Argentine Senate passes property bill after dropping two key chapters

Argentina's Senate approved the Inviolability of Private Property bill on Friday morning, with a vote of 37 to 33. The governing bloc removed the two chapters that faced the most resistance before the session, which lasted over eleven hours with no abstentions. The text will now be sent to the Chamber of Deputies. The bill was promoted by Deregulation Minister Federico Sturzenegger.

The approved text retains reforms on evictions, expropriations, and the Real Estate Property Registry. It introduces an expedited procedure for evictions, early restitution for plausible claims, and electronic service of notifications. Expropriations are subject to a restrictive interpretation of public utility, with criteria of suitability, necessity, and proportionality.

The bill aims to guarantee those who own homes, businesses, or farms. Peronist senators tried to return the bill to committee, but their motion was rejected. Senator Marcelo Lewandowski criticized the handling of the process, while Senator Martin Soria argued that the expropriations chapter makes future attempts to recover privatized companies more costly.

Senator Juliana Di Tullio requested that the governing-party legislator Joaquín Benegas Lynch recuse himself due to his ownership of a farm management firm, but the request was rejected. The chamber also denied remote participation for Senator Anabel Fernández Sagasti, who is in advanced pregnancy, and Radical senator Flavio Fama, recovering from surgery.