Milei Withdraws Foreign‑Ownership Clause From Land Bill

Overview

• Senate leaders removed the clause that would have raised or eliminated the 15% cap on foreign rural land ownership after a meeting that followed large street protests on Thursday.
• Thousands marched in Buenos Aires against the broader property package, and clashes with police left at least two officers and one protester injured and about ten people arrested.
• The narrower bill sent to the Senate still contains measures to speed evictions, make expropriations harder and ease rules on selling land after fires, and two pro‑owner measures passed the Senate by 37–33 votes.
• Government leaders, including Patricia Bullrich, said the foreign‑ownership change was deferred to build consensus rather than permanently dropped and framed the reforms as needed to attract investment.
• Current law limits foreign rural holdings to 15%, NGOs estimate about 13 million hectares are foreign‑held, and broad opposition that invoked sovereignty and the Malvinas debate united governors, unions and public figures to pressure the government.