300 measures from land ownership to satellites and labor law: This is how Argentina’s economy is being restructured

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Argentina’s new President Javier Milei (53) is known for his sensational appearances: swinging a chainsaw, playing heavy metal music or showering banknotes.

Milei did not skimp on superlatives on Wednesday evening (local time), even in his first televised speech since taking office ten days ago. “Today is a historic day for our country after decades of failure,” the ultra-libertarian president said as he presented a package of measures aimed at deregulating Argentina’s economy.

The package includes more than 300 measures and the relevant decree law consists of 83 pages. Blick introduces some of the groundbreaking changes.

In order to increase efficiency in the public sector, all public companies must be converted into joint stock companies and then privatized. Shares will be distributed to employees.

Argentinian state airline Aerolíneas Argentinas is affected by this. At the same time, Milei opens Argentine airspace to international competitors: they will be allowed to offer domestic connections in Argentina in the future.

Railway companies, public media companies, infrastructure companies in the (waste) water sector and energy companies are also being privatized.

What creates controversy in the football country Argentina: The decree envisages the privatization of state-owned companies, as well as the management of football clubs as joint stock companies. To date, clubs are organized as non-profit, not-for-profit organizations.

Milei wants to bring US technology entrepreneur Elon Musk (52) and the Starlink project to the country. Milei’s decree provides for the liberalization of the provision of satellite Internet services. Musk had been planning to enter the Argentine market for a long time, but negotiations with the Argentine state telecommunications company reached an impasse. Starlink aims to increase internet coverage in rural areas of Argentina.

The existing land law has been repealed. Argentina restricted the purchase of its lands by foreigners. Previously, foreign individuals and companies were allowed to purchase a maximum of 1,000 hectares of land in Argentina. In total, no more than 15 percent of Argentina’s so-called rural area was allowed into foreign ownership. The repealed Milei seeks to attract foreign investors.

According to the Argentine media “Infobae”, the Swiss are among the largest foreign landowners in Argentina: they own over 850,000 hectares of Argentine land. Only Americans, Italians and Spaniards own more land in Argentina. The estate grows wine, rice and citrus fruits, among other things.

Until now, companies in Argentina had to register if they wanted to import and export. This regulation is being abolished in order to stimulate international trade. Moreover, import and export bans were also banned. This means that, in theory, anything can be traded. Milei’s statements during the election campaign that organ trafficking was “just a market” caused a stir.

The probationary period will be increased from three months to eight months, meaning employees can be dismissed for longer without giving reason. The right to strike will be restricted and employers’ obligations to delegate work steps to third-party companies will be reduced. Unions are taking up arms against the changes.

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Milei’s decree also includes sweeping deregulations in the areas of rental law and health policy.

The decree is subject to emergency law; Milei declared a state of emergency on economic and financial matters for the next two years in order to mobilize deregulation as quickly as possible. However, the Parliament can cancel the decree. Since Milei’s party does not have a majority in parliament, he will need to find allies to implement the changes.

Legal disputes are also inevitable. The presentation of the decree was accompanied by protests in the capital Buenos Aires.

Source :Blick