Deregulation decree DNU 70/2023 (« Bases for the Reconstruction of the Argentine Economy »)

Stated objective

according to the recitals and article 2 of the decree

Main measures

• Public emergency declared in economic, financial, fiscal, administrative, pension, tariff, health and social matters until 31 December 2025 (article 1); the health emergency was later extended to 31 December 2026.[1]
• Economic deregulation (Title II): repeal of the Supply Law 20,680, the « Gondola » Law 27,545, the Price Observatory Law 26,992, the Commercial Promotion Law 18,425 and most of the « Buy Argentine » Law 27,437, among others.[1]
• State reform (Title III): every company with State participation is to become a public limited company under the general companies law, without public-law prerogatives (articles 48 to 50), within a transition period of 180 days, later extended by Decrees 553/2024 and 1120/2024.[1][3]
• Labour (Title IV, articles 53 to 97, invalidated by the courts): repeal of the fines for undeclared employment and of Law 25,323, an eight-month probation period, minimum service of 75% in essential services and 50% in activities « of transcendental importance » during strikes, union deductions only with explicit consent, and independent workers allowed up to five independent collaborators.[1][11]
• Foreign trade (Title V): the Customs Code now states that the executive may not prohibit or restrict imports or exports for economic reasons, which only a law can do (article 142).[1]
• Housing and contracts (Title X): repeal of the Rent Law 27,551 (article 249); in the Civil and Commercial Code, rental terms, currency, deposit and indexation are left to the parties (any public or private index), with a default term of two years for a permanent home, and a tenant may end the lease at any time by paying 10% of the remaining rent.[1]
• Repeal of the Rural Land Law 26,737 (article 154), which capped foreign ownership of rural land; this article is suspended by the Supreme Court since 9 October 2026.[1][13]
• Health (Title XI): several articles of the prepaid health plan law repealed, plans priced by age band with a maximum ratio of three between the first and the last band, and workers free to choose their health insurer from the start of a job; aviation, telecommunications, sports clubs (which may become companies), tourism and the vehicle registry are also deregulated.[1]

Timeline

1. December 20, 2023Adopted

   Decree signed by the President in general agreement of ministers, published in the Official Gazette on 21 December[1][2]

   Official Gazette No. 35,326 of 21 December 2023, page 3. Article 365 orders that the Permanent Bicameral Committee of Congress be informed.

2. December 29, 2023In force

   Entry into force, eight days after publication[20][5]

   The decree sets no date of its own; under the general rule it took effect on 29 December 2023. Under Law 26,122 it stays in force unless both chambers of Congress expressly reject it.

3. January 3, 2024

   Labour Appeals Chamber suspends the labour title in the CGT case[9]

   The vacation chamber (Sala de Feria) of the National Labour Appeals Chamber orders, as an interim measure, the suspension of Title IV (Labour) until a final judgment, in the action brought by the General Confederation of Labour (CGT). It issues a similar measure the next day in a case brought by the CTA union confederation.

4. January 5, 2024

   The decree reaches Congress (Message 1/24, file PE-203/23)[6][8]

   The Chief of Cabinet’s message is registered and sent to the Permanent Bicameral Committee on Legislative Procedure (Law 26,122), which never issued an opinion on it.

5. January 18, 2024Current step

   Labour title case pending before the Supreme Court[10][21]

   The State’s extraordinary appeal in the CGT case was granted on 18 January 2024. In 2026 the Attorney General advised that the dispute had become moot for almost the whole title, because Laws 27,742 and 27,802 incorporated its provisions, except article 73 (union and other contributions deducted from wages only with the worker’s explicit consent), for which he found no necessity and urgency.

6. January 29, 2024

   First court suspension of the repeal of the rural land law[11][10]

   A federal court in La Plata suspends article 154 at the request of an association of Falklands (Malvinas) war veterans (CECIM). Other courts suspend articles on prepaid health plan fees and on sports public limited companies in the same weeks.

7. January 30, 2024

   Labour title declared invalid[11]

   Ruling on the merits of the CGT’s action, the National Labour Appeals Chamber declares Title IV (articles 53 to 97) constitutionally invalid as contrary to article 99, paragraph 3, of the Constitution, which limits decrees of necessity and urgency.

8. March 14, 2024In force

   The Senate rejects the decree (42 to 25, 4 abstentions); it stays in force pending the Chamber of Deputies[7][6][8][5]

   Only a rejection by both chambers repeals a decree of necessity and urgency (Law 26,122, article 24). The Senate’s rejection was sent to the Chamber of Deputies, which has not voted on it.

9. March 14, 2024

   Senate rejection (42 to 25, 4 abstentions)[7][8][6]

   After a motion by the ruling bloc to postpone the debate by 15 days is defeated (30 to 41), the Senate votes on the decree without a committee report. The rejection is sent to the Chamber of Deputies.

10. July 8, 2024

    The Bases Law re-enacts several labour repeals of the decree[15][1]

    Law 27,742, passed by Congress, repeals by statute the same provisions as articles 53 to 56 of the decree (penalties for undeclared employment in Laws 24,013, 25,013 and 25,345, and Law 25,323) and sets a six-month probation period, against eight months in the decree.

11. September 29, 2026

    Supreme Court rejects the veterans’ case on the rural land law for lack of standing[12]

    The Court reverses the La Plata federal appeals ruling that had declared article 154 unconstitutional, holding that the association had no standing, and states that it does not rule on the constitutional validity of the article.

12. October 9, 2026In force

    Still in force, with two parts suspended by the courts[11][13][14]

    The labour title (articles 53 to 97) was declared invalid by the National Labour Appeals Chamber on 30 January 2024, a ruling under appeal before the Supreme Court; on 9 October 2026 the Supreme Court suspended on an interim basis article 154, which repealed the rural land law. Apart from rulings in individual cases, the rest of the decree applies.

13. October 9, 2026

    Supreme Court suspends the repeal of the rural land law on an interim basis[13][14]

    In a case brought by the Árbol de Pie association, a provincial legislator and two Indigenous communities, the Court returns the file to the federal court of Bariloche and suspends article 154 until that court rules on standing and on the request for an injunction (Justice Rosenkrantz partly dissenting). The limits on foreign ownership of rural land apply again.

14. October 15, 2026

    Chamber of Deputies: session to reject the decree fails for lack of a quorum[22](secondary source)

    Opposition blocs called a special session to reject the decree but did not gather the 129 deputies needed to open the debate.

15. December 31, 2026Upcoming: the outcome is not known

    End of the health emergency declared by article 1, as extended[1][3]

    Article 1 declared a public emergency in eight areas until 31 December 2025; Decree 942/2025 extended the health emergency alone until 31 December 2026.

The debate

Citoyen takes no position: arguments are reported as their authors put them.

Indicators to watch

• Consumer price inflation · INDEC (via OECD)See the card →
• Monthly economic activity estimator (EMAE) · INDECSee the card →
• Rental listings and rents per m² in Greater Buenos Aires · Mercado Libre and Universidad de San Andrés (indices used by the Ministry of Deregulation)no Citoyen card yet
• Share of rural land owned by foreigners · Registro Nacional de Tierras Rurales (Ministerio de Justicia)no Citoyen card yet

Sources

1. [1]Decreto DNU 70/2023 - Bases para la Reconstrucción de la Economía Argentina (texto original) –InfoLEG, Ministerio de Justicia (argentina.gob.ar), December 21, 2023
2. [2]Decreto DNU 70/2023 - Bases para la Reconstrucción de la Economía Argentina (resumen) –InfoLEG, Ministerio de Justicia (argentina.gob.ar), December 21, 2023
3. [3]Decreto DNU 70/2023 - Normas que lo modifican o complementan –InfoLEG, Ministerio de Justicia (argentina.gob.ar)
4. [4]Decreto DNU 70/2023 - Normas que modifica o complementa –InfoLEG, Ministerio de Justicia (argentina.gob.ar)
5. [5]Ley 26.122 - Régimen legal de los decretos de necesidad y urgencia, de delegación legislativa y de promulgación parcial de leyes –InfoLEG, Ministerio de Justicia, July 28, 2006
6. [6]Expediente PE-203/23: Jefatura de Gabinete remite Mensaje Nº 1/24 que comunica el dictado del DNU Nº 70/23 –Honorable Senado de la Nación
7. [7]Acta de votación Nº 8: Rechazo del Decreto del Poder Ejecutivo Nº 70/23, en los términos de la ley 26.122 –Honorable Senado de la Nación, March 14, 2024
8. [8]El DNU 70/2023 no obtuvo la aprobación del Senado –Honorable Senado de la Nación, Prensa, March 14, 2024
9. [9]Novedades jurídicas: la Cámara del Trabajo suspende la aplicación de las modificaciones laborales contenidas en el DNU 70/2023 –SAIJ, Ministerio de Justicia, January 8, 2024
10. [10]Novedades jurídicas: conceden el recurso del Estado Nacional contra la sentencia que suspendió las reformas laborales del DNU 70/2023 –SAIJ, Ministerio de Justicia, January 22, 2024
11. [11]Novedades jurídicas: hacen lugar a la acción de amparo iniciada por la CGT y declaran la invalidez constitucional del Título IV del DNU 70/23 –SAIJ, Ministerio de Justicia, February 5, 2024
12. [12]C.E.C.I.M. La Plata c/ PEN s/ amparo ley 16.986 (FLP 47574/2023/CS1), Fallos 349:1209 –Corte Suprema de Justicia de la Nación, September 29, 2026
13. [13]Asociación Civil Árbol de Pie y otros c/ Poder Ejecutivo Nacional s/ amparo colectivo (FGR 20213/2023/CS1), Fallos 349:1349 –Corte Suprema de Justicia de la Nación, October 9, 2026
14. [14]Registro Nacional de Tierras Rurales –Ministerio de Justicia (argentina.gob.ar)
15. [15]Ley 27.742 - Ley de Bases y Puntos de Partida para la Libertad de los Argentinos (texto original) –InfoLEG, Ministerio de Justicia (argentina.gob.ar), July 8, 2024
16. [16]Ley de Alquileres (Unidad de Evaluación de Impacto) –Ministerio de Desregulación y Transformación del Estado, September 2024
17. [17]Conferencia de prensa del Vocero Presidencial, Adrián Ravier, desde Casa Rosada 06-10-2026 –Casa Rosada, Presidencia de la Nación, October 6, 2026
18. [18]Sturzenegger expuso en un seminario de la Universidad de Princeton sobre « Motosierra y Desregulación » –Ministerio de Desregulación y Transformación del Estado (argentina.gob.ar), January 24, 2025
19. [19]El Presidente Javier Milei le tomó juramento a Federico Sturzenegger como Ministro de Desregulación y Transformación del Estado –Presidencia de la Nación (argentina.gob.ar), July 5, 2024
20. [20]Vigencia y trámite legislativo aplicable al DNU 70/2023 « Bases para la reconstrucción de la Economía Argentina » –Marval O’Farrell Mairal · secondary source
21. [21]La Corte ya puede resolver un planteo de la CGT contra el DNU 70/2023 y podría fijar un criterio sobre la « necesidad y urgencia » –Infobae, October 4, 2026 · secondary source
22. [22]La oposición no logró quórum y se cayó la sesión en Diputados para rechazar el DNU de Milei –Canal 26, October 15, 2026 · secondary source