The Government revived the so-called “Leaf Law”, an initiative of the Minister of Deregulation, Federico Sturzenegger, which seeks to repeal some 70 regulations that were obsolete, were superseded by subsequent legislation or directly violate individual freedoms. The project lost parliamentary status in December and last Friday it was re-entered by Deputies. The name is not a coincidence: “leaves are the leaves that fall and are discarded,” they explained from the minister’s entourage. What the Government wants to sweep away is “excess, useless, without purpose.”
Among the laws mentioned there are some that generate surprise, others that generate controversy and some that generate both things at the same time.
The Law of the Wolf
The most picturesque of the lot is the one established by “Presidential Sponsorship”: the seventh male child of a marriage must be sponsored by the President of the Nation and, as a counterpart, the State must guarantee free education from primary to university level. The norm dates back to 1974, sanctioned during the government of Isabel Perón, and is based on the popular legend according to which the seventh male child is condemned to become a werewolf. During the presidency of Cristina Kirchner it was expanded to also include the seventh daughter. Sturzenegger wants to break up with her.
Color television and microfilming
Another target is the law that at the time authorized color television broadcasts. The rule was reduced to a historical curiosity in the era of videos on social networks. Along the same lines falls the one that establishes the use of microfilming to store government documents, a technology that the passage of time left more than behind.
Prize money for discovering a coal mine
Passed during the presidency of Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, this law offers a cash prize to anyone who discovers a coal mine. Sturzenegger calls it “ridiculous” and points out that it goes against the times: today the global trend aims to decarbonize the economy, not to encourage its extraction.
The backpacker card
Another target of the project is the law that created the “backpacker card”, supposedly mandatory for those who travel hitchhiking. For the deregulatory minister, although “it seems harmless,” in practice he sought to put those who traveled freely through the national territory at fault.
Ban gatherings in private places
The project also aims to repeal a rule that authorizes the State to supervise and prohibit meetings in private settings. Sturzenegger directly describes it as an “aberration against the National Constitution.”
Argentine music, but not all
Law No. 19,787, passed in 1972 under the de facto government of Alejandro Lanusse, declares the dissemination of “Argentine music” of national interest. The problem is that their definition of what counts as “Argentine music” excludes numerous artists and composers from the country who make genres that are not on the original list. This exclusion also has concrete consequences: the tax benefits granted by the law do not reach those who are left out, which for Sturzenegger violates the principle of equality.
Spanking people: prohibited, but the law is still in force
Law No. 94, of 1864, disqualifies any authority from whipping a person for ten years. The punishment of whipping is already prohibited by the National Constitution, but the norm was never formally repealed. It is the type of legislation that the Hojarasca seeks to cleanse from the system.
Buying national cars, mandatory
Law 16,789, of 1965, obliges State agencies to only purchase automobiles manufactured by the national automotive industry. Sturzenegger argues that this restriction prevents the State from using taxpayer resources efficiently and, therefore, harms citizens.
Anti-caste: the Circle of Legislators and free parking credentials
The project also goes against two publicly funded institutions: the Circle of Legislators of the Argentine Nation and the Argentine Federation of Municipalities. The initiative seeks to modify the laws that created them so that they stop receiving state financing. And it goes further: it aims to eliminate the personal and non-transferable credentials that enable deputies and senators to circulate and park freely, considering them an unjustified privilege.
carrier pigeons
Finally, Hojarasca would eliminate the obligation of the Argentine Pigeon Pigeon Federation to register the year of birth and registration of racing carrier pigeons. Sturzenegger defines it as an “overregulation” of an innocuous activity, and recalls that more than a century ago carrier pigeons stopped being used for communication purposes in times of war.
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