August 28th, 2026
1. The government was able to move forward with the Central Bank reform and the Fiscal Innocence II bill in the Chamber of Deputies
On Wednesday, the Chamber of Deputies approved four bills promoted by the ruling party, which managed to gather the votes of La Libertad Avanza and allied caucuses to set the agenda. The opposition had reached the number needed to force the session and add its own initiatives (among them the household debt crisis and an extension of the disability emergency) but failed to make headway. One of the central themes of the day was the reform of the Central Bank’s Charter, a priority for Javier Milei, which secured preliminary approval with 144 votes in favor, 102 against, and 9 abstentions. The initiative seeks to concentrate the institution’s function on preserving the value of the currency, to prohibit unbacked money issuance and financing of the Treasury, and to tighten the requirements for removing its authorities, who could only be dismissed with a two-thirds vote of both chambers. That very mechanism for appointing and removing authorities was the one most questioned by the opposition. The bill, now with preliminary approval,moves on to the Senate. Along the same economic lines, preliminary approval was obtained for the Fiscal Innocence II bill, passed with 139 votes in favor, 110 against, and 2 abstentions. The reform broadens the pool of taxpayers who can formalize savings without penalties by eliminating the caps on assets and income, and it reduces fines for MSMEs. At the request of its allies, the ruling party excluded public officials from the past five years from the benefits. The text was also referred to the Senate. The session was rounded out with the ratification of the Free Trade Agreement between Mercosur and Singapore, which liberalizes the exchange of goods and services with the Asian country, backed by 234 votes in favor and only 4 against. Meanwhile, the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) was approved by 147 votes to 93. Because the text incorporated a reservation to Chapter 2 (a technical, non-binding, and optional assessment on patentability) it will have to return to the Senate, which may accept the modification or insist on its original wording.
La Nación: Diputados: el oficialismo le dio media sanción a la Inocencia Fiscal II, que será girada al Senado
2. The Senate approved 67 judicial nominations, and the government appointed two key judges
The Senate convened this Thursday with a broad agenda, the ruling party’s main objective being the approval of 67 judicial nominations, including those of Pablo Bertuzzi and Pablo Yadarola, two judges nominated to serve on the strategic First Chamber of the Federal Criminal and Correctional Court of Buenos Aires, a key court due to its role in reviewing decisions made by the federal courts of Comodoro Py, acting as an appellate body in some of the high-profile legal cases with the greatest political impact, including the investigation into the alleged fraud linked to the cryptocurrency $LIBRA. Through negotiations with allied factions, the leader of the ruling party caucus, Patricia Bullrich, secured the necessary votes to move forward with the session and secure approval of the nominations with broad support from all groups. In addition to the bills, the Senate approved five international agreements, including the Free Trade Agreement between Mercosur and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), comprising Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland. It also ratified an extradition treaty with Chile, an agreement to facilitate the electronic transmission of requests for international legal cooperation known as the Medellín Treaty, and an agreement with Ukraine for the transfer of convicted persons.
Iprofesional: El Senado aprobó pliegos de dos jueces de un tribunal estratégico para el Gobierno
3. Trust in the government rebounds for second consecutive month
The Government Confidence Index (ICG), compiled by the School of Government at Torcuato Di Tella University, showed an improvement for the second time this year, reaching 2.06 points in August, a 6.4% increase compared to July, although with a year-on-year decline of 2.8%. The monthly series for 2026 shows mostly negative months: January (-2.8%), February (-0.6%), March (-3.5%), April (-12.1%), May (-1.6%), June (+3.9%), July (-6.5%), and August (+6.4%), with a cumulative contraction of 16.5%. since the end of 2025. Four of the five components used for the measurement rose: Efficiency reached 2.02 points (+12.6%), Concern for the general interest reached 1.71 (+12.8%), Overall government evaluation reached 1.76 (+7.6%), and Honesty reached 2.52 (+2.7%), the highest of all; Problem-solving capacity remained nearly unchanged at 2.29 (+0.3%). Geographically, the interior led with 2.25 points (+7.7%), Greater Buenos Aires (GBA) reached 1.72 (+5.2%), and the City of Buenos Aires (CABA) reached 1.92 (+0.1%). The average trust level in the government during Milei´s administration fell to 2.36 points, its lowest level, below Mauricio Macri’s (2.27) but above Alberto Fernández’s (1.69). At month 32 of each presidency, the current 2.06 level marked by the index exceeds Macri (1.94), CFK in both her terms (1.82 and 1.80), and Fernández (1.18), but falls short of Néstor Kirchner (2.63). The survey was conducted by Poliarquía between August 4 and 13, with 1,000 cases and a margin of error of ±0.07 points.
4. Milei returned to Casa Rosada: meeting with ministers and speech to ruling-party representatives.
Upon his return to Casa Rosada after several weeks at the Quinta de Olivos, a period that officials within the Cabinet itself described as “longer than usual” , President Javier Milei led a Cabinet meeting on Monday, in which he gave an extensive defense of his economic program and criticized the way the media portrays the country’s situation. The President listed indicators he considers positive to his ministers and issued a specific directive: to defend the government’s results and confront the criticism in the media. Regarding that topic, Bullrich agreed on the need for greater media presence, but asked officials to show more empathy for people’s everyday reality when explaining the measures. Household debt delinquency was also discussed, an issue Milei framed as something “extraordinary” rather than a structural deterioration of the economy. The day after the meeting, Milei also led a nearly two-hour gathering with La Libertad Avanza deputies and senators at Casa Rosada, ahead of this week’s key sessions in Congress, where he also asked lawmakers to defend the Executive’s bills and the economic course in the media. Ministers Juan Bautista Mahiques and Federico Sturzenegger attended to detail their initiatives, and Martín Menem and Bullrich spoke about the situation in both chambers of Congress. Karina Milei, Diego Santilli, Ignacio Devitt, and Eduardo “Lule” Menem attended too.
5. The government launches $2 billion program funded by the FGS to boost mortgage lending
The Ministry of Economy announced, at a press conference held at the Palacio de Hacienda, a $2 billion program aimed at boosting mortgage lending. Minister Luis Caputo explained that the scheme will be implemented through Anses’s Sustainability Guarantee Fund (FGS), which will place time deposits in banks through auctions. The goal is to correct the mismatch banks face between deposits that roll over on very short terms (up to 30 days) and mortgage loans that can extend 20, 25, or 30 years, by providing long-term financing. The FGS will not lend to families, purchase mortgages, or assume credit risk; instead, it will provide liquidity to banks, while they assess and grant the loans. Under the scheme, the funds will be allocated through auctions with terms ranging from one to five years, with minimum rates from UVA+2.5% to UVA+4.5% depending on the term. Banks will not be able to lend above UVA+7.5%. Each loan will have a minimum term of 15 years, a cap of 150,000 UVA (around US$200,000), and will be earmarked exclusively for first-home purchases. The government estimates it will reach between 17,000 and 18,000 families, though this does not constitute a fixed quota. The first auction, for $200,000 million, would take place next week; the BCRA will provide technical assistance and oversee that the funds are directed toward mortgages. The measure is complemented by authorizing dollar loans to companies, in order to stimulate both supply and demand. Officials emphasized that the mortgage stock represents just 2% of GDP, well below countries such as Chile, and that the FGS grew from US$30 billion to US$80 billion under this administration.
Perfil: Luis Caputo anunció un programa para impulsar créditos hipotecarios con fondos de ANSES