Disappointment in the countryside with Javier Milei, who hasn't lowered the withholding tax: "This government hasn't done anything yet."

The president of the Confederation of Rural Associations of Buenos Aires and La Pampa (CARBAP), Ignacio Kovarsky , criticized the policies of Javier Milei 's administration, accusing it of breaking its promise to eliminate agricultural taxes . "The President said he would remove them when he took office. Not only did he not do so, but he later partially lowered them and is now postponing that reduction," he charged.

"A decree has already been issued stating that the price cuts for wheat and barley will not be reduced until March 2026," the executive added, asserting that this deepens the crisis in the productive sector: "It seems like we always have to wait a couple of years. And in the meantime, producers still have no margin left. We're patient, but our pockets can't take any more."

Along these same lines, the leader asserted that withholding taxes were a historic obstacle to the development of Argentina's countryside and that, beyond Javier Milei's promises, nothing had changed: " It's a tax that has put a ceiling on the country's development . We haven't been able to make any government understand that. Not even this one, which came to do things differently ," he noted.

Recalling previous administrations, he mentioned that during the Kirchner administration, policies were openly hostile toward agriculture: "They imposed taxes on us and then celebrated them. They shut down exports of meat and corn, and imposed absurd regulations. Today, at least there's freedom to export. But the taxes continue," lamented the president of the Confederation of Rural Associations of Buenos Aires and La Pampa.

He also recalled that during Mauricio Macri's administration, "they were implemented. And the result was immediate: record wheat and corn harvests, increased fertilizer use, and increased rotation. Afterward, they didn't fix the deficit and had to raise them again. But at least they started off differently. This government hasn't accomplished anything yet ," Kovarsky asserted, according to NA.

Kovarsky also highlighted the difficulties agricultural producers face in competing internationally: "Exporting in Argentina is increasingly difficult. The exchange rate is fixed, and taxes are taking us out of the game. Uruguay, Brazil, Paraguay: none of them have agricultural taxes. We do. You can't compete like this," the executive lamented.

"Food subsidized by withholding taxes seemed more viable, but this isn't sustainable. In the core area, which is purely agricultural, the numbers no longer add up," acknowledged Kovarsky, who called for support from all of society to remove withholding taxes on agricultural products: "Withholding taxes represent barely 5% of state revenue. 78% comes from VAT. If we produce more, we export more, and the state collects more . That way, we can better pay retirees, doctors, and the police. But we need to make the pie bigger, not always divide it up the same."