Since its launch, only seven projects have been approved, far below the “avalanche of capital” announced by the government. To analyze its impacts from a human rights, environmental justice, and territorial sovereignty perspective, a group of organizations, research institutes, and academics formed the RIGI Observatory.

On August 23, 2024, the Large Investment Incentive Regime (RIGI) was approved. One year after its implementation, the results are far from the initial promises: the much-announced “avalanche of capital” has yet to materialize, while the regime has already consolidated extraordinary benefits for a small group of major investors.

From the RIGI Observatory, made up of social organizations, research institutes, and academics, we monitor the projects that formally enter the regime, gathering information on the companies involved, the amounts committed, the economic sectors, their locations, and projected employment.

In this context, we have analyzed investment flows to assess their real scope and warn that, so far, they have been limited, in a scenario shaped by both national and international uncertainty.

A total of 19 applications to join RIGI have been submitted, of which 7 were approved and 1 rejected, representing a total investment of USD 13.067 million. However, these investments are expected to generate just over one thousand direct jobs – an extremely low figure in light of the extraordinary tax and foreign-exchange benefits granted by the regime.

In addition, the Observatory maps territorial resistance by tracking local expressions of opposition, their narratives, collective actions, and demands. A third line of our work focuses on identifying the socio-environmental risks and impacts associated with projects promoted under this regime. Finally, we analyze RIGI’s impact on tax revenue, fiscal policy, and capital flows.

In its attempt to overcome the imminent external crisis, the government is betting on investments and hydrocarbon exports, deepening an export-driven model. In doing so, it overlooks the potential environmental, labor, and social damage, as well as the institutional concessions this strategy entails.

RIGI is the clearest expression of this direction. Approved under the pretext of promoting investment – much like the Foreign Investment Law or the Mining Code in their time –it consolidates an extractive model that does not operate in isolation. YPF emerges as its true driving force, actively participating in three of the seven approved projects, two of them directly linked to Vaca Muerta.

The lack of citizen participation, the absence of accountability mechanisms, and the criminalization of local communities create an especially troubling scenario in extractive projects that are set to last for three decades.

The RIGI Observatory is made up of the Fundación Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (FARN), the Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales (CELS), the Centro de Políticas Públicas para el Socialismo (CEPPAS), the School of Politics and Government at the National University of San Martín (EPyG/UNSAM), the Espacio de Trabajo Fiscal para la Equidad (ETFE), and the Transnational Institute (TNI).

RIGI in Numbers

• Nineteen applications to join RIGI were submitted: seven were approved and one was rejected.
• The sectors applying to join include: ten mining projects (five lithium, three copper, and two gold), three renewable energy projects (two wind farms and one photovoltaic), three hydrocarbon infrastructure projects, one steel project, one biofuels project, and one port infrastructure project.
• The seven approved projects represent a total investment of USD 13.067 million, distributed across hydrocarbons (two), mining (two), renewable energy (two), and steelmaking (one).
• The investment committed by all submitted projects would exceed USD 30.76 million.
• The largest foreign-currency investments are concentrated in primary extractive activities, especially projects aimed at expanding exports from Vaca Muerta and the mining sector.
• The hydrocarbon sector concentrates the highest investment amounts, with three projects totaling USD 9.79 million.
• The mining sector accounts for the largest number of projects, with ten proposals and an estimated investment of USD 19.312 million. Five are linked to lithium and located in Salta and Catamarca, while four others are in San Juan.
• Fifteen provinces have formally adhered to RIGI’s specific regulatory framework.