Indigenous women are at the forefront of protests in Argentina against recent legislation that tramples on their land and community rights, restricts protests and freedom of assembly, and hands power to mining companies keen to exploit their lithium-rich homelands.
The protests started in the north-western province of Jujuy, which borders Bolivia and Chile, but resistance has spread to Buenos Aires, where many women remain camped out in front of the Palace of Justice, home of the country’s Supreme Court.
Jujuy has a large Indigenous population – almost 8% of residents identify as Indigenous, triple the provincial average – and also falls into the so-called “lithium triangle”. The extensive salt flats of northern Argentina, northern Chile and southern Bolivia contain the majority of the world’s reserves of lithium. Nicknamed ‘white gold’, the mineral is in high demand for use in batteries and the transition to so-called ‘clean’ energies, but mining it demands vast amounts of water and damages ecosystems.
In June, Jujuy’s governor Gerardo Morales pushed through reforms to the province’s constitution that allowed for the forced dispossession of Indigenous territories, restricted the right to strike and assemble, and criminalised roadblocks. The reforms were approved in less than a month without prior consultation with Indigenous peoples or the wider Jujuy population.
Women were the first to appear on television denouncing the reforms and the repressive response of the Jujuy government. Indigenous women, who are often silenced and marginalised, and usually only appear in the media when being made fun of or blamed for their children’s malnutrition, spoke out as defenders of the land. They also sounded the alarm about human rights violations in Jujuy.
One of these women is Natalia Machaca, who has been protesting since the constitutional reforms were passed in mid-June. A 43-year-old Kolla woman and a representative of the nearby villages of Yala, Lozano and León, she joined a roadblock outside the historic town of Purmamarca. In the background are the multicoloured hills known as the Cerro de los Siete Colores, which attract thousands of tourists every year.
Arrest warrants were issued for Machaca and other protesters, though they have yet to be arrested. She has been restricted from leaving Jujuy and must report to the prosecutor’s office in Humahuaca every two weeks. “They fabricated a case against me,” she said. Security forces are accused of using excessive violence to break up roadblocks and demonstrations, and many people have been arbitrarily detained, beaten and criminalised for protesting.
The image of another Kolla woman from Jujuy also appeared across major media outlets in June. Verónica Chávez, president of the Tres Pozos Sanctuary Community, posed with James Cameron, the world-famous film director and environmental activist, holding a handmade sign reading “Communities Salinas Grandes – Laguna Guayatayoc”. The sign referred to the 33 Indigenous communities in the Salinas Grandes – Laguna Guayatayoc watershed, which spans the provinces of Jujuy and Salta.