The industrial landscape of Tierra del Fuego and the continued presence of Argentinians in this maritime, bicontinental province are entering their worst period since its creation in 1972. Through Decree 252/2026 , which will take effect on June 17, the government of President Javier Milei officially extended the Factory Customs Regime (RAF) to all productive sectors in the country. This tool has, in practice, been the competitive advantage of the southernmost province, strategically similar to that of Manaus in northern Brazil.

What is the RAF and why does it alter the Fuegian chessboard?

The Factory Customs Regime is a customs mechanism that allows companies to import inputs, parts and components without paying import duties or internal taxes, provided that these are used in an industrial process.

This benefit is the cornerstone of Law 19.640 . Because Tierra del Fuego is a special customs area, its factories can import technology and supplies from abroad duty-free, allowing them to compete with imported products reaching major consumer centers. The new national decree extends this benefit to the mainland: now, any plant in the central or northern regions of the country can operate under this system.

The immediate consequences: Territorial disincentive

The measure creates a "leveling down" effect. By allowing a company in the mainland to access inputs duty-free and defer tax payments until the sale of the finished product, it eliminates the economic incentives to produce in the logistically and climatically challenging southern cities of Río Grande and Ushuaia.

In operational terms, this translates to:

Mirgor and the "inner circle" of diversification

What a coincidence that this national regulatory change is occurring at a time when the main players in the sector have already begun to move their pieces outside of the jurisdiction of Tierra del Fuego.

The Mirgor Group , owned by Nicolás Caputo , one of the biggest beneficiaries of the southern regime, and cousin of the current Minister of Economy Luis “Toto” Caputo , has consolidated an executive structure designed for regional and continental expansion, and not for Tierra del Fuego, which made it an important international business group.

Under the leadership of José Luis Alonso (CEO) , the company has projected investments exceeding $400 million, but with a shifting center of gravity: the construction of the ONTEC plant in Baradero is the clearest example of this new stage.

The execution of this strategy to empty Tierra del Fuego is not anonymous; it has names and surnames:

The fundamental question

While Law 19.640 was enacted to guarantee the settlement and permanence of Argentinians in a geopolitically sensitive territory, Decree 252/2026 effectively acts in the opposite direction. By diminishing the benefits that make industrial life viable in the South, the National State removes the incentive for capital—and people—to establish the necessary roots in this highly strategic region of the Republic.

Clearly, this national government is intent on destroying everything that involves defending sovereignty. Because without factories there are no workers; without workers there is no people; and without the people in Tierra del Fuego, the claim to the Malvinas and Antarctica becomes an empty slogan devoid of territorial substance.