 trillion as of May 31, while calculating at 26.2% the proportion of resources allocated during the management that came to works. The figures may seem different because they respond to periods and calculation bases that are not necessarily identical. In a responsible journalistic investigation, this difference must be made explicit and not presented as an automatic contradiction.

The most sensitive political fact is that the discussion about the destination of the money occurs in parallel with the deterioration of the national road network. EL PAÍS cited estimates by the National Highway Union according to which about 70% of the roads would be in fair or poor condition. That figure corresponds to a union source and should therefore be distinguished from an independent official audit. [7]

Does money placed in fixed terms necessarily imply a crime?

Not necessarily. The mere existence of a financial placement does not allow us to conclude, by itself, that there was embezzlement or fraudulent administration. In public trusts, there may be liquidity management and fund preservation mechanisms. The decisive thing is to determine the origin and allocation of each peso, the rules applicable at the time of the operation, the instructions given, the deadlines, the yields obtained, the level of availability and, above all, whether the placements were compatible with the legal purpose of SisVial.

The central judicial question is not simply "where was the money?", but "could it legally be there, for how long and under what conditions?"

The official defense and the argument of fiscal balance

The controversy also incorporates a discussion of economic policy. According to the reconstruction published by EL PAÍS, presidential spokesman Adrián Ravier acknowledged that part of the SisVial resources had been allocated to contribute to the objective of fiscal balance. The Government, in turn, questioned the administration of National Roads of previous periods and maintained that the new approach prioritizes private participation in the construction of roads. [7]

This argument raises a fundamental institutional question: even when a government considers it convenient to preserve liquidity or contribute to a fiscal strategy, the administration of resources with specific allocation must respect the legal regime that determines their destination. The fiscal surplus is an economic policy objective; it does not in itself replace the rules for allocating a public fund.

In other words, the debate should not be framed as a simple opposition between "deficit" and "public works." The legal point is whether the State used the resources in accordance with the rules that link them to a specific purpose.

The cause and what the Justice must determine

1. Specify the total amount of resources collected and assigned to SisVial during the period under investigation.

2. Identify the balance that remained in accounts, fixed terms, Treasury Bills or other financial instruments.

3. Determine who ordered, authorized and executed each operation and with what regulatory support.

4. To establish the terms of the placements, their yields and the conditions of availability of the funds.

5. Compare the available resources with the level of execution of the road works committed.

6. Determine if there was financial damage, delay of works or affectation of legal obligations.

7. To define, on the basis of documentary and expert evidence, whether there are sufficient elements to attribute criminal responsibility to specific officials.

The judicial precedent that widened the conflict

The investigation into SisVial did not begin with the presentation in La Rioja. There was already a criminal complaint filed by national deputy Victoria Tolosa Paz. At the same time, a federal judge agreed to process a collective amparo aimed at obtaining information and demanding that the resources collected for the road system be reflected in works. According to EL PAÍS's coverage, Judge Ernesto Kreplak requested reports from the Ministry of Economy, the National Highway Directorate and the National Bank on the use of the funds. [7]

The coexistence of a criminal investigation and actions of a collective nature shows that the problem has two dimensions: one aims to determine whether there were crimes and individual responsibilities; the other seeks to control the destination of resources and the fulfillment of public obligations. They are different ways, although they can share documentary and financial information.

Why La Rioja considers the Pircas Negras Pass strategic

The dispute over funds takes on a territorial dimension when observed from La Rioja. The Pircas Negras Pass connects the province with the Atacama Region in Chile and is part of a vision of a bioceanic corridor that seeks to reduce logistical distances between productive areas in central and northern Argentina and the ports of the Pacific.

The road infrastructure in that area is not only a provincial issue. International connectivity, freight transport, tourism and trade integration depend on routes capable of operating with continuity and safety. Hence, the Government of La Rioja has presented the paralysis of works related to that corridor as a damage that exceeds the local budget discussion. [4][5]

What's at stake: money, roads, and federalism

The case brings to the fore a recurring discussion in Argentina: how national resources are managed for specific purposes and what control mechanisms exist when the execution deviates from the purpose for which they were collected.

It also reactivates the tension between the Nation and the provinces. For the governors, national infrastructure is a condition for territorial development and economic federalism. For the national government, fiscal discipline and the change in the financing model of the routes are part of a strategy that seeks to reduce direct State spending. Judicial dispute should separate those political differences from specific legal obligations.

If the courts conclude that there was a legitimate use of surpluses or liquidity in accordance with the applicable rules, the investigation could be closed without criminal liability. If, on the other hand, it were proven that the resources concerned were used in a manner incompatible with their purpose, the file could acquire a much greater institutional and criminal dimension. In both scenarios, money traceability will be the centerpiece.

📌 Keys to understanding the news in a minute

• La Rioja, governed by Ricardo Quintela, asked to intervene as a plaintiff in a federal case over SisVial funds.

• The investigation analyzes the destination of more than $1 billion that, according to the provincial presentation, remained placed in financial instruments.

• The complaint maintains that only 26.2% of the funds allocated during the current administration were allocated to road works.

• The regulatory framework establishes a specific allocation of resources for transport infrastructure systems.

• The existence of financial placements does not in itself prove a crime: the justice system must establish its legality, purpose, authorization and possible damage.

• The dispute has national and territorial impact, especially over road works and integration projects such as the corridor to Pircas Negras.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

What is SisVial?

It is the Integrated Road System, a component of the national trust scheme aimed at financing obligations related to road infrastructure.

How much money is under investigation?

The Rioja presentation speaks of more than $1 trillion placed in financial instruments as of May 31. The figure should be read together with the period and the methodology used to calculate it.

Is La Rioja already a plaintiff?

The Province appeared before the Federal Court to be recognized and intervene as a plaintiff in the case. The coverage of the presentation is described as a constitution of the Province in the file.

What crimes are being investigated?

The presentation seeks to investigate possible figures such as embezzlement of public funds, fraudulent administration, abuse of authority and breach of the duties of a public official. The existence of these crimes must be determined by the Justice.

What role does Ricardo Quintela play?

As governor, he led the provincial presentation and stated that La Rioja suffered damages due to the lack of execution of road works of national scope.

Is placing public money in financial instruments illegal?

Not necessarily. The legality depends on the applicable regulations, the nature of the funds, the authorization, the term, the purpose and the conditions of the placement.

What will the investigation have to prove?

Mainly, the route of the funds, the administrative decisions that determined their destination, the regulations applied and the existence or not of damage or criminally relevant conduct.

Conclusion

La Rioja's filing transforms a budget controversy into a federal court dispute. The axis is in more than $1 billion of resources linked to SisVial that, according to the provincial complaint and the journalistic investigation that gave rise to the debate, remained placed in financial instruments while the execution of road works was much lower than the resources collected.

Now the Justice will have to reconstruct the route of the money and establish if each operation had legal and administrative support. The underlying issue exceeds a fight between Quintela and Milei: it compromises the discussion on funds of specific allocation, control of public spending, federalism, infrastructure and transparency in the administration of the resources that Argentines contribute to the State.

In a democracy, the discussion about the destination of public money does not end when it is collected: it begins there.

Journalistic note

This article distinguishes between reported facts, arguments of the parties, and issues still under investigation. The expressions "alleged", "according to the complaint" and "the investigation analyzes" are used deliberately: at the close of this edition there is no conviction that determines the commission of the crimes denounced. The figures may vary depending on the cut-off date, the universe of funds and the accounting methodology used by each source.

 

 

Sources consulted and absolute links

1. Argentina.gob.ar — Decree 301/2018, updated text: https://www.argentina.gob.ar/normativa/nacional/decreto-301-2018-308868/actualizacion

2. Official Gazette — Decree 526/2024: https://www.boletinoficial.gob.ar/detalleAviso/primera/309193/20240613

3. Official Gazette — Law 27.431: https://www.boletinoficial.gob.ar/detalleAviso/primera/176942/20180102?anexos=1

4. LA NACION — La Rioja asked to be a plaintiff against Milei for the diversion of road funds (08/23/2026): https://www.lanacion.com.ar/politica/la-rioja-pidio-ser-querellante-contra-milei-por-el-desvio-de-fondos-viales-nid23082026/

5. Agencia Noticias La Rioja — presentation of the Province in case CFP 3960/2026: https://agencianoticiaslarioja.com.ar/el-gobierno-de-la-rioja-denuncio-a-milei-y-caputo-por-el-desvio-de-fondos-viales/

6. El Cronista — La Rioja asked to be a plaintiff for the diversion of funds for road repair (24/08/2026): https://elcronista-el-cronista-prod.web.arc-cdn.net/economia-politica/la-rioja-pidio-ser-querellante-por-el-millonario-desvio-de-fondos-para-arreglo-de-rutas/

7. EL PAÍS — Milei faces a scandal for covering deficit with funds allocated by law to public works (20/08/2026): https://elpais.com/argentina/2026-08-20/milei-enfrenta-un-escandalo-por-cubrir-deficit-con-fondos-asignados-por-ley-a-obras-publicas.html

8. Wikimedia Commons — Ricardo Quintela.jpg / license and image source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:RQ_WIkipedia.jpg

9. Wikimedia Commons — View of Pircas Negras Pass from Route 76 / CC BY-SA 4.0: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vista_del_Paso_Pircas_Negras_desde_la_Ruta_76.jpg

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⏱️  Reading time: 9 minutes    📅  Updated: Aug 2026    🏷️  Demographics · Province of Buenos Aires · Birth rate

The Province of Buenos Aires is going through the most profound demographic transformation in its recent history: births fell by about 30% between 2019 and 2023, and the trend not only did not reverse, but deepened during 2024 and 2025. The phenomenon, far from being an isolated data, reflects a generalized decline in the birth rate throughout Argentina, with a direct impact on education, the health system and the pension system.

According to information collected by the Strategic Data Observatory from official records, the Province went from 227,596 live births in 2019 to 162,380 in 2023, a reduction of 28.7% in just four years. The decline reached 126 of the 135 municipalities of Buenos Aires, in a context in which the provincial population had grown 12.2% between the 2010 and 2022 censuses. That is to say: there are more and more Buenos Aires residents, but fewer and fewer children are born.

🖼️  Government House of the Province of Buenos Aires, La Plata (Wikimedia Commons)  (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Data after 2023 confirm that the decline did not stop. According to the Provincial Registry of Persons, 130,900 births were recorded in its delegations during 2024 and 123,971 in 2025, an additional decrease of 5.3% in just one year. Another source, the Buenos Aires Registry of Persons with series since 2020, shows an even steeper drop if the peak recorded during the pandemic is taken as a starting point: from 186,588 births in 2020 to 120,138 in 2025, a drop of 55% in five years.

The difference between the two series responds to different survey methodologies, but the direction of the phenomenon is identical in all available sources: the Province of Buenos Aires, the most populous district in the country, has far fewer births today than five years ago.

Year	Births in the Province	Year-on-year change
2019	227.596	—
2020	186.588	↓
2021	166.102	-11,0%
2022	154.046	-7,3%
2023	141.785 / 162.380*	-8,0%
2024	130.900 / 131.186*	-7,7%
2025	120.138 / 123.971*	-9,0% / -5,3%*

*The values marked with an asterisk correspond to the series of the Strategic Data Observatory / Provincial Registry of Persons; the figures without an asterisk correspond to the series of the Buenos Aires Registry of Persons based on 2020. Both series show a sustained downward trend.

The correlation of this drop is equally eloquent at the other end of the demographic pyramid: during 2025, around 133,900 deaths were registered in the Province, a figure that has remained relatively stable in recent years. As a result, the natural balance of Buenos Aires – the difference between births and deaths – became negative, with a net loss of close to 13,800 people in 2025, something that was not recorded with this magnitude in recent decades.

The decline in the birth rate does not affect all municipalities equally. Between 2019 and 2023, only nine of the 135 Buenos Aires districts – Pila, San Cayetano, Las Flores, Alberti, Tapalqué, Adolfo Gonzales Chaves, Carmen de Areco, Cañuelas and Lezama – registered more births than four years earlier, in general districts of low population density where few absolute variations generate large percentage oscillations.

In the most populated municipalities, the drop is sharp. La Matanza, the district with the most inhabitants in the Province, went from 22,513 births in 2019 to 15,905 in 2023 (-29.4%). In La Plata, the provincial capital, live births fell from 11,339 to 7,627, a reduction of 32.7%, equivalent to 3,712 fewer births per year.

Municipality	Fall 2019–2023
Colonel Rosales	-53,3%
General Viamonte	-54,4%
Morón	-41,3%
Tres de Febrero	-36,1%
Quilmes	-35,0%
Lanús	-34,0%
Tiger	-33,8%
Lomas de Zamora	-33,7%
La Plata	-32,7%
The Slaughter	-29,4%

In Coronel Rosales, the most extreme case among the large parties, the crude birth rate fell to just 5 births per thousand inhabitants, well below the provincial average.

🖼️  Hospital Rivadavia, Buenos Aires (Wikimedia Commons)  (CC BY 2.5 AR)

The Buenos Aires collapse is the most visible expression of a phenomenon that crosses the entire country. According to the Vital Statistics report of the Directorate of Health Statistics and Information (DEIS), under the Ministry of Health of the Nation, in 2024 413,135 live births were registered in Argentina, compared to the 777,012 counted in 2014: a drop of 46.8% in a decade, the steepest of the entire available historical series.

Translated into everyday life, the change is drastic. Ten years ago, some 2,128 babies were born in the country per day – one every 45 seconds; in 2024 that figure dropped to 1,131 per day, one every 80 seconds. The reduction also narrowed the gap between births and deaths in an unprecedented way: in 2014 births almost doubled deaths (777,012 against 325,539); In 2024, with 376,405 deaths, the difference was reduced to just 36,730 people, about 10% of the total number of births.

The City of Buenos Aires and the Province of Buenos Aires are, according to the same report, the only two districts in the country where deaths already exceed births, a threshold that anticipates an eventual decline in the total population if the trend continues and is not compensated by immigration.

Jurisdiction		Birth rate 2024 (‰)
Quests		12,3
Chaco		11,9
Santiago del Estero		10,8
Formosa		10,7
Santa Fe		9,2
Province of Buenos Aires		8,4
La Pampa / Río Negro		8,1
Jujuy		8,0
CABA / Tierra del Fuego		6,9
	"The country is facing a demographic revolution: the historical variable of 2.4 children per woman that differentiated Argentina from the rest of Latin America was broken." — Rafael Rofman and Carola della Paolera, CIPPEC researchers

The DEIS itself clarifies that it does not have studies that conclusively explain the reasons for the fall, but different specialists in obstetrics, demography and reproductive health consulted by national media agree on a combination of structural factors:

•     Postponement of motherhood: the average age of seeking the first child is now close to 34 years, compared to the 20-24 years that prevailed a decade ago.

•     Greater female autonomy: the growing participation of women in higher education and in the labor market is directly associated with the decision to have fewer children or to postpone it.

•     Cost of living and access to housing: Parenting involves growing economic challenges—housing, health, education—that lead to a preference for smaller families.

•     Access to reproductive health: the greater availability of contraceptive methods and comprehensive sex education has steadily reduced adolescent pregnancy.

•     Cultural changes: the social mandate that associated adulthood with motherhood or paternity has been weakened, and childless households and individual life projects are on the rise.

The phenomenon, moreover, is not exclusively Argentine: the fall in the birth rate is observed in most of the developed world and in a large part of Latin America, although the speed of the process in Argentina – and in particular in the Province of Buenos Aires – is especially pronounced in the regional comparison.

The most immediate impact is already being observed in the education system. While births fell 28.7% between 2019 and 2023 in the Province, total educational enrollment went from 5,138,086 students in 2020 to 5,052,747 in 2024, a still moderate reduction of 1.7% that anticipates a greater impact in the coming years, as the youngest litters reach school age.

Projections based on data from the National Population Directorate anticipate that, by 2030, the primary level could suffer a 27% drop in enrollment at the national level, with the Province of Buenos Aires losing more than 510,000 students in absolute terms, the largest contraction in the country due to its population weight.

In the medium and long term, specialists agree that the phenomenon will also reconfigure the labor market and the pension system: fewer births today imply, in the coming decades, fewer active workers compared to a population of older adults that, at the same time, grows due to the increase in life expectancy.

🖼️  Clinica y Maternidad Suizo Argentina, Buenos Aires (Wikimedia Commons)  (public domain/CC)

❓  How much did births fall in the Province of Buenos Aires between 2019 and 2025?

According to the Strategic Data Observatory and the Provincial Registry of Persons, births fell by about 30% between 2019 and 2023 (from 227,596 to 162,380), and the trend continued in 2024 and 2025, with 130,900 and 123,971 births respectively in the latter series.

❓  Which municipalities in Buenos Aires had the largest drop in births?

Coronel Rosales (-53.3%) and General Viamonte (-54.4%) lead the decline between 2019 and 2023, followed by Morón (-41.3%), Tres de Febrero (-36.1%) and Quilmes (-35%).

❓  How many births were there in all of Argentina in 2024?

413,135 live births, according to the DEIS of the Ministry of Health of the Nation, 46.8% less than the 777,012 registered in 2014.

❓  Why is the birth rate falling in Argentina?

Specialists point to a combination of postponing motherhood, greater female autonomy, economic and housing difficulties, better access to reproductive health and cultural changes around the life project.

The Province of Buenos Aires, which concentrates about 40% of the country's population, functions as an advanced mirror of what is already happening at the national level. With two districts – CABA and the Province itself – where deaths exceed births, and with an overall fertility rate that is well below the population replacement level (2.1 children per woman), Argentina is facing a demographic transformation that, according to the specialists consulted, is just beginning to manifest its full effects on education.  health and social welfare.

 

 

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og:title: Buenos Aires birth rate plummets: 30% fewer births since 2019

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Suggested image (alt text): Graph of the fall in births in the Province of Buenos Aires 2019-2025

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