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How an eccentric climate change denier who went viral on social media could become Argentina’s next president

How an eccentric climate change denier who went viral on social media could become Argentina’s next president

By Cecilia Fernández Castañón on Leave a Comment

Argentina is in the midst of its presidential election process, and the recent primaries on 13 August saw economist Javier Milei emerge as the leading candidate.

Milei transitioned into the political arena a few years ago, gaining recognition through his harsh critiques of the political establishment, which garnered significant attention in both traditional media and on social platforms.

Currently, he serves as a member of parliament and is the founder of his own political party, La Libertad Avanza, which secured nearly 30 per cent of the vote despite lacking a comprehensive organisational structure and representation in many regions across the country.

Milei’s rhetoric during his numerous media appearances and campaign events has stirred considerable controversy. Among other statements, he has advocated for unrestricted civilian access to firearms, the sale of organs for transplant purposes and the abolition of public education and health care. In a staunch defence of the free market, he has gone as far as to claim that should he come to power, companies will be permitted to pollute a river without restrictions.

According to him, climate change is “a lie of socialism.”

In the weeks leading up to the general elections, set for 22 October, where Argentina’s next president, who will succeed the current Peronist government’s candidate Sergio Massa, is yet to be determined, there looms a cloud of uncertainty surrounding the direction of environmental policy in this vast and ecologically diverse Latin American nation.

Scientists, environmentalists and activists in the country are currently evaluating the most effective ways to navigate a potential Milei presidency.

“CARING FOR NATURE IS NOT JUST FOR HIPPIES AND ACADEMICS”
A recent study conducted by more than 80 scientists from around the world highlights the significance of considering nature’s diverse values. The study outlines aspects that have often been overlooked in decision-making models, including the perspectives of local communities and the importance of biodiversity.

One of the paper’s lead authors is Christopher Anderson, an Argentine researcher and member of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES).

“The results of this study show that it is essential to integrate different ways of valuing nature into political and economic decision-making,” Anderson told FairPlanet. “This is important conceptually, practically, effectively and ethically. We need to address all these dimensions in order to achieve, for example, the Sustainable Development Goals agreed by the UN or the target of 30 per cent protected areas by 2030.”

He added, “None of this will be possible without the participation of communities and indigenous peoples, the recognition of their rights and their involvement in the construction of these goals.”

Environmental protection and conservation policies in Argentina seem to align with the traditional patterns highlighted in this study, Anderson argued. These policies often prioritise economic or environmental values, potentially overlooking the interests and concerns of local communities.

“For the ecologist,” he added, “there have been some positive regulatory innovations in the country in recent years, such as the approval of a law that establishes comprehensive environmental training for people working in the public sector, with a sustainable development perspective and special emphasis on climate change.”

He further emphasised the National Constitution guarantees Argentine citizens the right to a healthy environment and the existence of a federal system that establishes that rights over nature belong to the provinces.

“Caring for nature is not just for hippies or academics,” he added. “There are reports from the World Economic Forum that show that if we don’t take environmental issues into account, there can be significant losses. On the other hand, nature-positive business models can generate billions of dollars and jobs.”

Embracing what the World Economic Forum terms “nature-positive business models” has the potential to generate substantial economic benefits and job opportunities on a global scale, Anderson said. A tangible illustration of this approach, he added, can be observed through the support for initiatives like Biodiver Ciudades, currently being implemented across several cities in Latin America. This initiative prioritises investments in nature-based solutions, including the enhancement of public spaces and the expansion of green areas within urban environments.

In these cities, he pointed out, the perspective on nature has shifted from being perceived as a hindrance to development to an integral and indispensable component of urban design.

Anderson expressed a sense of sorrow and concern when reflecting on the electoral support garnered by the far-right candidate during Argentina’s primaries. He drew parallels with situations in other countries, such as Brazil with the presidency of Jair Bolsonaro and the United States with Donald Trump, where similar political dynamics have unfolded and had what he considers to be detrimental consequences.

“What all these cases have in common is that not only do they undermine democracy with a far-right authoritarian populism, but they profess freedom [while] in reality [they] drive a process in which the subject does not assume the consequences of its own actions and only favours a traditional white elite that reduces nature to an asset in a controlled market controlled by the same elite.”

The institution where Anderson works is located in Patagonia and is part of CONICET, Argentina’s largest science and technology organisation, which is internationally recognised for its high quality work. On several occasions, candidate Milei has expressed his intention to shut down or privatise this institution, questioning its effectiveness.

WHAT ARE YOUNG PEOPLE VOTING FOR?
Libertad Avanza, being a newly established political party, currently lacks representation in any of Argentina’s 23 provinces. This means that the party does not have governors or provincial legislators in any province, limiting its ability to establish a party structure outside of Buenos Aires, the capital city. Even within Buenos Aires, the party has a relatively modest presence, with only three deputies holding seats in the provincial legislature.

Libertad Avanza’s limited presence in the provinces is reflected in its relatively small number of supporters who organise events in public squares. Critics of Milei have pointed out that he has not extensively traveled to the provinces during his campaign, primarily focusing on Buenos Aires, a fact they claim might limit his understanding of the country.

In the absence of a widespread party structure in a vast country spanning almost 3 million square kilometers, social networks have played a pivotal role in solidifying Milei’s image as a potential presidential candidate. Over the past few years, footage of his provocative appearances on television and live streams have gone viral, garnering millions of followers.

Although Javier Milei’s voter base in the last elections was believed to span various age groups and social strata, his appeal is particularly strong among individuals under the age of 30. Paradoxically, this demographic is also one of the most active and mobilised segments in environmental activism and the battle against climate change.

According to Magdalena Eulsmesekian, a member of Jóvenes por el Clima, the local branch of Fridays for Future, “The environmental agenda was hardly present in any of the manifestos of the three parties that won the most votes in the primaries.

From this space, she added, they developed an environmental electoral platform that proposes “to build a system that works for both the environment and the people.” The document will be promoted through the organisation’s official channels, with the aim of being taken into account by the candidate who becomes president.

But this will not be an easy task if the winner of this month’s elections is Milei, as he repeatedly expressed his disbelief in scientific evidence ascribing climate change to anthropogenic factors.

“In environmental matters, denial is due to lack of knowledge,” Eulsmesekian told FairPlanet. “Milei and his team of advisers have shown themselves to be uninformed on this issue. He and his vice-presidential candidate, Victoria Villarruel, [have even] voted against the creation of three national parks in Congress.”

Martina Gómez, another activist from Jóvenes por el Clima, told FairPlanet that these actions do not only hinder the creation of tools to tackle the climate and the ecological crisis, but also hamper the generation of revenue through tourism or the creation of new jobs, said

According to Eulsmesekian, there are multiple reasons why a large number of young Argentines find Milei appealing. “These are not people who don’t believe that climate change is real, but who simply consider the issue secondary,” she said. “For Milei’s supporters, the environmental issue is a soft agenda that is not important because we live in a country with foreign debt, economic crisis, inflation and almost 50 per cent poverty.”

She added, “But it is a mistake to think that these issues are unrelated to climate change, because the consequences of the crisis will hit the poorest and most vulnerable sectors the hardest.”

Regardless of the election results, the next few years will be challenging for environmental activists in the country, Gómez remarked. “What remains for us is to continue to work on explaining the consequences of not taking action to stop climate change. We have to avoid getting angry with those who voted there, and try to explain why their position is completely wrong.

“To do this,” she concluded, “we plan to give strong support to scientists working on these issues and develop joint working strategies, because we all have the same goal.”

Article published in Fair Planet: https://www.fairplanet.org/story/argentina-elections-javier-milei-climate-change-young-voters/

Can COP15 save South America’s most deforested region?

Can COP15 save South America’s most deforested region?

By Cecilia Fernández Castañón on Leave a Comment

The historic Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework acknowledges the contributions of indigenous peoples and local communities to nature preservation and protects their rights. How could it benefit South America’s most deforested region?

COP 15, which took place between 7 and 19 December in Canada, resulted in a historic agreement to stop the alarming loss of biodiversity worldwide. 196 states agreed on four goals and 23 targets that should guide their actions until 2050.

One of the major highlights of the final document, which is known as the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, is that for the first time it recognises the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities.

This recognition could be key in establishing new conservation strategies in the Chaco Forest, an eco-region of enormous biodiversity, which is home to one of the largest indigenous communities in Argentina, including the Qom, Wichí and Moqoit ethnic groups.

In recent decades, the area has been extensively deforested, which resulted in the conversion of millions of hectares of native bush into fields where soybeans are grown and cattle are raised for export. 

This process is leading not only to the loss of the Cacho’s biodiversity and valuable ecosystem services, but also to the elimination of traditional knowledge and ancestral ways of life.

Some believe that the region’s resisting populations could gain now greater protection through the recognition obtained by this unprecedented international agreement.

DEFORESTATION AND DISPLACED COMMUNITIES

The Chaco Forest has one of the highest deforestation rates in South America, and changes in its land use have deepened in the last 20 years, resulting in the displacement of the region’s inhabitants. 

Verónica Quiroga is a biologist who has been studying the process of defaunation of the Chaco Forest over the past two decades. In an interview with FairPlanet, she said that the changes in the environment are highly noticeable. 

“Habitat for species is being lost throughout the region due to the advance of the agricultural and livestock frontier,” she said.

“Although there is a Forest Law in Argentina, no progress has been made in regulation. The deforestation and the removal of timber from the forests are permanent and these problems continue to worsen.”

According to the specialist, the establishment of protected areas will not be enough to halt these processes, but it will be essential in order to work with the communities. “We need biodiversity conservation corridors to connect these pristine areas, which are very important, with the entire matrix of forests where people are living,” she explained. 

In this sense, she stressed that it will be necessary to guarantee respect and improve the quality of life through sustainable productive alternatives, both for local and indigenous communities.

“They are the owners of these lands, and they are the ones who should decide how and how much they are used,” she said. “We need to keep them there to conserve these ecosystems, [and prevent them] from selling their lands to large companies that eliminate native forests and convert them into productive fields that degrade the environment.”

“THEY ARE THE OWNERS OF THESE LANDS, AND THEY ARE THE ONES WHO SHOULD DECIDE HOW AND HOW MUCH THEY ARE USED.”

GUARDIANS OF BIODIVERSITY

According to data from the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues presented at COP 15 in Montreal, indigenous peoples represent 6.2 percent of the global population and protect at least 80 percent of the planet’s remaining biodiversity. This demonstrates their invaluable role in conservation, which was recognised in the new global agreement.  

In a press release issued in recent days, the International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity (IIFB) welcomed the fact that the text of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework has “strong language on respect for the rights of Indigenous peoples and local communities”.

In this regard, one of the IIFB members from Argentina, Viviana Figueroa, said “they are recognising that Indigenous Peoples can also make contributions to biodiversity conservation.”

In particular, she highlighted the inclusion of indigenous rights in Target 3, known as the commitment 30×30. Its goal is to “achieve and enable, by 2030, at least 30 per cent of terrestrial, inland water and coastal and marine areas, especially areas of particular importance for biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services, to be conserved and effectively managed through ecologically representative, well-connected and equitably governed protected area systems, and other effective area-based conservation measures, recognition of indigenous and traditional territories, where appropriate, integrated into wider landscapes, seascapes and oceanscapes, while ensuring that any sustainable use, where appropriate in such areas, is fully consistent with conservation outcomes, recognising and respecting the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities.”

A FUNDING CHALLENGE

In order to achieve the goals set at COP 15, it will be essential for low and middle income countries, such as Argentina, to be able to access the necessary funding to design mechanisms that protect the biodiversity of environments such as the Chaco Forest.

This is the view of Ana Di Pangracio, director of Argentina’s Fundación Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (FARN), who participated as an observer in the negotiations in Montreal. 

“To reduce poverty, we need a healthy biodiversity,” she told FairPlanet. “All countries have to commit more of their national budgets to both conservation and sustainable use and restoration of biodiversity. Developed countries need to rise to the challenge and mobilise the resources needed to make the commitments a reality.”

She added, “UN reports indicate that only 20 percent of the money needed to make the Aichi Targets a reality was mobilised. That cannot be repeated this time.”

Di Pangracio believes that follow-up will be crucial. “What has been established are global targets, but the real challenge will be to follow them up and work together with other states, for example, in the case of the conservation of the Chaqueño Forest, which extends across different countries in South America.”

Article published in Fair Planet https://www.fairplanet.org/story/can-cop15-save-south-americas-most-deforested-region/

The tue cost of Argentina’s lithium rush

The tue cost of Argentina’s lithium rush

By Cecilia Fernández Castañón on Leave a Comment

Lithium, a key mineral in the manufacturing of batteries powering electric vehicles, is found in abundance in northern Argentina, and companies from across the world are eager to exploit it. As provincial governments get their hopes up, indigenous communities and activists warn of the risks.

Along with Bolivia and Chile, Argentina has one of the world’s largest lithium reserves.

The mineral has been garnering rising attention in recent decades as it is one of the main components in the manufacturing of batteries, primarily ones used to store power in electric vehicles – a central pillar in the energy transition away from hydrocarbons. 

Since the 1990s, foreign companies have been setting up operations in the country’s northwestern region to extract lithium, generating extraordinary profits that are not reflected in the local communities. All the while, the environmental implications of these extractive activities remain unknown, as the impact studies available are insufficient and outdated.

In Salta and Jujuy, two of the provinces where the salars from which lithium is extracted are located, indigenous communities are mobilising and demanding their right to determine what type of activities take place on their own territories. Some agree with the exploitation of lithium, while others reject it outright, claiming it threatens their way of life, traditions and ecosystems.

HIGH-ANDEAN WETLANDS

Unlike other places in the world where lithium is extracted from rocks, in the South American salars the mineral is easily accessible. It is obtained through a brine decanting process which despite involving some complexities is significantly cheaper.

However, the method has a high hydrogeological impact, as large volumes of water are used. The environments in which these salars are found are high-Andean wetlands, which are oases in the arid desert of the altiplano, and reservoirs of carbon that serve to regulate climate on both a regional and global scale.

In recent years, there have been unsuccessful attempts in Argentina to mount legislative protections for the country’s great diversity of wetlands. The latest setback came last month, when the governors of the Norte Grande succeeded in stopping a bill from advancing in the Lower House of Parliament.

The group, made up of representatives from ten provinces, including those with lithium reserves, issued a statement explaining why they believe that the current bill, which has been widely debated and analysed, should not go forward.

Meanwhile, around two thousand scientists and academics issued a public petition in which they refute each of the provincial leaders’ arguments.

ENTHUSIASM RISES AMONG LOCAL GOVERNMENTS

While the price of lithium continues to rise and reach historic records around the world, internal debates in Argentina on the issue persist. With several nuances, different national and provincial governments in recent years have considered lithium as an opportunity, but there is no social consensus on what are the best ways to mine it.

The Constitution of the Argentine Republic establishes that natural resources belong to the provinces. This is the main tool that governors have to consider: That they have decision-making autonomy and establish their own agreements with companies. One of them, Gerardo Morales of Jujuy, went so far as to offer Elon Musk – the owner of Tesla – the lithium reserves of his province via Twitter.

Argentina’s mining laws date back to the 1990s and have not been updated since. They establish very low royalty margins, which means that companies that set up operations in the country make extraordinary profits with little oversight by the state. 

For the time being, lithium has not been declared a strategic mineral in Argentina, which would allow for greater regulation of its exploitation. One of the more salient state actions in recent years has been the state-owned company Y-TEC‘s construction of a factory for the design and manufacture of lithium cells and batteries. This, however, is a long-term project.

EXTRACTIVISM AND GEOPOLITICS

“The lithium issue seems to be replicating in a new way patterns of Argentina’s insertion in international trade that we have historically seen in other primary products,” Ariel Slipak, coordinator of the research area of the Fundación Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (FARN), told FairPlanet.  

“These are the same asymmetrical patterns where the economic benefits go to a few and the country is left with the socio-environmental problems linked to their exploitation.”

For a decade, the economist has been involved with groups that study the geopolitics of lithium in South America, and claims that this is an opportunity for a very limited group of actors.

“Only large transnationals and some very small local groups are benefiting,” he said. “The contributions that communities receive are very marginal, with mechanisms that are limited to a very small donation, such as a health centre or a community club, which appear in towns with the corporate branding.” He added, “This shows that power is very asymmetrical and that the social and economic relations that are established reproduce paternalistic patterns.”

According to Slipak, in order to reverse these models, it is necessary to increase the mechanisms for participation, consultation and information for communities and civil society.

INDIGENOUS PEOPLE UNDER PRESSURE

The Salinas Grandes, located in Salta and Jujuy, is the fourth largest salar in the world, and is home to 33 communities of indigenous peoples who are demanding their right to decide on their territories. Their petition has reached the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR).

While waiting for a response on the case, they are trying to go on living with a semblance of normalcy. “The communities are facing enormous pressure, both from the companies that come daily to their territories to hand over folders with promises and requests for exploitation, as well as from the governments,” said Alicia Chalabe, a lawyer who specialises in human rights and represents the communities in their claim.  

“There is an overwhelming urgency to implement projects to exploit lithium that conflict with the way of life of these peoples.”

These emergencies represent a gap for indigenous communities. “These are groups that continue to work salt in ancestral ways. They are mining cooperatives dedicated to the production and extraction of salt with a very particular harvesting method. They are also involved in tourism, which is very intense in the area” Slipak said.

“They are communities that stand out because they carry out permanent territorial management and oppose these projects because they believe that the arrival of the companies will produce changes in their culture, in their modes of production and in their way of inhabiting the territory.”

Published on Fair Planet https://www.fairplanet.org/story/the-true-cost-of-argentinas-lithium-rush/

Lessons from Argentina’s abortion rights movement

Lessons from Argentina’s abortion rights movement

By Cecilia Fernández Castañón on Leave a Comment

As inequalities in abortion access and the criminalisation of obstetric emergencies persist in Argentina, the work of activists and experts pushing for change reverberates beyond the country’s borders.

After a historic campaign lasting more than two decades by the nation’s feminist movement, Argentina finally passed a law on 30 December, 2020 permitting abortion up to 14 weeks of pregnancy.

But although the legislation covers all provinces and the service is officially accessible throughout Argentina, structural inequities in the health system persist and women in certain areas of the country face obstacles in accessing the procedure.  

The legalisation of abortion has also failed to end the criminalisation of obstetric emergencies. Most recently, the country has been roiled by the case of a woman from Corrientes who had been imprisoned for eight months after suffering a miscarriage at home.

Against this backdrop, the recent overturning of the Roe vs Wade ruling, which legalised abortion in the United States for more than 50 years, raised the alarm about the possibility of a rollback of reproductive rights acquired by women elsewhere in the world. It demonstrated that legal norms alone are insufficient in guaranteeing access to abortion and that consistent monitoring of reproductive health services is essential.

EARLY INDICATORS

In the first year since the law passed, 74,071 treatments with misoprostol – a drug recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for safe abortions – were distributed through Argentina’s health system. This figure is substantially higher than in 2020, when abortion was only available in specific cases, such as a risk to the mother’s life or rape, and only 18,590 were provided.

Additionally, the number of clinics that perform abortions increased by 46 percent, with a total of 1,327 centres in the country, as reported by Proyecto Mirar, an initiative monitoring the implementation of abortion law and policy in Argentina. The initiative’s ultimate objective is to improve access to and the quality of services and contribute data to the process of expanding rights in the region.

“We are monitoring more than 90 indicators that allow us to see the evolution in real time and identify gaps and inequalities by jurisdictions to detect which are the most vulnerable populations that we should attend to,” Mercedes Krause, a researcher at the Centre for the Study of State and Society (CEDES) and a member of the Proyecto Mirar team, told Fair Planet.  

“The first data showed that the number of services provided has increased significantly, but also revealed that the provinces in the north of the country have the most difficulties in accessing abortion,” she added. “This has to do with many factors, but mainly with the fact that they are the ones that historically have the greatest public health needs, as they have very low budgets and more impoverished populations than the rest of the country.” 

CRIMINALISATION CONTINUES

After being prosecuted and imprisoned for eight months in a police station in a city in the province of Corrientes, a 30-year-old woman who had an obstetric emergency at home and lost an advanced pregnancy was released and acquitted in early August. The legal procedure had multiple irregularities and it was the mobilisation of feminist activists which gave visibility to the incident.

This, however, is but one example of what continues to occur in certain provinces in Argentina, where health services do not have the necessary preparation to assist women and guarantee access to their reproductive rights as recognised by the law. According to a report on the criminalisation of abortion and other obstetric events by the Centre for Legal and Social Studies (CELS), the majority of criminalised women in the country come from vulnerable socio-economic backgrounds.

The recent situation in Corrientes indicated that the legalisation of abortion has not been able to resolve this crisis. The investigation published by CELS points to several examples of  involuntary and traumatic situations in the course of a pregnancy in which a complication in an unexpected birth, a birth in poor conditions or a spontaneous abortion – under circumstances of precariousness and fear – result in serious criminal charges, such as aggravated homicide or abandonment of a person.

“These are other ways in which the criminalisation of women and their reproductive capacity is advancing,” the report indicates.

WHAT CAN BE LEARNED FROM ARGENTINA’S CASE

The green bandanas identifying the pioneers of Argentina’s campaign for legalising abortion have spread to other Latin American countries. The symbol, which was inspired by the badges worn in the 1970s by the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo who protested against the disappearance of their children kidnapped and murdered by the military dictatorship, was also adopted by some US women who are mobilising to recover the rights taken away from them.

“The determination of the women of Argentina, who pushed for 20 years to get a law, is something that should inspire us in the United States,” Brianna Keefe-Oates, a public health researcher and doctoral candidate at Harvard University, told Fair Planet.

“We have different systems and situations, but it’s important that we look at what were the most effective strategies for gaining popular and legislative support to bring back guaranteed access to abortion across our country.” 

Keefe-Oates is currently working as a consultant for Ibis Reproductive Health, an NGO researching social and clinical science with the goal of improving access to and the quality of health services with a particular focus on reproductive justice and equity. Through Ibis, she works with Proyecto Mirar in Argentina and believes that the permanent monitoring of the implementation of laws and the elaboration of reports is the best way to guarantee the right to abortion and improve access to various services. 

“It is important to establish the key indicators to measure quality and to know who is accessing abortion and who is not,” Keefe-Oates added. “Preliminary data is showing us that women living in the poorest provinces of Argentina are the ones who have the most difficulties.

“This is similar to what is happening in the United States, where in the most powerful states women can still access abortion, but many others have lost that possibility. These are the inequalities in access that must be ended.” 

Published in Fair Planet https://www.fairplanet.org/story/lessons-from-argentinas-abortion-law-and-its-shortcomings/

98 years on, Napalpi Indigenous Massacre trial opens in Argentina

98 years on, Napalpi Indigenous Massacre trial opens in Argentina

By Cecilia Fernández Castañón on Leave a Comment

The killing of hundreds of people at Napalpí in Argentina’s Chaco province in 1924 is now being prosecuted as a crime against humanity. This is an unprecedented lawsuit in Latin America that could mark a milestone in the acknowledgment of and compensation for the indigenous genocide.

In an unprecedented trial for Latin America, Argentina is trying as a crime against humanity the Napalpí Massacre, an attack committed in 1924 against indigenous people of the Qom and Moqoit ethnic groups in the current territory of the province of Chaco, which resulted in the death of between 300 and 500 people.

At that time, the government – supported by the police and landowners in the area – shot down from a plane a community that was subjected to a regime of semi-slavery and was demanding better working conditions.

The consequences of this massacre were ignored by both the authorities and official media at the time, and survivors were persecuted and silenced for nearly a hundred years. The trial will constitute a new milestone in history and, as many believe, help pave the way to recognition and reparation for the the atrocities committed against the indigenous communities of Argentina and the Americas.

Fundamental in effecting this momentous opportunity for justice was the contribution of a diverse group of researchers, indigenous community representatives and federal prosecutors who managed to gather valuable testimonies and pen academic works referring to this horrific event. It is a “trial for truth” that is intended to become a stage for reflection and learning for the whole of society, which is why all the hearings are being broadcast live on streaming platforms, making them accessible to the entire country and the world.

TRUTH TRIALS: FROM DICTATORSHIP TO INDIGENOUS GENOCIDE

Argentina’s experience with truth trials dates back to the late 1990s, when lawsuits were filed in different cities to determine the state’s responsibility for crimes committed during the military dictatorship that governed the country between 1976 and 1983. In compliance with the recommendations of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the state began to respond to the truth claims of the victims of state terrorism. 

In the Napalpí case, the truth trial was promoted by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, considering that it is the appropriate mechanism to judge this case since the perpetrators are no longer alive. Therefore, the ultimate objective will be to fulfil the victims’ rights to the truth.

The hearings began on 19 April and will continue through 19 May, moving between different public auditoriums in Chaco and Buenos Aires. More than 50 witnesses have been called to testify to make diverse contributions to the case, including a survivor of the massacre, Rosa Grillo, who is over 110 years old and witnessed the attack as a child. 

The case also includes reports made by the Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team (EAAF), a pioneering body in the application of archaeological techniques to cases of human rights violations. The excavations they carried out in Napalpí in 2019 confirmed the presence of human remains in places that coincide with survivors’ descriptions. 

The contribution of researchers who tackled the indigenous question in Argentina was also fundamental to the cause. Academic studies carried out by historians and different social scientists over the last decades indicate that an indigenous genocide had been perpetrated in Chaco; one which some of them contend still persists today through, for instance, the erasure of indigenous languages. 

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF ORAL TESTIMONIES 

To put together the puzzle of what happened in Napalpí on 19 July, 1924, it was essential to gather testimonies from indigenous communities. Survivors recounted that on that day a plane flew over an area where about a thousand women, children, men and elderly people were living and began to drop food and sweets. When the indigenous people came out to pick them up, claimed the survivors, the plane began to shoot at the crowd – killing most of them. Those who survived the torrent of bullets hid in the bushes until they managed to escape. Many of the survivors never spoke again of the macabre atrocity they had experienced.

One of the main figures in this reconstruction process was Juan Chico, a Qom historian who was the link between all the various actors who managed to make the Napalpí Massacre visible. Chico died in June 2021 due to complications from COVID-19, but his legacy reached the trial through his colleagues.

“The function that orality has within our community is fundamental and it is what we will present in the trial as a testimony of what our communities lived through,” Raquel Esquivel, a member of the Qom community who accompanied Juan during fieldwork, told FairPlanet.

Esquivel is presenting the results of interviews she had conducted in her community starting in 2007 when she was a political science student and began to ask herself questions about the past. “My maternal grandmother is Qom and speaks the language, but my mother does not. When I asked her why they hadn’t taught it to her, they told me ‘it was wrong’ and that many people had died because of it,” she recalled. “I didn’t understand much, but when I grew up and studied I found a short text about what had happened in Napalpí and started to investigate. This was a topic that was not talked about in our community.” 

Since then, Raquel has been able to conduct interviews with many of the survivors of the massacre and their families. “More than an investigation, for me it was a search for my identity. I went to a school in a city, outside the community. My parents took us out of the countryside to [integrate us with] society, but my skin and my features never allowed me to deny my origin,” she said.

“From the age of 6 I had to face discrimination and although some things have changed, society is still unfair to us. That is why I am confident that this process will help us to begin to heal wounds and overcome the stigmatisation that exists towards indigenous people.”

JUSTICE FOR COLLECTIVE MEMORY

Zunilda Niremperger is the judge presiding over the trial that is trying to reconstruct the historic event in Chaco. “The intervention of the justice system in cases such as this one is very relevant for the revindication of collective memory. Mainly because it legitimises the voice of the communities, who are often excluded, like so many other vulnerable groups,” Niremperger told FairPlanet. 

The trial represents a procedural challenge, however, as it attempts to reconstruct and probe events that occurred more than 90 years ago; furthermore, there are no living defendants. “As a national judge it is a privilege to be able to lead this process which, if what the prosecution and the plaintiffs claim is proven, represents a crime against humanity committed towards a group that presents an intersectionality of vulnerability,” judge Niremperger said.

“Indigenous communities have not only been historically neglected, but have also been victims of violations of all their rights through massacres, policies of extermination and abandonment, which have placed them in socio-economic situations of maximum vulnerability that should be taken into account by all those who work in the state,” she added. “Our goal must be to help balance all these existing asymmetries.” 

Published in Fair Planet https://www.fairplanet.org/story/98-years-on-indigenous-massacre-trial-opens-in-argentina/