Deregulation

The chainsaw's other blade: hundreds of rules repealed, rewritten, or litigated.

The mega-decree: DNU 70/2023

On 20 December 2023, ten days into the presidency, Milei issued the Decreto de Necesidad y Urgencia 70/2023 — a “necessity and urgency” decree with hundreds of articles touching rents, labor law, aviation, prepaid health plans, pharmacies, tourism, and more. Among its headline changes: repeal of the rent-control law, liberalization of labor contracts, open-skies aviation policy, and deregulation of private health pricing.

Courts suspended parts of it (notably the labor chapter, challenged by unions); Congress never fully ratified or rejected it — Argentine DNUs remain in force unless both chambers reject them. Its constitutional status is contested; its practical effect is large.

The minister of deregulation

Milei created a dedicated Ministry of Deregulation and State Transformation under economist Federico Sturzenegger, tasked with systematically repealing regulations. The ministry claims well over a thousand repeals and simplifications since 2024 — a figure cited by the government and repeated by sympathetic press; independent verification of the count is not available, so this site reports it as the government’s claim.

Ley Bases — June 2024

The Ley de Bases y Puntos de Partida para la Libertad de los Argentinos (Law 27.742), approved in June 2024 after months of negotiation, gave the government:

• Delegated powers to reorganize the state by decree for a year.
• Privatization authorization for a list of state companies (a shorter list than first proposed).
• Labor reform — longer probation periods, a severance-fund alternative.
• RIGI — the Régimen de Incentivo para Grandes Inversiones: 30-year tax, customs, and legal-stability benefits for investments over $200m, aimed at Vaca Muerta shale, lithium, and mining.

What changed on the ground

Rents: the repeal of rent controls was followed by a reported surge in rental listings in Buenos Aires (market reporting; the causal link is debated). Aviation: new low-cost routes and operators entered under open skies. Health prepagas: premiums rose sharply after price liberalization — welcomed by providers, denounced by subscribers. Provinces and unions continue to litigate the edges.

The critics’ case

Opposition lawmakers, unions, and consumer groups argue the deregulation transfers income from tenants, workers, and patients to landlords, employers, and firms — and that rule-by-decree bypasses democratic deliberation. The government’s reply: Argentina’s regulatory thicket was itself the product of decades of interest-group capture, and only executive speed could cut it. Attributions on both sides.

Source notes

• DNU 70/2023 and Law 27.742: official texts (Boletín Oficial).
• Court rulings: Argentine federal labor and administrative courts, 2024.
• Deregulation counts: Ministry of Deregulation statements (government claim, flagged as such).