Thousands of people marched in Buenos Aires on Thursday to protest a private property bill promoted by President Javier Milei and his government, with demonstrations descending into clashes with police outside Congress.
Security forces dispersed protesters with rubber bullets, tear gas and water cannon after demonstrators threw stones at officers during running battles outside the legislative building, journalists at the scene reported.
At least two police officers and one protester were injured, according to local media reports/
Ten people were also arrested, according to local media, though there was no official confirmation.
A photojournalist was struck in the head, the Buenos Aires press workers' union SIPREBA said.
The clashes and police crackdown lasted for more than four hours. By around 8pm local time, the square outside Congress had been cleared of demonstrators, although sporadic confrontations continued nearby as water cannon trucks and riot police advanced along central Avenida 9 de Julio, firing rubber bullets.
'The homeland is not for sale'
To secure enough support for the bill to be debated in the Senate, the government removed its most controversial provision, which would have lifted restrictions on the sale of rural land to foreign buyers.
Even so, protesters took to the streets.
"I want the entire bill to be defeated," Roxana Parapugna, a 51-year-old sociologist, said outside Congress.
Carlos Miño, a 67-year-old pensioner, said: "Almost the entire bill points in the same direction: handing over our assets, our property, one way or another."
The bill, which began debate in the Senate on Thursday, would make state expropriations more difficult, facilitate fast-track evictions and ease restrictions on changing the use of, and selling, rural land affected by wildfires.
The demonstration, organised by trade unions, left-wing parties and social organisations, was centred outside Congress in downtown Buenos Aires despite heavy rain.
"The homeland is not for sale" was the protesters' main slogan, echoed in chants and displayed on banners.
The proposed 'Private Property Inviolability Law' had been stalled for weeks because of a provision relaxing restrictions on foreign ownership of rural land.
Milei's government argues that the current legislation, in force since 2011, discourages investment.
Existing law
The existing law limits foreign ownership to 15 percent of rural land in each province and each individual municipality.
The government initially sought to scrap those restrictions altogether before proposing to raise the cap to 25 percent, calculated at provincial level. It ultimately withdrew the provision after failing to secure sufficient political backing.
According to a study by the University of Buenos Aires and the CONICET national scientific research institute, more than 13 million hectares of Argentine land – an area roughly the size of England – are owned by foreigners.
Although none of Argentina's 23 provinces exceeds the current 15-percent limit, according to the National Rural Lands Registry, 31 local districts already surpass that threshold. In some municipalities in the northeastern province of Misiones, foreign ownership reaches 80 percent.
Following widespread public opposition, provincial governors who usually support the government also rejected the proposal, prompting the ruling coalition to remove the measure.
The bill must still be debated in the Chamber of Deputies, while other sections of the legislation have also drawn criticism.
Additional provisions would further strengthen protections against state expropriation of land and property, accelerate evictions over unpaid rent and repeal or weaken the Wildfire Management Law, which restricts the sale of land affected by fires.
– TIMES/AFP
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