Threatening laws:
in Argentina
Indigenous self-confidence has also emerged in Argentina. For example, the Guaraní have organised themselves transnationally to block laws that curtail their rights. One such law recently came on the table in Argentina.
2021- 2022 Argentina:
Ley "26.160"
This is an extension of the existing Law 26.160 on Indigenous Territorial Emergency.
he law was established in 2006 to protect indigenous people, and prohibits forced expropriations or evictions and resettlements until indigenous lands are definitively surveyed and properly registered. The Senate has already passed the motion, but it has yet to be approved by the Chamber of Deputies.
Representatives of different tribes such as Kolla, Mapuche, Ocloya, Huarpe, Mby'a-Guaraní, Tonokote Llutki, Guaraní, Tolombón Nación Diaguita, Diaguita Calchaquí, Tehuelche, Qom, Wichí, Pilagá and others have been camping in front of the National Congress since mid-Nov.21;, The are worried and demand an accurate territorial, cadastral and legal survey of their territories.
© Aty Nechchirõ
Attached is a call for help from several Mby'a-Guaraní communities to the Argentine senators who are supposed to vote on Bill 26,160:
Alecrin Municipality, Guarani Territory, 17 November 2021
Aguyjevéte
We greet you in our mother tongue -Mby'a-Guaraní- our elders, authorities, the politicians, the young men and women of our communities who make up the traditional organisation of the "Aty Nechchirõ" of our Mby'a people who have always lived in what is now the province of Misiones and who have gathered these days in "Tekoa Alecrin", in the community of San Pedro.
As indigenous peoples and as citizens of this country, it is with due respect that we address you to immediately assume your responsibility to secure our future by voting "yes" in order to give continuity to the retention of our territories and to prevent imminent evictions.
As representatives of the people, your contribution must guarantee us a future of peace and respect for our rights.
We again demand the URGENT IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS LAW, the Senators have already done it, and we expect you to provide the 50% of the missing funds to further relieve the (more than half) communities across the country that are not yet attended to.
Once again, we salute you with Aguyjevéte as we await with hope for a new extension and the implementation of Law 26160..
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2023:
Law "26.160" was converted into a diluted decree
Jorgelina Duarte is an Argentine representative of Mby'a-Guaraní who worked on the above paper. She summarised the situation at the beginning of 2023 as follows: "Our campaigns did move the Senate to a "yes" vote, but in the Chamber of Deputies, where the majority is reversed, we didn't stand a chance." Therefore, at the beginning of 2023, President Alberto Fernández converted the law into a decree. But this only offers protection until the end of his term in office and can be revoked by his successor at any time.
According to Jorgelina Duarte, therefore, this new decree is mere window dressing. It is a recognition of indigenous traditions, but no guarantee for their territories. So she and her fellow campaigners are calling for a completely new law that legally certifies indigenous land, so that indigenous communities can keep speculators at bay.
With the new Milei government, everything will be questioned again anyway!