Argentina proposes new rural land and road management laws

Legislative initiatives in Argentina are targeting the management and ownership of rural lands. In the Province of Buenos Aires, Senator María Inés Laurini has proposed a project to allow municipalities to manage and collect fees for disused rural roads. This initiative aims to prevent illegal occupation and abandonment of state tracks by creating a municipal registry. Under the proposal, local governments could authorize temporary activities such as livestock grazing, beekeeping, or community gardens, with the collected funds being reinvested into the local road network.

Simultaneously, in the Province of Santa Cruz, a bill has been introduced in the Chamber of Deputies to limit the foreign ownership of rural land. The project proposes that foreign ownership cannot exceed 15% of the total rural surface area in the province or within any specific department. It also sets individual land caps based on geographic zones and imposes restrictions on land adjacent to strategic resources like glaciers, aquifers, and protected natural areas. The bill seeks to establish a Provincial Registry of Rural Lands to monitor ownership and ensure territorial control.