Which laws would come back into force if the Chamber of Deputies repeals Javier Milei's DNU 70

Javier Milei and Federico SturzeneggerThe opposition called for a special session in the Chamber of Deputies on October 15 aimed at repealing the necessity and urgency decree (DNU) 70/2023, the mega-decree that Javier Milei signed at the start of his term and which deregulated broad sectors of the economy. The Senate had already rejected it in March 2024, meaning that a negative vote in the lower house would represent its definitive repeal. If that happens, a series of regulations that are currently repealed would regain the force of law. The Supreme Court ruling that restored the validity of Article 154 of the decree —the one that had removed limits on the purchase of rural land by foreigners— was the trigger for the opposition's call. The judicial ruling took even the Government by surprise and reignited the debate over the validity of the entire text of the mega-decree, which consists of 366 articles. In August of this year, the Senate gave half-approval to the private property inviolability bill with 37 votes in favor and 33 against, after the ruling party withdrew the chapter related to the sale of rural land as well as the amendments to the Fire Management Law. One of the most direct consequences for households would be the reinstatement of the Rental Law. DNU 70 repealed it at the start of Milei's term, deregulating lease contracts and freeing up adjustment conditions. If the decree falls, the previous regulation would automatically return, with its three-year minimum terms and its semi-annual adjustment mechanisms based on the Casa Propia index. The mega-decree also eliminated controls on the prices of prepaid medicine companies, which until then had to request state authorization to raise their fees. The fall of the DNU would mean returning to that intervention scheme, with the State as arbiter of the sector's price increases. RS PhotosDNU 70/23 ordered the transformation of all companies and corporations with state participation into corporations "for their subsequent privatization," as Milei himself explained when announcing the measures. If the decree falls, that process would be nullified and the previous legal structures would come back into force: State Enterprises, State Corporations, and Mixed-Economy Corporations. The elimination of the National Agency of Public Laboratories (ANLAP) would also be reversed. The mega-decree also included provisions authorizing the transfer of Aerolíneas Argentinas' share package, totally or partially, to its workers under the Participatory Ownership Program. If the decree is repealed, that legal authorization would disappear, which would complicate any privatization or transfer process that the Government pushes through that route. Two market intervention tools that the Milei Government eliminated on the grounds that they were incompatible with its deregulatory model would be reinstated. the Supply Law empowered the State to regulate prices, profit margins, and marketing conditions in situations of shortages or speculation. The Shelf Law, for its part, required supermarkets to reserve shelf space for products from small and medium-sized enterprises and to display prices transparently. DNU 70 deregulated satellite internet services, which allowed the expansion of operators such as Starlink in the Argentine market. A rejection in the Chamber of Deputies would place that framework in a legal limbo, with potential impact on the operating conditions of those companies. Another norm that would regain validity is the National Procurement Law, which establishes preferences for Argentine goods and services in public sector tenders and contracts. The DNU had repealed it as part of the opening to foreign trade. The liberalization of air transport, known as the open skies policy, was another chapter of DNU 70. Its repeal could reverse the conditions under which airlines currently operate in the domestic and international market, although its concrete impact would depend on legal interpretation and possible injunctions. A Starlink device in Argentina (Franco Fafasuli)In foreign trade matters, the mega-decree eliminated the mandatory registration that those wishing to export or import had to comply with, and stripped the Executive Branch of the power to impose restrictions on exports and imports for economic reasons. The repeal of the DNU would return those powers to the StateDNU 70/2023 dissolved the National Yerba Mate Institute (INYM), an agency that regulates the yerba mate market and has special political weight in the province of Misiones. Its restoration would generate pressure from that region, whose legislators have already expressed incentives to vote in favor of repealing the decree. The Government dismisses the possibility that the opposition will achieve the necessary quorum to hold the session —129 deputies— and is working on alternatives to neutralize the push. One of the options circulating in the ruling party is to incorporate a new chapter on the sale of land to foreigners into the National Sovereignty Law, a bill that began to be debated in committee this week. Cabinet Chief Diego Santilli traveled to France along with President Milei to meet with allied governors and accelerate electoral agreements that consolidate the votes needed to block the session. In parallel to the DNU debate, the ruling party returns from Paris optimistic on another front. After meeting with 13 governors during Argentina Week, La Libertad Avanza claims it has the votes to eliminate the PASO primaries. The key, according to Karina Milei's own circle, was the promise not to field libertarian candidates in the provincial districts in exchange for support for the political reform.