Overview
- Monday's reports from Fundación Éforo and a UBA study found that suspending PASO in 2025 reduced total electoral spending by about 3%, roughly US$9.5 million, far below the government's US$200 million estimate.
- The apparent savings in printing, security and campaign transfers were largely absorbed by a record logistics bill from Correo Argentino that reached about $225 billion and made up nearly half of 2025 election costs.
- A separate UBA analysis showed centralized printing of the Boleta Única Papel cost around $43 billion in 2025, raising the per-voter printing price sharply compared with prior years.
- The executive's broader reform package to eliminate PASO and change campaign finance remains in the Senate, and critics say the weak fiscal case increases demands for transparency and raises partisan concerns ahead of 2027.
- Longer-term pressures include a steep fall in routine party funding since 2015 and a structural rigidity in electoral costs introduced after PASO and new voting technologies, which limit how much procedural changes alone can cut spending.