The speculation is over. At least, the speculation that arose from the objections of a sector of the American business community to the bill on the defense of national sovereignty, known as the "Malvinas law," which the Casa Rosada and the Chamber of Deputies took it upon themselves to discredit. But reality prevailed. The visit to the country by US Undersecretary of State Christopher Landau ended up clearing up the doubts: Washington is closely following the provisions that foresee sanctions against oil companies operating in the islands. And it does not hide its concern. This time it was not pressure from the opposition. At a press conference, Undersecretary Landau acknowledged this Thursday the existence of objections, which now force the ruling party to revise one of its most ambitious legislative projects, announced by the President in a national broadcast. The possibility of backing down or, at least, making certain concessions in the face of internal and external pressures, rekindled some disputes within the Government. Press conference by US Undersecretary of State Christopher Landau and Argentine Foreign Minister Pablo QuirnoEnrique García MedinaThe ruling party has become trapped in its own sovereignty rhetoric and faces accusations on two fronts. While on the domestic front they are charged with the fact that it is a project that has little to do with the Malvinas and introduces sweeping reforms to the laws on National Defense, Political Party Financing, and Intelligence, from abroad they are urged to revise the heart of the proposal. Specifically, Chapter I, intended to protect Argentine interests in the islands. One of the main political banners of the initiative devised by advisor Santiago Caputo. The law, as presented by Milei, was intended to toughen sanctions against companies operating in the vicinity of the islands and extend penalties to all those firms that finance them. Too much "laxity" for the American filter, which demands that the Government "correctly" delimit the criminal offenses. Faced with this scenario, there are those who view with suspicion a possible intention to delay the debate on the Malvinas until the end of the ordinary sessions period. Thus, a new dilemma opens up for the Government, strained by its own internal conflicts. The purists, who answer to the wing of presidential advisor Santiago Caputo — largely the ideologue of the legislation through his pawn in the Legal and Technical area, María Ibarzabal Murphy — consider that the text "is designed to have the tools the State needs to defend national sovereignty" and that "it should in fact be voted on as is." Javier Milei, announcing the Malvinas bill with his entire cabinet, on national broadcastcaptureThis differs from the position of other officials at the Casa Rosada and deputies willing to advance the changes necessary to approve the initiative, without straining relations with one of their greatest international allies. In the lower house, Martín Menem's troops would be part of this camp. Close to the man from La Rioja, they had even floated the idea of bringing the bill to last Wednesday's mega-session. And that is why they insisted that "several changes" were being worked on. Above all, they show themselves to be "pragmatic." Despite their rhetoric, the sector led by Caputo is also aware that the bill requires modifications. "As it stands, it won't pass," several deputies, including some libertarians, repeat tirelessly. So much so that this Friday Silvana Giudici, Martín Menem's legislative spearhead and head of the Malvinas project, met with the advisor and Ibarzábal at the Casa Rosada. Unlike last week, when those in the Chamber of Deputies resisted discussing Washington's demands, this time they limited themselves to saying that work is being done to "delimit the criminal offenses." When LA NACION asked what specific concessions were made to the American establishment, some sources stated: "We only adjusted the articles that were broad or vague so that there is no doubt about their scope." Despite reports of a possible delay in considering the initiative, in Parliament and in the Government they insist that everything is moving forward and affirm that there is "well-oiled" work between those handling the issue in Congress and the Casa Rosada. Some libertarians boast that several modifications have already been advanced that would secure the backing of allies. Among them, the revision of the controversial article that provides for prison sentences of up to 12 years for those "acting on behalf of a foreign agent, seeking to alter electoral processes or manipulate public opinion through disinformation campaigns" is already taken for granted. Martín Menem, President of the Chamber of DeputiesSoledad Aznarez"Disinformation campaigns"According to what LA NACION learned, the new version of the bill, which is already in the hands of the allies, leaves out the most ambiguous terms of Article 111, mentioned in Chapter VI. In particular, the one referring to "disinformation campaigns," which sparked strong criticism from organizations and journalism figures due to the risk it could pose to freedom of expression. "The bill will pass. It is the President's bill. It will not be shelved or anything of the sort," sources at Balcarce 50 assured. While they point out that the idea is "to address it as soon as possible," they anticipate that there may be "logical" delays due to negotiations with allies in Congress. "Our goal is for it to be addressed, voted on, and approved," they emphasized at the Casa Rosada, dismissing reports that the bill could be put on standby. In the ruling party, there were suspicions that these reports could come from the sector of Vice President Victoria Villarruel, who in recent hours left messages on social media about the issue. "That is why the true patriots and Malvinas supporters kept silent. Res non verba," Villarruel posted on her X account, in response to a publication questioning the future of the bill. The Latin expression means "deeds, not words." Amid the questions surrounding the Government's intentions, everything seems to be subject to revision. That is why it is hard to believe that the ruling party will manage to issue a committee report this Tuesday in the Defense Committee, which complicates the timeline for bringing the bill to the floor before the end of the ordinary sessions period. Added to this is that the text must then pass through the debate in the Senate, where much of the effort is concentrated on giving some signal about what truly troubles the Casa Rosada: the suspension of the PASO primaries. For now, no significant progress has been recorded. By Delfina Galarza, Cecilia Devanna