Argentina's Intelligence Spending Sparks Debate on Budget Priorities

In Latin America, spending on intelligence and strategic security shows strong asymmetries. A professional, austere structure with trained analysts, institutional control, and defined objectives can be key to national security. A report from the Argentine Center for Political Economy (CEPA) revealed that while the total spending of the National Public Administration fell by a real 29% year-on-year compared to 2023, the State Intelligence Secretariat registered a 52% increase, contrasting with severe cuts in almost all social and productive areas, even in the fire system, which is now acute. The report warns that the general adjustment puts the continuity of essential public policies at risk. An efficient, MANDATORY training center for agents is indispensable. The CEPA report also emphasized that the increase in intelligence spending occurs while strategic areas for development and social cohesion, such as science, technology, social security, and public works, are being cut. Colombia, with decades of experience in internal conflict, maintains one of the most professionalized systems, with strong investment in analysis, human intelligence, and articulation with armed forces and police. Argentina's intelligence budget is the lowest in the region, but its misuse is one of the highest. In contrast, countries like Chile and Uruguay have more modest budgets but with smaller, more professional structures focused on strategic analysis and prevention, without over-sizing. It is necessary to define clear priorities, concrete threats, and necessary capabilities, from economic and financial analysis to organized crime, terrorism, cybersecurity, and the protection of critical infrastructure. Mexico, pressured by drug trafficking and organized crime, allocates significant resources to civil and military intelligence, although with recurring questions about coordination and results. In this sense, the political decision does not only pass on how much is spent, but on how and for what. Sources consulted: Argentine Center for Political Economy (CEPA); budget reports of the National Public Administration; comparative analysis of intelligence spending in Latin America; studies on regional security and defense; reports from international organizations and own media. In those cases, the key is not the volume of spending, but the clarity of the missions, the training of analysts, and political and parliamentary control that do not accept looking the other way with a hand out. Argentina, according to specialists, faces a historical deficit in this point. In education, key programs such as Conectar Igualdad and the National Teacher Incentive Fund had zero execution, while school infrastructure, scholarships, and teacher training suffered cuts between 37% and 90%. SIDE at war: A supposed summary that shakes the circle of a poorly medicated Santiago Caputo. By Daniel Romero. Buenos Aires, January 12, 2026 – Total News Agency-TNA–The increase in intelligence spending during 2025, in a context of strong cuts in health, education, science, public works, and social development, reopened a sensitive debate in Argentina on budgetary priorities, state capabilities, and the true meaning of investing in intelligence without a clear strategy. Brazil leads the region with a consolidated intelligence structure, integrated into the defense system and with a stable budget that, although not public in detail, is among the highest on the continent. The country lacks not only a budget but a modern, integrated intelligence system oriented to the production of strategic knowledge. In this framework, intelligence specialists consulted by TNA warn that raising the budget without defining clear objectives, capabilities, and controls can lead to an inefficient scheme, with reserved funds used for discretionary expenses or hidden officials' bonuses, instead of building a professional system. Without that human capital, even the best external information loses its utility by not being able to be properly valued. In this sense, experts underline that intelligence is not cheap, but it cannot become an opaque business. In this context, the warning is clear: raising allocations without a comprehensive plan does not strengthen the State, but can deepen imbalances and suspicions about the use of sensitive funds. The underlying discussion is not whether Argentina needs intelligence, but what type of intelligence it needs. TNA's exclusive on the trip of spies to Baku. The flip side was the relative strengthening of the intelligence structure under the orbit of the Presidency, a decision that generated questions not only for the contrast with social cuts but also for the lack of precision on the destination and effectiveness of those resources. Creativity, inter-agency coordination, and professionalization are as important as material resources. The recurrent dependence on third-party services —consulting firms, external reports, or informal cooperation— exposes a structural weakness: the lack of one's own analysts capable of assessing, contextualizing, and exploiting sensitive information. In the health area, cuts of up to 72% were verified in the Superintendence of Health Services, significant falls in national hospitals, the Malbrán Institute and the ANMAT, and programs virtually paralyzed linked to disease prevention, territorial care, and HIV response. An oversized, grandiloquent, and opaque system will hardly be effective. For example, traveling to Baku to see Colapinto's race and enjoy 5-star hotels, good rest, and company, is not going to happen. Three men from SIDE, an impossible mission in Azerbaijan and Colapinto a victim of Albon. The discussion expands when observing the regional scenario.