Overview
- Defense Minister General Carlos Alberto Presti announced on June 10, 2026 that members of the Armed Forces may take legal second jobs outside service hours to ease financial pressure.
- The authorization covers all ranks and explicitly allows platform transport and delivery work, private security and other occupations that do not interfere with duties.
- Reporting says military pay has collapsed since December 2023 with estimates of an 80% loss in purchasing power and a roughly 25% lower real salary, and some 20,074 personnel have left for civilian life.
- The change formalizes work many soldiers already do for apps like Uber and Rappi and for private security firms, a shift that will boost household income but leaves core pay, unit budgets and IOSFA medical coverage unchanged.
- The government plans to prioritize equipment and infrastructure spending funded by privatizations, a choice that analysts warn could improve materiel but may not stop further losses of trained pilots, technicians and specialists that hurt readiness.