Argentina property bill protest turns to police clashes

Thousands of people protested outside the Argentine Senate on Thursday against a private property bill, with clashes breaking out between demonstrators and police as the protest ended.

On Congress Square in Buenos Aires, some protesters threw stones and other projectiles at police, and security forces responded with tear gas, rubber bullets and a water cannon.

The protest was mobilized by left-wing movements and unions. Demonstrators carried Argentine flags and banners reading "The homeland is not for sale," an AFP correspondent observed.

The "Inviolability of Private Property" bill being debated in Congress would change property ownership rules in Argentina. Its measures include streamlining eviction procedures, changing rural land use rules and making it more difficult for the state to take ownership of private property.

The government of libertarian President Javier Milei says the bill is intended to create a legal framework that attracts investment. Opposition and environmental groups oppose it, warning of a risk of "colonization, fragmentation, fracture and balkanization of the homeland."

Milei's party, which has 20 seats in the 72-member Senate, removed a chapter that would have made it easier for foreigners or foreign entities to buy land in Argentina. That provision would have raised the limit on land available for foreign purchase from 15% to 25%.

A 2025 report from the University of Buenos Aires and other researchers said nearly 5% of Argentina's territory, an area roughly equal in size to England, is under foreign ownership. The researchers said foreign ownership already exceeds the 15% limit in some districts, especially areas with water and mineral resources or logistical advantages such as ports.