Kirchnerism voted against eliminating the laws from the dictatorships of Videla and Onganía.

The Chamber of Deputies approved this Wednesday the project known as “Hojarasca Law”, an initiative promoted by Minister Federico Sturzenegger as part of the deregulation plan of the Government of Javier Milei.

However, the vote revealed a particular fact: the Kirchnerist bloc voted against eliminating laws enacted by de facto governments, such as the dictatorships of Jorge Rafael Videla and Juan Carlos Onganía.

The Milei project aims to repeal a wide range of regulations that have become obsolete, lost their validity, or directly affect individual freedoms. This package includes multiple laws enacted during dictatorships, which remain formally in force despite being surpassed by subsequent legislation or the passage of time.

The laws of military governments

Among the regulations affected are several originating from those military governments. For example, Law No. 17,557 of 1967, enacted during Onganía's de facto presidency, regulates the provision and use of X-ray equipment, although it has already been replaced by Law 26,906.

Also included is Law No. 21,778 of 1977, enacted under Videla, which empowers state-owned companies to enter into contracts for the exploitation of hydrocarbons, considered today to be obsolete in light of subsequent regulatory frameworks.

In the same list is Law No. 22,109 of 1979, also from Videla's period, which establishes the isolation of patients or suspects of smallpox, a regulation surpassed by Law 27,491.

Additionally, provisions such as Law No. 18,569 of 1970, from Onganía's era, which imposes the use of microfilming for documentation in the military sphere, a system that the Government itself has described as “totally archaic.”

Another group of questioned laws corresponds to those that affect individual freedoms. In this regard, it is proposed to eliminate Law No. 18,312 of 1969, enacted during Onganía's de facto government, which creates the “Fund for the development of the production of newsprint and cellulose,” a regulation that “seeks to restrict freedom of expression.”

There are also laws from the military period that today lack practical sense or have become outdated due to technological advancements. Among them is Law No. 21,895 of 1978, which authorized color television broadcasts, and Law No. 19,648 of 1972.

Despite the project contemplating the elimination of such regulations, the Kirchnerism voted against the initiative in general, thus rejecting the repeal of these laws originating from de facto governments.