Milei government wins Senate private property vote, but at a heavy political cost
Senators approved its controversial Property Rights bill amid a violent police crackdown outside Congress, but had to strip two of its most contentious proposals La entrada Milei government wins Senate private property vote, but at a heavy political cost se publicó primero en Buenos Aires Herald .
On Friday morning, the Senate voted in favor of a revised version of the government's Private Property Rights reform bill, a result that came at a significant political cost. The bill now moves to the Chamber of Deputies for further deliberation. The changes made to the bill are largely geared towards expediting evictions and tightening the regulations surrounding state expropriations.
However, the passage of this bill was a Pyrrhic victory for the government, as it had to abandon two key aspects of its original proposal to win the necessary support.
Two main provisions were dropped in exchange for the bill's approval. The first was a reform to the Land Law, which would have allowed foreign ownership of up to 25% of Argentina's land. This proposal faced strong opposition from several allies of the government due to concerns about foreign control of strategic land and natural resources.
The second provision was a revision to the Fire Management Law, which would have permitted burned land following wildfires to be sold and repurposed for other uses. This was removed after provincial senators, particularly from Patagonia, declared their opposition to the measure.
The final bill, with its reduced scope, would expedite judicial procedures for eviction cases, including those involving illegal occupation and unpaid rent. For residential rental cases, landlords would need to offer tenants a mere 10-day window to settle outstanding payments before initiating eviction proceedings through an accelerated judicial process. Currently, eviction cases can drag on for months or even years.
Furthermore, the bill imposes stricter conditions on government expropriations. Public-interest declarations would need to pass more rigorous tests for necessity and proportionality, and compensation would be based primarily on the property's market value and the direct damages incurred. The government highlighted the bill as a move to restore legal certainty and bolster private property rights.
However, critics raised concerns that the accelerated eviction procedures might disproportionately harm tenants and that the amendments to expropriation law would limit the state's capacity to act in the public interest.
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