Argentina Court Speeds Case on 15% Foreign Farmland Cap

ARGENTINA · COURTS

A week after clearing the way for unlimited foreign land purchases, Argentina’s top court is rushing a case that could undo it.

Americans and other foreign buyers can purchase Argentine farmland without limits today, but that could change within days. On Wednesday, 7 October, the Supreme Court fast-tracked a case that could restore a 15% cap on foreign ownership.

The court gave the parties 24 hours, instead of the usual 72, to challenge two stand-in judges, La Nación and Ámbito reported. The case includes a request that, if granted, would provisionally bring back limits that President Javier Milei scrapped by decree.

Why the Supreme Court Is Moving Fast

The court’s three sitting justices, Horacio Rosatti, Carlos Rosenkrantz and Ricardo Lorenzetti, could not agree on how to proceed. Without three votes, the court cannot issue a ruling, so two stand-in judges were drawn.

They are Diego Barroetaveña of the Federal Criminal Cassation Court and Juan Ignacio Pérez Curci of the federal appeals court in Mendoza. Court secretary Sergio Miguel Nápoli signed the resolution at 7:09 p.m. on Wednesday, La Nación reported.

It cut the challenge window to 24 hours “in view of the particular circumstances of the case”, which it did not explain.

The case was brought by the environmental group Árbol de Pie, two indigenous communities and Río Negro legislator Magdalena Odarda, Ámbito reported. They want to know whether last week’s ruling also covers their lawsuit, which rests on environmental and indigenous land rights.

What Last Week’s Ruling Changed

The 2011 Rural Land Law capped foreign ownership at 15% of rural land, nationally and in each province and municipality. No single nationality could hold more than 30% of that share.

A single foreign owner could not exceed 1,000 hectares (about 2,471 acres) in the core farming zone. Milei’s deregulation decree of December 2023, known as DNU 70/2023, repealed the whole law in its Article 154.

Courts had kept that repeal suspended since January 2024. On Tuesday, 29 September, the Supreme Court overturned a La Plata federal appeals ruling that had blocked it, La Nación reported.

The judges found that the plaintiff, the Malvinas war veterans’ group CECIM, lacked standing, and did not rule on the decree’s constitutionality. In practice, the foreign-ownership limits stopped applying, Infobae reported.

Even so, the Justice Ministry’s land registry website still said on Thursday morning that the limits are “in force” under an injunction.

How Much Land Foreigners Own

Foreigners held 13.26 million hectares, or 4.97% of Argentina’s rural land, in registry data last updated in August 2025. That is about 32.8 million acres, an area almost the size of Alabama.

In Buenos Aires province, which surrounds the capital, foreigners held 827,341 hectares, or 2.87%, an area larger than Delaware. Some districts show far higher shares, such as Campana at 50.27% and Zárate at 24.80%.

A Lower Court Orders Records Kept

In a separate case, Judge Güendalina Sessarego of a provincial court in La Plata ruled late on Tuesday, 6 October. The province’s ombudsman, Guido Lorenzino, had brought the case and published the ruling on Wednesday.

She ordered the national government to preserve all registry and cadastral records on the province’s rural land since the law took effect. It must also report, within five days, up to what date it gathered such data.

She did not suspend the repeal, as the ombudsman had asked, and sent the case to federal court. Lorenzino said the loss of controls must not leave residents “blind” about their natural resources and rural land.

The Politics Behind the Land Fight

Milei’s libertarian party, La Libertad Avanza, is weighing ways to restore some limit on foreign buyers, Ámbito reported on Wednesday. Options include a stand-alone bill or a chapter in a private property bill already passed by the Senate.

Opposition deputies called a special session for Thursday, 15 October, to overturn the whole decree. Its backers admit they are at least ten deputies short of a quorum, Ámbito reported.

What It Means for You

For US investors, farmland funds and individual buyers, Argentina has no cap on foreign land purchases today. A Supreme Court injunction could bring the old limits back provisionally, with little notice.

How a restored cap would treat purchases made since 29 September is not clear. Conflicting official signals, including the outdated registry notice, add uncertainty to any deal signed now.

The fight also touches Washington’s push for US investment in Argentina. Argentina pledged stronger protection for foreign investment in a 23 September joint statement on the Andes-Atlantic Corridor.

A delegation from the State Department, the Export-Import Bank and the Development Finance Corporation is touring Argentina this week, Infobae reported.

What Is Not Known

It is not known when the Supreme Court will rule, or whether it will grant the injunction. The resolution’s wording here is as quoted, identically, by La Nación and Ámbito.

The registry does not publish foreign holdings by nationality, so the US share of Argentine farmland is unknown. It is also unclear what La Libertad Avanza will propose.

What Comes Next

Once the 24-hour window closes, the five-judge bench can rule on the clarification request and the injunction. Opposition deputies plan their special session on Thursday, 15 October.

A federal judge in La Plata will be drawn to take over the ombudsman’s case. Wednesday’s step is procedural: it does not restore the cap or decide whether the repeal was constitutional.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can Americans buy farmland in Argentina right now?

Yes, the 2011 limits on foreign buyers stopped applying after the Supreme Court ruling of 29 September. A pending case could restore them provisionally.

What did Argentina’s Rural Land Law limit?

It capped foreign ownership at 15% of rural land and any one nationality at 30% of that share. A single foreign owner could hold at most 1,000 hectares in the core farming zone.

Why did the Supreme Court add two judges?

Its three sitting justices could not agree on how to handle the case, and a ruling needs three votes. Two appeals judges were drawn to complete the bench.

How much Argentine land do foreigners own?

Foreigners held 13.26 million hectares, or 4.97% of rural land, according to registry data updated in August 2025. In Buenos Aires province the share was 2.87%.

Who brought the new Supreme Court case?

It was brought by an environmental group, two indigenous communities and a provincial legislator, Magdalena Odarda. They argue the repeal threatens the environment and indigenous land rights.

Sources: Defensoría del Pueblo de la Provincia de Buenos Aires, statement; La Plata administrative court ruling, case 58105; Ministry of Justice, Rural Land Registry; Rural Land Registry, foreign ownership by department; Law 26,737 (Infoleg); Cancillería, Andes-Atlantic Corridor statement; Palabras del Derecho (29 September ruling); Palabras del Derecho (January 2024 suspension); La Nación; Ámbito (Supreme Court); Ámbito (La Libertad Avanza); Infobae (La Plata ruling); Infobae (US delegation) (all accessed 8 October 2026).