Clashes with police erupt as Argentines protest property bill

Protesters in Buenos Aires engaged in clashes with police on Thursday, with police deploying tear gas and rubber bullets. The demonstration, protesting a controversial private property bill, drew thousands of people outside the Argentine Senate. As the protest drew to a close, scuffles erupted on Congress Square, with protesters throwing stones at police and security forces responding in kind with projectiles and water cannons.

At least two officers and one protester sustained injuries, according to Argentine media and footage from AFP. Ten individuals were arrested, though the total number was not officially confirmed by authorities. After two hours of intermittent clashes, police cleared Congress Square, though a few individuals remained. Earlier, thousands of demonstrators, mobilized by left-wing movements and unions, had gathered despite a considerable police presence and adverse weather conditions.

The protesters, carrying Argentine flags and banners reading "The homeland is not for sale," were undeterred by earlier concessions that removed a provision allowing foreigners to purchase land more easily. The "Inviolability of Private Property" bill, being debated in Congress, seeks to modify property ownership in Argentina, including adjusting eviction procedures, altering rural land use rules, and making it harder for the state to seize private property.

President Javier Milei's government aims to utilize the bill to create a legal framework to attract investment. However, opposition and environmental groups firmly oppose the bill, warning of potential risks like "colonization, fragmentation, fracture, and balkanization of the homeland." With only 20 senators, Milei's party conceded and removed the chapter about foreign land purchases, increasing the foreign land purchase limit from 15% to 25%.

Approximately five percent of Argentina's territory - an area comparable to England - is already owned by foreigners, according to a 2025 report from the University of Buenos Aires and other researchers. Nevertheless, the researchers note that in some districts, foreign ownership already exceeds the 15% limit, particularly in areas with water and mineral resources or logistical advantages, such as ports.

Carlos Mino, a 67-year-old protester, joined the demonstration to voice his opposition to the legislation, stressing that nearly the entire bill is heading in the same direction, regardless of the government's reversal. "One way or another, it amounts to giving away our property, what belongs to us," he told AFP.