Juan Carlos Ledesma transferred opposition to the Private Property Inviolability bill to Catamarca's national representatives ahead of the Senate debate on August 6. The head of the Frente de Todos bloc in the provincial Chamber of Deputies asked all three Catamarca senators, regardless of party affiliation, to vote against it. His intervention turned the general debate over foreign capital into a specific demand on the province's representatives.
The core objection concerns the limits the bill would remove from foreign purchases of rural land. Ledesma highlighted the existing ceiling of 15% of national, provincial and municipal territory, as well as the restriction of 1,000 hectares in the country's core agricultural zone for a single foreign owner. In his view, removing those barriers would facilitate the concentration of land in strategic areas and weaken the state's ability to trace the ultimate buyer.
The lawmaker directed his criticism at Javier Milei's government and Deregulation Minister Federico Sturzenegger, who promoted the initiative. He described the bill as a benefit for large foreign interests and rejected the idea that liberalisation can be presented solely as a policy to attract investment. In his argument, land ownership is tied to strategic resources and sovereignty and should therefore not be treated as a transaction without institutional limits.
Ledesma also brought the productive structure into the debate. He said family farmers account for 65% of the country's producers but have access to only 13% of agricultural land. He used that ratio to argue that further liberalisation would deepen an existing imbalance and that the proposal offers greater protection to large-scale buyers than to Argentina's small and medium-sized producers.
His appeal to the senators was also grounded in the national Constitution. The deputy recalled that natural resources belong originally to the provinces and said Catamarca must intervene to prevent decisions over its land and assets from becoming concentrated in the federal government. He also challenged provisions that, according to him, would move disputes from Argentine courts to foreign jurisdictions.
The decision will come in the August 6 session. Until then, Catamarca's three senators face a demand combining party discipline, territorial representation and their position on foreign investment. Ledesma urged them to vote without pressure from the ruling party; the outcome will show whether his provincial appeal translates into legislative rejection or whether the government assembles enough support to change the current regime.
