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Following a week of protests, the governor of Argentina’s central province of Mendoza, Rodolfo Suárez, announced that he will send a bill to the legislature to abolish Law 9209, which allowed for cyanide and sulfuric acid to be used in mining operations and which modified its predecessor, Law 7722.
The new law was swiftly approved last week and it sparked massive, daily protests across the province. Some rallies caused transit disruptions on roads that connect Argentina with neighbouring Chile.
Seven wine-producing towns within the Mendoza province said they would suspend their annual vintage festivals if Law 9209 wasn’t abolished
Protesters, many of them from left-wing opposition parties and environmental organizations, argued that the new law threatened the province’s waterways and water supply.
After a week of unrest, on December 26th, Suárez said that the legislature was not going to work on the regulations that would make the law effective until a social consensus was reached. In a press conference reported on by local media, the governor said he was even thinking about the possibility of calling a referendum on the law.
But rallies continued to take place with 10,000 people marching on Thursday, according to Clarín newspaper. Suárez’s office announced that a bill to abolish the law will be sent to the provincial legislature this Monday.
The governor, however, said he still believes that allowing mining activities is key for Mendoza’s economic development. At present, the province has 19 mining proposals waiting for approval. Most of them focus on copper extraction, but there are also gold, silver, lead, zinc and uranium projects on the drawing board.
Of those, only one project has received the necessary approvals to go ahead. It is Alto América’s Hierro Indio iron ore operation, located near the municipality of Malargue where a new wave of protests is taking place but, in this case, in support of Law 9209.
Pro-mining activists in Malargue said over the weekend that they will ask the governor to apply the new legislation in their town, even if it is abolished in the rest of the province.
7 Comments
Freddy quimby
Do not sell any mining products, let them starve
Leticia
Envenene a su pueblo
Emilce Figueredo
You’re right, we eat land in this country… But we will continue drinking the purest water, excellent wines and eating the richest fruits, vegetables and meats in the world.
Leticia
Porqué no utilizan el cianuro y contaminan los cursos de agua en los paises desarrollados? Quieren destruir América Latina .y otra aclaración. No fueron grupis de izquierda y ambientalistas fue tooodo el pueblo de Mendoza porque el agua en Mendozano se negocia !!
Silvana
El pueblo Unido jamás será vencido! No a la minería contaminante!
F
10.000 personas ????? Te faltaron un par de ceros !!!! ¡Queremos nuestra agua limpia, no permitiremos que nos sacrifiquemos para beneficio extranjero! El pueblo se respeta !!!! Los que salimos fuimos los vecinos en familia, con amigos o solos, pero salimos todos, a los cuales se sumaron ambientalistas a ayudarnos para lograrlo. Y los de izquiersa se unieron con derecha. Acá todos querían dinero minero y que el pueblo se muera. Digan las cosas como son, nos quieren sacrificar!
Florencia
There weren’t ‘mostly left wing parties’, this was genuinely a massive protest from the people of Mendoza, regardless of political affiliation. We were all in this together.