Listen/Download the report from Radio La Mosquitera in Guaymallén, Mendoza.
AGENGIA FARCO Faced with an official call that excludes and intimidates, the organized community responds with real and legitimate participation. On August 2, in the town of Uspallata, residents, assemblies, and organizations from across the province will gather for a self-convened public hearing to debate the San Jorge mega-mining project and reject the institutional setup that seeks to validate, without consensus, the exploitation of gold and copper in the heart of the Andes.
Faced with an official call that excludes and intimidates, the organized community responds with real and legitimate participation. On August 2, in the town of Uspallata, residents, assemblies, and organizations from across the province will gather for a self-convened public hearing to debate the San Jorge mega-mining project and reject the institutional setup that seeks to validate, without consensus, the exploitation of gold and copper in the heart of the Andes.
In response to this, social organizations, assemblies, and environmental activists are promoting a truly open and grassroots space where everyone can express themselves, without exclusion or intimidation.
Milca Vargas, a retired writer and environmental activist, emphasized that "the self-convening is a response to the advance of extractivism and state repression."
This alternative public hearing organized by environmental groups and organizations aims "to ensure everyone has access and everyone can speak," she added in an interview with Radio La Mosquitera.
egarding the role of the Mendoza government, he commented: "They're using truly intimidating behavior, and what they're doing in Uspallata is an attempt to intimidate us, to keep us from going, from participating. In reality, we wouldn't have access to the place they're calling for. We're going to do everything we can to ensure that the San Jorge mega-mining operation doesn't finally come into operation." Vargas pointed out that the San Jorge mining company "is plundering and will contaminate the entire northern region of Mendoza because the rivers, streams, underground, and subterranean waters are all connected."
With this self-convened public hearing, which will be held in the town of Uspallata, the people of Mendoza will demonstrate that there is no social license for mega-mining.
