Argentina court restores foreign land ownership cap

Argentina’s Supreme Court provisionally restored a cap on foreign ownership of rural land Friday, suspending President Javier Milei’s repeal of the limit while a lower court considers legal challenges.

Milei repealed the 15-percent cap shortly after taking office in 2023. The limit had been in place since 2011 under the Rural Land Law.

The Supreme Court said the suspension was an interim measure meant to ensure effective judicial protection and prevent irreparable harm to the environment. It did not rule on the validity of arguments made by environmental associations and Indigenous groups, who said scrapping the restrictions would harm natural and cultural heritage and biological diversity.

The ruling followed a separate challenge by veterans of Argentina’s 1982 war with Britain over the Falkland Islands, known in Argentina as Las Malvinas. The Supreme Court last month upheld Milei’s decree in that case, saying the veterans were not competent to act as plaintiffs.

A 2025 study said about five percent of Argentine land, an area roughly the size of England, is owned by foreigners, though in some areas the share exceeds the legal limit. Milei’s government also tried to raise the foreign ownership cap from 15 percent to 25 percent through Congress, but withdrew the bill after it failed to win support in the Senate.