Argentina's territorial sovereignty is not only disputed in the South Atlantic; today it is being lost hectare by hectare on the continent under the protection of decrees and legislative modifications .

A recent report published by El Ciudadano presents the results of an investigation conducted by the Land Observatory . This organization, comprised of researchers from the University of Buenos Aires (UBA) and the National Scientific and Technical Research Council ( CONICET ), has quantified a concern that has been systematically denounced: the silent occupation of strategic areas of Argentina by foreign capital.

In the Malargüe department of Mendoza , foreign ownership is at 15%.

The figure is chilling: 13 million hectares — an area equivalent to the entire territory of England—now belong to foreign firms or citizens. However, the technical analysis by researchers Julieta Caggiano and Matías Oberlin reveals that the national average of 5% is merely a mask concealing critical local realities.

The trap of averages and "hot spots"

While the official discourse maintains that the Land Law (26.737) is being complied with by not exceeding 15% at the provincial level, the interactive map of Conicet demonstrates that territorial control is concentrated in nodes of high geopolitical value .

Water and minerals: The spoils of "Freedom"

The investigation underscores that land purchases are not random . They are concentrated in river headwaters , aquifers, and border areas. Strategic locations along the Paraná River, such as Iguazú, Ituzaingó, and Campana , have over 30% foreign ownership, jeopardizing state control over freshwater and river logistics.

This situation is exacerbated by the current political context . Following the judicial injunction against Decree 70/2023 —promoted by the CECIM La Plata —the government of Javier Milei insists on modifying the Land Law through the "May Council," while the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation slows down a decision that would confirm the unconstitutionality of Article 154 of that decree.

The objective seems clear: to enable production in areas devastated by intentional forest fires and to facilitate the transfer of non-reproducible common goods .

Who are the owners?

The podium of foreign ownership is headed by The United States, with 2.7 million hectares (an area larger than the province of Tucumán), is followed by Italy and Spain. This concentration of land in US hands takes on a worrying dimension given the renewed push for the Monroe Doctrine by the Donald Trump administration, which seeks to secure control of natural resources in Latin America.

In Santa Fe, foreign ownership of land in the Garay department reaches 16%.

An occupation process under "pseudo-legislation"

As we at Agenda Malvinas have pointed out, this is not a new phenomenon, but rather the deepening of a rupture that began in the 1990s . The Conicet report recalls how the government of Carlos Menem violated Decree 15,385 of 1944—which protected border areas—by allowing irregular sales and triangulations that benefited magnates like Joe Lewis in Lago Escondido or the Benetton group in Patagonia .

Today, the combination of fires in the Andean region and regulatory deregulation creates a scenario where the State is abandoning its role of control. The lingering question, which this scientific map answers starkly, is: who really decides the fate of our resources if the land no longer belongs to us?

Foreign ownership is not just a matter of property titles; it is the loss of the ability to decide on the water we drink and the energy we produce. Thus, under the guise of investment, a new form of territorial colonialism was set in motion.