Argentina revisits Valle Hermoso sale amid land‑law reform debate

In 2008 a U.S. investor purchased about 200,000 hectares in La Rioja province, a transaction that controversially included the entire town of Valle Hermoso – its homes, school, chapel, health post and water sources. The sale sparked political and judicial backlash, with residents arguing they never abandoned possession. Argentine courts later recognized the community’s rights, and the buyer never took control.

The episode became a key precedent for the 2011 Ley de Tierras (Law 26.737), which limits foreign ownership of rural land and bans sales of territories containing permanent water bodies. With the Senate recently granting a media sanction to a new amendment of the law, Valle Hermoso has re‑entered national debate as an example of the risks of unrestricted foreign land acquisition.