The bookshop capital of the world, Buenos Aires, faces the potential loss of a significant number of its independent bookshops, as cautioned by the Argentine book sector last week. Several book industry chambers, encompassing publishers, distributors, authors, and independent bookshops, have raised concerns regarding the government’s plan to abolish the country’s fixed-price regulation. The initiative is encompassed within a significant legislative package crafted by the deregulation ministry under the leadership of Federico Sturzenegger. This package also impacts the pharmaceutical and real estate sectors and is anticipated to reach the Senate after the winter recess. Passed almost unanimously by Congress in 2001, the Defence of the Bookselling Activity Law #25.542 mandates that publishers establish a uniform retail price for books across all sales channels. Since then, it has emerged as a fundamental pillar of the Argentine publishing industry, which has seen a threefold increase in the number of new titles published annually, alongside a doubling of the number of publishing houses.
Currently, Argentina boasts approximately 1,500 bookshops, resulting in one of the highest bookstore-per-capita ratios, as reported by Argentina’s Book Chamber (CAL, in its Spanish acronym). The Milei administration’s rationale for eliminating the law hinges on a strong conviction that deregulation will stimulate competition and reduce book prices for the typical consumer. Last Saturday, Sturzenegger defended the decision to repeal it on his X account in a heated debate with journalist Luis Novaresio, stating that the law “prohibits” selling cheap books and labelling it a “deadly sin.” He posted “President Milei wants Argentina to be the freest country in the world. Freedom will result in more readers and greater access [to books]. But for booksellers this seems like a question of survival.” This marks the third occasion on which the Milei administration seeks to dismantle the law. In 2023, the derogation articles were incorporated into presidential decree DNU 70/23, which conferred extraordinary powers upon President Milei. In 2024, it was incorporated into the so-called Ley Bases, a significant state reform. On both occasions, the articles pertaining to the book industry, along with other cultural legislation, were excised from the final drafts following vigorous media campaigns and discussions with lawmakers. “The fixed price doesn’t eliminate competence,” CAL said in a statement released on Friday. “On the contrary, it directs it to quality of service, advice, catalog variety and promotion of new emerging authors,” they added.
According to the chamber, it also prevents competition from being reduced merely to the financial capacity of offering lower prices, “bringing stability to the market” while also “fighting piracy.” They also observe the dual character of books as both commercial and cultural commodities. Law 25.542 is asserted to promote a uniform book price “not to intervene in the market, but to ensure the market does not limit access to culture.” And “Its goal is to foster more bookstores, more publishers, more authors and, ultimately, to give readers a wider range of books to choose from.” The scenario that booksellers caution against exemplifies a classic dumping strategy: when supermarkets and major online platforms employ steep discounts and sell bestsellers at a loss to capture a greater market share, attract customers to more lucrative products, and eliminate competition, they subsequently exhibit no hesitation in increasing book prices at their discretion. They assure that this will occur, referencing instances such as the United Kingdom, where a comparable action led to significant market concentration and ultimately resulted in book prices increasing beyond inflation rates. Rejection for Sturzenegger’s project encompasses a range of establishments, from independent bookshops to leading chain stores. Adolfo de Vincenzi, CEO of ILHSA — the entity that oversees the Yenny and El Ateneo bookshop chains, which are among the most significant participants in Argentina’s book market — also expressed opposition to deregulation.
And “If everything is deregulated, books account for just 0.5% of a supermarket’s sales. They can give them away without any problem. A country like Argentina, known for its vast network of bookstores, would end up with a dying industry. I can easily imagine supermarkets or Mercado Libre entering this market and destroying it in a matter of seconds,” he said. “Bookshops today compete on a range of items like curation, catalogs, recommendations, or even location. Why break a virtuous market?,” Céspedes Libros owner Cecilia Fanti told. “One can only attribute this to ideological fanaticism. They keep repeating a libertarian catchphrase about deregulation and prices while accusing independent bookstores of taking advantage of readers,” said Fanti. “On the contrary, our relationship with regular clients is precisely one of the areas where we all compete. In the ten years since we opened, we’ve seen the children of our clients become young adult readers, and young readers become parents — or even grandparents — who come to find books for their children and grandchildren,” she added. “It’s hard to tell whether this is part of their ideological crusade or if there are hidden players whose interests are not related to the publishing ecosystem — or if it’s both,” Alejandro Dujovne said. Book industry referents also questioned the purported nature of the government’s objective. If the objective is to enhance the affordability of books, they assert, there exist alternative, less detrimental methods to accomplish this.
Mainly, reducing paper costs, which represent over 50% of a book’s final price, in a market currently characterised by an oligopoly. “What we need to lower book prices is greater purchasing power, less banking taxes, lower interest rates, derogation of the check tax, and a greater offer of paper,” posted publisher and distributor Blatt & Ríos on X. “We need a bigger market, not a smaller one like they are proposing.” Defenders of the law argue that, apart from the challenging-to-compare US market, nations with a robust and varied publishing industry tend to implement some form of fixed book price legislation. The examples provided are distinctly not representative of state-controlled economies, with France (whose Lang Law served as a model for the Argentine bill), Germany, Spain, Japan, and South Korea cited as pertinent instances. The United Kingdom, instead, serves as a cautionary tale. In 1997, the United Kingdom repealed its long-standing Net Book Agreement (NBA), which had been established in 1899. Initially, bestsellers saw a reduction in price at supermarkets; however, the long-term consequences were significant: more than 500 independent bookshops shuttered within ten years, and average book prices ultimately increased at a rate surpassing inflation, as reported.