Legislators of La Libertad Avanza presented in the Buenos Aires Legislature two projects aimed at reforming the administrative functioning of the City of Buenos Aires. The initiatives seek to simplify procedures related to economic activities, reduce bureaucratic burdens, and expand the cases in which the lack of response from the State can produce a favorable effect for the person requesting an authorization.
The first text, called Ley de Libertad Comercial, proposes a special regime for economic, commercial, productive, and service activities. Its principles include economic freedom, speed, full digitalization, one-stop shop, reduction of requirements, subsequent auditing, and positive administrative silence. The intended scope includes individuals, companies, consortiums, associations, cooperatives, independent professionals, and platform operators, among other subjects with lawful activities under local control.
The centerpiece would be the Ventanilla Única Digital de Actividades Económicas, VUDAE. The channel would concentrate admissions, modifications, renewals, transfers, removals, documentation, inquiries, disclaimers, and fee payments. At the same time, a Legajo Digital Único del Operador would prevent different departments from requesting information that is already in the possession of the Buenos Aires administration.
For low-risk activities, the proposal allows commencement through sworn statement and the required documentation, without prior inspection or express act. The system would issue a Constancia de Habilitación Provisoria and move the oversight to a later stage. The first inspection should take place within 180 consecutive days. The automation would not apply to healthcare facilities with hospitalization, certain pharmacies, dance venues, mass events, protected properties, or activities involving hazardous substances, fuels, or explosives.
The second project modifies article 10 of the Ley de Procedimientos Administrativos of the City. The general rule would still consider silence in response to a request for a specific ruling as negative, unless there is an explicit provision. The exception would appear when a regulation requires authorization to exercise a regulated power: if the deadline passes without a decision and the conditions were met, the silence would have a positive meaning and would conclude the procedure as an administrative act.
Both initiatives were presented by Pilar Ramírez, head of the LLA bloc, with the accompaniment of Juan Pablo Arenaza, Marcelo Ernst, Juan Ignacio Fernández, Silvia Imas, Marina Kienast, Lucía Montenegro, Nicolás Pakgojz, and Solana Pelayo. The scheme is still a legislative proposal: it does not create an automatic authorization today nor does it by itself alter the existing procedures. Its final scope will depend on the debate, the modifications, and the approval of the Buenos Aires Legislature.
