FAS Homepage | Government Secrecy | Index | Join FAS

V. BUDGETARY EVOLUTION AND EXECUTION OF THE RESERVED EXPENSES

In the temporary analysis of the reserved expenses exist two sources:

• the budgets (with their/its distributive decrees), and
• the investment accounts.

Even though the Investment Account is the better source since the budgets contain prices and expenses estimates that are not fulfilled during their/its/your/his execution, only they have been able to obtain data from 1989 in reason to the fact that the previous years are in difficult accessibility files because fallaciously the books of the Accounts instead of be filed in the Congress were returned to the Estate Secretariat.

Other difficulty to this respect is that even though from 1994 the General Accountancy of the Nation spreads widely the Investment Account of each exercise (something which is a novelty auspiciosa), due to classifier change as of the Account of the exercise 1993 (as already was explained) only it can be verified by their/its/your/his intermediate the evolution of the expense of the SIDE14 . [<A>]

In the moments of high inflation to compare different periods of time is necessary to express the values in constant currency. In the case of the investment account, if one accepts that the expenses have a similar cadence to that of the prices evolution or of the dollar, the same can be deflated by anyone of both indicative; in the case of the dollar if one wants to measure their/its/your/his be able of internal purchase there will be that to discount the devaluation or revaluation of the weight.

On the reserved expenses budgets is counted on information from 1985. Even though in 1992, with exception of the SIDE, was let of publishing in the budgetary schedules the secret credits, through the distributive decrees can be completed the series until 1995 (for those authorizations to spend accomplished under the departure 3.9.2). Previous per year 1991 the difficulty that is presented with this series is the high prices volatility. The budgets contain an inflationary provision that were not spread publicly and that were not fulfilled in fact. However, in the high inflation years the budgets were presented tardily with something which the period in which they had to be estimated the prices was very short, this has carried us to apply as deflator the same that we use in the Investment Accounts: the parallel exchange rate. In Table 1 are shown the corresponding amounts to the reserved expenses budgeted in fulfillment of the law - " S " - 18.302. The same appear discriminated by jurisdiction, expressed in dollars according to quote in the parallel market and presented by year covering the period 1985-1996 inclusive. ₁₅

The evolution of the expenses reserved according to the Investment Accounts can be observed in Table 2. ₁₆

TABLE 1

Reserved Expenses y/o Secret Budgeted
EXPENSES IN FULFILLMENT LAW 18.302 - " S " -
(In dollars)

Year	1,991	1,992	1993	1,994	1,995	1,996
408 - Presidency of the Nacion	451,900	452,000	432,000	452,000	452,000	s.d.
468 - Intelligence Secretary	141,426,400	115,726,000	159,922,000	191,800,000	191,813,005	188,991,799
461 - Ministry of Rel. Foreign	20,400	20,000	25,000	21,500,000	5,000,000	s.d.
766 - Defense Ministry	30,362,000	32,000,000	36,991,000	3,640,000	2,491,000	s.d.
TOTAL	172,260,700	148,198,000	197,370,000	217,392,000	199,756,005

Source: National budgets and distributive expenses decrees. Own elaboration.

TABLE 2

Reserved Expenses y/o Secret Executed
FULFILLMENT LAW 18.302 - " S " -
(In dollars, parallel exchange rate)

Source: Investment accounts. Own elaboration.

The growing temporary evolution that is observed in Table 1 as well as in 2 is additionally illustrative of the different criteria adopted for the determination of the amounts for expenses reserved on the part of the two administrations in the democratic period initiate in 1983. The growth from 1989 is additionally surprising.

In Tables that go of the 3 to the 6 can be verified the disparity between approved what is by the Congress and it in fact executed in Reserved Expenses concept departed 3.9.2. The official data on the executed in 1993, show that the original credits authorized in the distributive decree for the jurisdictions General Secretariat of the Presidency of the Nation (432.000 dollars) and Ministry of Erudite and Foreign Relationships (25.000 dollars) have suffered modifications, being increased to 450 thousand dollars the first and to 23.520.000 dollars, the second. In the case of the Ministry of Erudite and Foreign Relationships surprises also the relative difference in all the period.

TABLE 3

Difference between Credit and Execution of the Expenses
Reserved of the Presidency of the Nation:
(In current dollars and percentages)

Source: Investment accounts. Own elaboration.
It is considered only the account 3.9.2 not 1.1.5

TABLE 4

Difference between Credit and Execution of the Reserved Expenses of the
Secretariat of State Intelligence:
(In current dollars and percentages)

Source: Investment accounts. Own elaboration.

TABLE 5

Difference between Credit and Execution of the Reserved Expenses of the
Ministry of Erudite and Foreign Relationships
(In current dollars and percentages)

It is considered only the account 3.9.2 not 1.1.5.
Source: Investment accounts. Own elaboration.

TABLE 6

Difference between Credit and Execution of the Reserved Expenses of the
Defense ministry
(In current dollars and percentages)

It is considered only the account 3.9.2 not 1.1.5.
Source: Investment accounts. Own elaboration.

In the case of SIDE (to see Table 4) the overflows of the secret expenses surprise so much in absolute values as relative, since the disparity reaches in the first case levels of the 80% and in the second by more than ninety million of weights.

Evolution and difference between the budgeted expenses and
executed by SIDE 1989-1995
(In million of dollars)

In 1992 on account of a report prepared by the headline of the SIDE to the President, supported aquel that their/its/your/his organization was spending 122 million of dollars. ₁₇ Is of emphasizing that the Congress had authorized to him/her/you $115.726.000 in the national budget and the SIDE peaked spending $207.726.531, a 79% of increase. In 1993, the original credit of the SIDE was of 159.922.000 dollars; upon ending the exercise, the expense was increased in 77.809.998 dollars, what represented a 48% in increase in the amount assigned by the law of budget. ₁₈ During the fiscal exercise 1994, it could be observed that the SIDE, whose original credit was of 191.800.000 dollars, ended spending 269.609.998 dollars, what represents a 41% in increase by on authorized what is by the Congress of the Nation. ₁₉ Fits to mention to this respect the statements of the headline of the SIDE respect of the expense in 1994: - " the Argentina has 250 million of intelligence budget " -.₂₀ Recent journalistic reports indicated that in 1995 until November this jurisdiction would have spent already 259.833.729 weights. ₂₁

On the Defense Ministry are not made commentaries because the evaluated departure is only 3.9.2 existing possibilities that such jurisdiction may have changed their/its funds reserved toward 1.1.5 something which would explain the fall in 1994, to accomplish said monitoring is needed impossible base information from obtaining publicly.

Until the present is not counted on official information on whether the original credits authorized for the exercise 1994 corresponding to - " Reserved Expenses " - of the remaining jurisdictions of the executive branch: General Secretariat of the Presidency of the Nation, Defense Ministry, Ministry of Erudite and Foreign Relationships (those which would ascend to $452.000. -, $3.640.000. - and $21.500.000. - respectively) have suffered subsequent modifications to their/its/your/his specification in the distributive decree N 2.662/93 and during the mentioned fiscal exercise. The same situation is given for the exercise 1995.

As was mentioned in previous pages, the decree of the distributive PEN of the budget of 1993 assigned to the Programming Secretariat for the Prevention of the drug addiction and the Struggle against the drug traffic the departure 3.9.2. Reserved Expenses, with the amount of $2.550.000. ₂₂ However, the law of presupposed for 1993 did not authorize expenses reserved for such Secretariat.

The use of resources under the rules of the law 18.302 for unauthorized organizations entrail the offense of funds embezzlement, since illegitimately are avoided procedures of general control for all the National Administration. For a secret regulation related to the same Secretariat, the decree - " S " - 717 of the 18 of April of 1991, the executive branch put under way the designated - " national struggle plan against the drug traffic " - (annex of the decree) and were outlined the creation of a structure, agency or organization with intelligence functions and of repression that was given in calling SEFECONAR (Federal Service against the drug traffic). By virtue of the secret of the cited decree is not known if the same was authorizing or not departed budgetary for expenses reserved for the cited State secretariat, at any rate such authorization would not would have validity since the same was not accomplished by law.

The roads to travel to verify if some jurisdiction or dependency of the National executive branch, outside of the especí-ficamente envisaged in the law 18.302, in effect has executed reserved expenses include: to verify if they have used indebidamente funds with the character of reserved under some norm whose knowledge will not be public and to determine the contingent officials responsibility that received or granted this type of funds in contradiction with disposed what is by the law 18.302 - " S " -.

Notes:

14. The corresponding figures to the remaining jurisdictions that executed expenses reserved in 1993 are known due to investigations accomplished by the General Audit of the Nation and by the journalism.

15. These data are complemented finally of the work with Table To, that contain the information in budgetary currency, and Table B with the context of each year to consider the kindnesss of the used deflation method.

16. This information is complemented with Table C with the information in current currency.

17. The Nation, 22 of April of 1992.

18. These data are registered in Table 15 of the Investment Account of 1993.

19. These data are found in Table 6 of the Investment Account of 1994, document produced by the General Accountancy of the Nation.

20. The Press, 4 of December of 1994, p. 4.

21. Página/12, 30 of November of 1995, p. 2 and 3.

22. To see note of Adolfo Rosenfeld, Humor Magazine N 378, October of 1993.

Return to the Index

To the Next Section

FAS Homepage | Government Secrecy | Index | Join FAS