The case for climate justice in Argentina
Resource extraction, colonialism and human rights: the Government aims to alter the Glaciers Law based on corporate interest
Originally published in Spanish here.
Back in November 2017, Argentina’s Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development, Sergio Bergman, declared at COP23 that “all laws (Native Forest and Glaciers laws) are valid and won’t be modified” and continued “the information that is going around it’s just a gossip: it doesn’t come from the Government, and does not enable a debate”. Finally, he added “The gossip had its effect, it’s just something that came out after a meeting with the mining representatives, that’s all”.
Behind Mr. Bergman comments was the intention to shut down any rumours around the Government’s desire to modify the two most prominent environmental laws in Argentina: The Native Forest Law and the Glaciers Law. Unfortunately, just days later and after a meeting between Government representatives and the mining sector, the President confirmed their decision to alter the Glaciers Law.
The Government’s attempt to advance an extractivist agenda in support of corporations is not something isolated to Argentina. In Brazil, the catastrophe in Mariana was the responsibility of the Brazilian Vale and Anglo-Australian BHP Billiton companies. In Colombia, the ongoing killings of members of the Wayuu community occur around the British, Swiss and Australian-owned El Cerrejón mine.
The Argentinian Government has decided to go further with the dispossession model. From the failed attempt to install Monsanto in Malvinas Argentinas, to the illegal logging and land robbery of the Wichí community in Salta at hand of national and foreign capitals, from the criminalisation of the Mapuche People in Vaca Muerta lead by Chevron to the land hoarded by Benetton, the Macri Government maintains the relationships with transnational corporations and public policy established during the Kirchnerista period.
All these efforts are based on the legal and economic framework established during the 90s. Most of the time such initiatives are done in the name of foreign interests, always sacrificing territories and lives that don’t matter to them: economically and politically disadvantaged people, largely communities of colour and those that believe in an alternative to the dominant development model.
Glaciers Law
I won’t pretend to rewrite this law as its details have already been perfectly summarised in this article from Juan Parrilla and this interview with Enrique Viale. Instead, I will try to shed some light on the relevance of the Glaciers Law, from its conception to the possible consequences of its modifications. In the case you don’t know what the Glaciers Law is about, I strongly recommend the lecture in the links mentioned above before proceeding.
So, Martín, what’s the problem?
- Mines like Veladero, managed 50/50 by the Canadian Barrick Gold and the stated own Chinese Shandong Gold, operate in glaciers. There are other 44 projects like this one, where the Glaciers Law is being violated.
- Thanks to the legal framework built during the 90s, the decisions made in the Kirchnerista and currently Macrista period, mines do not contribute to the country’s economy. Even more, they are subsidised by the State.
- Mining doesn’t generate real jobs, rather it creates sacrifice zones. This great work by a collective of researchers lays down 15 myths and realities of transnational mining in Argentina.
I would like to state this clearly: these are not problems solely about mining, they are also about how the activity is developed in Argentina. The Glaciers Law, one of the most prominent popular achievements in environmental law, is of utmost importance as it stops foreign corporations who have no interests in the country besides profiteering, and whose operations jeopardise our sovereignty.
Even though this might not be the best panorama, there’s something that still gives a glimpse of hope. Thanks to organising and resistance from social movements, seven provinces achieved environmental legislation that limits or outright bans big scale mining. After Barrick Gold’s catastrophic spill of 1 million litres of cyanide solution into the Jáchal river, the community set up the assembly “Asamblea Jáchal No Se Toca” (Assembly Don’t Mess With Jáchal), went to Court and mobilised a country behind them.
Extractivism as Neocolonialism
During the colonial period, both the continent and what today is known as “Argentina” were sacked in the name of upholding European values and interests. Genocides such as the “Conquista del Desierto” (Conquest of the Desert), aimed to expand borders and increase production of cattle, therefore getting Argentina a better deal in its commercial relationships with Second Industrial Revolution Great Britain.
During the past few years, the National Government has been collaborating with some Provinces to secure that transnational extractive corporations have access to natural resources in Argentinian soil. This was the case during the colonial period and it remains the case today.
As Svampa and Viale wrote in their book “Maldesarrollo” (Bad development), we should ask how do extractive activities — such as mining and fossil fuels — alter spaces, society, jobs and culture itself. Not only have they socio-economic impacts, they also affect the environment, living standards, work relationships and gender inequality. Extractive industries multiply societies problems.
The logic of extractivism as neo-colonialism is a systemic problem. Until we see the links between natural resources, health, patriarchy, racism and economic injustice we won’t be able to build a truly free and sovereign territory.
Doing so requires something I don’t have time for here: an in-depth analysis of the relationship between natural resources and social justice issues in Argentina, replete with case studies like Comodoro Rivadavia, a perfect example of the intersectionality of dislocations arising from the neo-colonial extractivist model.
Final Thoughts
Unfortunately, the problem is a deep one and goes to borders and big scale mining itself. In times when femicides are in the public eye, travesticides are neglected, they jobs are cut in the name of austerity, agrotoxic rain falls across the country and protest marches are met with repression, it is more than necessary to be able to see the bigger picture. We need to comprehend that the only way that we could win this struggle is if we are all in this together, with a systemic, decolonial and intersectional narrative. We are fighting for our lives and we are going until the end.
