In its A24 cycle, Eduardo Feimann He referred to the social assistance that the national government maintains through state subsidies. Following data from UNICEF Argentina, which highlighted a drop in poverty compared to last year, the driver stated: “This government’s social aid is silent. It goes under the radar and no one speaks, but it is very powerful.”
In the news it was announced that the update of the Food Card and Universal Child Allowance exceeded by more than double that of the management of Alberto Fernandez. The latest report from UNICEF Argentina – based on official INDEC data – records a drop in monetary poverty among girls, boys and adolescents when comparing the second half of 2024 with the same period of the previous year: from 58.5% to 52.7%.
The organization clarifies that the series it analyzes covers until 2024 and that the evaluation combines income indicators with measurements of deprivation, which is why it interprets the improvement as a real movement but with methodological limitations typical of official sources. Three factors explain, in aggregate terms, the improvement reported by UNICEF: the reduction in year-on-year inflation compared to the previous peak, a partial recovery of formal employment and adjustments in the transfer policy that benefited families with children.
Economic reports indicate that the relative stability of prices during 2025 and the recomposition of real salaries in some segments made it easier for the income of households with children to reach, on average, broader consumption thresholds than those of the previous year. This combination of greater purchasing power and employment explains a good part of the decline observed in the surveys. However, UNICEF and the associated analyzes emphasize that the fall in poverty was not homogeneous: marked gaps persist according to the educational level of the head of the household, type of employment and residence in popular neighborhoods or in the interior of the country.
The report warns that, although the averages have improved, the most vulnerable households continue to experience severe deprivation in access to services, health and nutrition, which limits the consolidation of a sustainable recovery. This methodological caution is central to understanding that a one-time withdrawal does not equate to a structural solution. In parallel to the changes in income and labor markets, the social policy applied by Javier Milei’s government simultaneously showed cuts, rearrangements and targeting notes.
Different social policy maps published in 2025 document that the administration reduced spending on programs aimed at youth and adults, reorganized support lines and concentrated resources on benefits for children, although many traditional benefits saw cuts in their real benefit level. Among the benefits that the Executive maintained and adjusted upwards is the Universal Child Allowance (AUH): the administration confirmed increases in the amounts in progress during 2025, a decision that directly contributed to the purchasing power of families with dependent minors.
In return, the government eliminated or canceled a series of social and cultural programs administered by the Ministry of Children and restructured large programs for adults, youth, and informal workers: Potenciar Trabajo, for example, was replaced by schemes such as “Return to Work” and “Social Accompaniment” with smaller nominal benefits; PROGRESAR suffered a sharp drop in beneficiaries. In addition, there was dissolution of several initiatives and programs considered “non-priority,” according to resolutions published in the Official Gazette and media reports.
The combination of increases in transfers aimed at children and the withdrawal or shrinking of programs for other groups explains, in the diagnosis of organizations and research centers, why the reduction in poverty was more visible among households with children: the reorientation of social spending amplified the effect on that population segment while other groups lost protection or saw the real amount of their benefits fall.
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