Mapuche communities in argentina denounce territorial rights violations amid eviction disputes: Mapuche community leaders from Argentina's Neuquen province denounced alleged violations of their territorial rights amid evictions and disputes about ancestral lands, media reports said Tuesday.
According to Anadolu Agency, 'Democracy has an eternal debt to Indigenous peoples; they subject us to express evictions without a law,' said Lorenzo Loncan, spokesman for the Lof Paicil Antriao, in an interview with Pagina/12 newspaper. He accused the Supreme Court, federal courts, and provincial courts of failing to comply with ILO Convention 169, which mandates free and informed consultation, as well as the National Constitution. Loncan emphasized that more than 40 Indigenous peoples are Argentine, likening their status to that of the Malvinas and the disappeared.
The Lof Paicil Antriao, based in Villa La Angostura, a tourist town in Neuquen, has been embroiled in a protracted land dispute. In February, a Neuquen court dismissed an appeal by the community, upholding an eviction order for land at the Correntoso campsite. The case has notably involved property acquired by former Argentine basketball player Emanuel Ginobili.
This dispute emerges at a time when Argentina's Congress is considering amendments to property laws that could facilitate quicker eviction procedures. Earlier this month, the Senate approved a version of the proposed legislation that includes provisions for expedited eviction proceedings and modifications to rules governing private property and expropriations.
Mapuche representatives have expressed concerns that the proposed legal changes could adversely impact Indigenous communities engaged in long-standing territorial disputes. The debate over these legal reforms intensified following Argentina's repeal of Law 26.160 in December 2024. That law had declared a territorial emergency for Indigenous communities and had paused evictions while surveys of traditionally occupied lands were conducted.
Two Mapuche communities, Lof Kinxikew and Lof Melo, were evicted from territories near Villa La Angostura on August 19, according to media reports. The Mapuche communities maintain that their territorial claims are safeguarded by Argentina's Constitution and Indigenous rights legislation.