{
  "id": 2102728,
  "title": "A judge demands urgent reports from Argentina's government on the fate of road funds",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/20/a-judge-demands-urgent-reports-from-argentinas-government-on-the-fate-2102728",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-20T08:13:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "MercoPress",
    "slug": "mercopress",
    "url": "https://en.mercopress.com/2026/08/20/a-judge-demands-urgent-reports-from-argentina-s-government-on-the-fate-of-road-funds"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Federal judge Ernesto Kreplak has demanded urgent reports from Argentina's government regarding the fate of funds allocated to road infrastructure projects. The federal judge ruled in a class action brought by lawmaker Victoria Tolosa Paz. The case originated from an investigation conducted by the newspaper La Nación, which revealed that a total of 1,503,252 million pesos entered the Integrated Road System (SisVial) trust fund between January 2024 and May 2026. However, only 394,406 million pesos, or 26.2% of the total, were spent on road works during this period. As of May 31, the fund held over one trillion pesos in government bonds and fixed-term deposits, with 11.3% of funds executed in 2024, 39% in 2025, and 18.5% in the first five months of 2026.\n\nPresident Javier Milei's spokesman, Adrián Ravier, denied any misuse of funds and stated that a portion of the revenue was allocated towards achieving fiscal balance, which is one of Milei's economic policy pillars. Ravier also mentioned that the government aims to finance national highways through private investment rather than tax revenue. So far, the executive has tendered bids for 9,000 kilometers out of the 40,000 kilometers of national roads.\n\nLawmaker Victoria Tolosa Paz, who filed the class action, claimed that the government collects a fuel tax to maintain roads, but instead of spending it on infrastructure works, the majority of funds were used in financial gambling. Another complaint was filed by lawmaker Marcela Pagano, assigned to judge Julio Ercolini, who did not refer it to a prosecutor as of this week. No officials have been charged, and no criminal case has been formally opened.\n\nSeparate reporting by Chequeado extended the pattern of misuse to other funds. Since early 2024, around 375,000 million pesos collected for water works saw only about a third executed, with the remainder placed in Treasury bills and deposits. Approximately 70% of highways are in fair to poor condition according to the national roads workers' union. In 2024, President Milei announced the elimination of trust funds, which he labeled as \"political slush funds,\" with around 27 active funds remaining under the Ministry of Economy's administration.",
  "summary": "Federal judge Ernesto Kreplak, sitting in La Plata, this week admitted a class action and requested urgent reports from the Ministry of Economy, the National Roads Directorate and Banco Nación on the use of resources from the Integrated Road System (SisVial), a trust fund financed by the tax on liquid fuels whose legal purpose is the construction and maintenance of national highways.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}