Public Pressure Halts Milei’s Government: Controversial Land Expropriation Clause Withdrawn

Original article: La presión social frenó a Milei: Gobierno retira capítulo que facilitaba la extranjerización de la tierra

Public pressure, mobilized through social media, artistic venues, university discussions, and a call for a large march, delivered an unexpected setback to the Argentine government led by Javier Milei, as the legislative block of La Libertad Avanza (LLA) decided on Wednesday to withdraw the clause that facilitated the foreign ownership of land, in an effort to ensure the passage of the rest of the proposed Inviolability of Private Property project this Thursday.

The initiative from the so-called «libertarian» aims to repeal the current Land Law and eliminate any restrictions on the purchase of fields, water, and minerals by billionaires and corporations worldwide.

This project marks a significant shift in territorial sovereignty policy, as existing regulations prevent a single country or a group of foreign investors from owning more than 15% of the total rural land area. Under the new law, that ceiling would disappear entirely.

According to the Tierra Viva news agency, as of now, 5% of Argentina’s rural land, an area equivalent to that of England (13 million hectares), is owned by foreign entities. While the current law’s cap could allow for this figure to increase to 40 million hectares, Milei intends to go much further by allowing unrestricted purchases.

However, the heavy artillery of the opposition and public discontent merged to undermine the government’s fiscal plans in the Senate.

«A Malvinas flag in the World Cup semifinals, a call for a mass march, statements from the most influential artists, and the relentless work of academics who warned society about the law’s harm achieved the unthinkable: preventing the country from being sold,» reported Página/12.

In fact, a broad array of organizations, artists, and political leaders are expected to hold a march in front of Congress this Thursday to express their opposition to the project under the slogan ‘The homeland is not for sale’.

The decision to withdraw the controversial clause was made during a meeting led by the head of the governing bloc in the Senate, Patricia Bullrich, along with allied blocs from the Unión Cívica Radical, the PRO, and several provincial forces. The government announced through a statement that they had chosen to postpone the initiative’s review, arguing that they wanted to «continue working» on the text and «achieve a greater level of consensus».

«What We Love Is Not For Sale»

It was reported that, in response to public pressure, the governors of Tucumán, Osvaldo Jaldo; Neuquén, Rolando Figueroa; and Misiones, Hugo Passalacqua—all considered close to the government—decided to express their opposition to the land clause. This decision was supported by other senators, leaving the LLA block without the necessary votes to pass that aspect of the project.

The Peronist faction, led by Sergio Massa, skillfully capitalized on the discontent to peel away support for the government, as Página/12 reported that behind the governors’ statements lay the former candidate from the Frente de Todos.

«What we love is not for sale,» stated Governor Passalacqua in a message published on his social media.

«Our stance is clear: we will not support any initiative that facilitates the foreign ownership of our lands,» he emphasized.

The defense of territorial sovereignty, a concept underestimated by the libertarian government, has become the banner of a battle that dialogue-driven governors were unwilling to lose.

Vice President Victoria Villarruel astutely formalized the session at the government’s time of greatest weakness, a gesture of internal pressure that highlighted the fracture within the libertarian block. Meanwhile, Minister Sturzenegger, the project’s architect, watched his initiative collapse.

The so-called «group of 40,» which the leader of the bloc, Patricia Bullrich, had boasted about months ago, has fractured down to 32 votes, prompting her allies to request the withdrawal of Chapter 3 of the project, as «no one wanted to bear the political cost of selling the country.»

The triumph of civil society was celebrated in the corridors of the Senate and within academic circles. From the Land Observatory, whose reports were crucial in bringing to light the law’s potential damage, the role of science and public education was vindicated. «We demonstrated the importance of universities, research, and the relationship between those institutions and public needs,» they stated, highlighting that the battle was not merely political but also cultural.

The pressure exerted showed that when society organizes, it can challenge the designs of a «libertarian» government that sought to override national interests.

Despite this setback, the rest of the project continues with equally profound and regressive modifications that concern the most vulnerable sectors. The initiative that will be voted on this Thursday maintains the changes to the Fire Management Law, eliminating disincentives against real estate speculation through intentional fires, a loophole that could encourage criminal practices. Additionally, conditions for expropriations are being tightened, and express eviction is being permitted, with only one concession for homes with children, disabled individuals, or the elderly: a ten-day period to seek alternative housing.