MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Chubut Governor backtracks on mining law following large scale protests

Governor Arcioni will now call for a plebiscite

The Governor of the Argentine Province of Chubut Mariano Arcioni Monday announced he would repeal the mining zoning law passed last week after riots throughout the district's capital turned out to be too clear a sign of disapproval among the population.

Arcioni announced that despite the nod from his Economic Development, Environment and Natural Resources Committee since March, he will now open “a new process of social dialogue.”

The Governor also said he would call for a plebiscite “to listen to all the voices of the people.”

”I deeply respect those who have demonstrated peacefully these days and I want to ask them to open a window of time (...) to think about how we give jobs to those who do not have it, how we generate investments to industrialize our production, with what resources we improve our education, our safety and our health,“ Arcioni wrote on Twitter.

He also announced his social dialogue process will be aimed at those who are either in favor or against the bill.

Last Wednesday, the provincial Legislature approved by 14 votes to 11 the mining zoning law, amid protests followed by police repression, which resulted in multiple condemnation from political, union and church leaders alike.

Hours later, Arcioni signed into law the bill which endorsed ”productive diversification” in two departments of the provincial interior, with the authorization of mining exploitation without cyanide.

The project had been sent by the Chubut Executive Branch to the legislature in March following a nod from its Economic Development, Environment and Natural Resources Committee, although it had never been discussed at the Parliamentarian level.

The initiative had the backing of the Federal Mining Council (Cofemin) considering that it was an “important step forward” that would contribute to the “development of the industry” in the province and in the country.

The regulation, however, also sparked adverse reactions from parts of the population, which faced harsh police repression, including injuries, arrests, gunshot wounds and damage to public buildings.