Argentine cooperative regulatory oversight

Major Argentine cooperative organizations, including RUS and the Argentine Federation of Electricity Cooperatives and Other Public Services (FACE), conducted annual general assemblies to review financial reports and elect new leadership. During these proceedings, RUS President Juan Carlos Lucio Godoy announced he would not continue in his role.

Following these administrative activities, the National Institute of Associativism and Social Economy (INAES) issued Resolution 2076/2026, suspending the operating authorizations of more than 7,200 cooperatives and mutual societies across the country. This measure is part of a national plan to reorder and control the registry of social economy entities. The suspensions target organizations that failed to submit required assembly documentation and financial statements for the period between January 1, 2023, and August 6, 2026.

Under the resolution, 6,667 cooperatives and mutual societies have been suspended and are prohibited from conducting administrative procedures or operational management with INAES until their status is regularized. The institute has also ordered administrative inquiries into the detected non-compliance. Deadlines for regularization depend on the age of the entity: organizations established in 2023 and 2024 have 30 business days to submit documentation, while those established in 2025 have 60 business days. Failure to meet these deadlines results in automatic suspension. Temporary exceptions have been granted for mutual societies of specific communities and cooperatives providing essential public services, provided they have no issues with anti-money laundering regulators.

The decision has drawn criticism from provincial authorities. Gildo Onorato, head of the Provincial Institute of Associativism and Cooperativism (IPAC) in Buenos Aires, expressed concern regarding the impact on employment and production, noting that the measure could affect approximately 40% of cooperatives in the Buenos Aires province.