Jujuy Police Continue to Repress Argentines

On Tuesday, the Jujuy Province Police surrounded Argentine farmers, workers, and teachers who blocked a highway to protest against the provincial Constitution reform promoted by the far-right Governor Gerardo Morales, who aims to restrict citizens' civil rights.

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During the morning, street police, riot police, and mounted police formed a barrier to prevent the protesters from entering the road.

"The situation was tense because they had us surrounded, pointing weapons at us... Every time we stood up to march with our signs and flags, they would go on guard to intimidate us," a citizen told local press.

Approved by the Jujuy parliament, the Morales-backed reform prohibited street and road blockades, a tactic aimed at criminalizing protests carried out by Indigenous communities residing in mineral-rich territories.

This occurs because the Argentine economic elites, who support Morales' presidential candidacy, seek regulations to strip Indigenous peoples of their rights to their ancestral lands.

The tweet reads, "Jujuy is on its feet: a new torchlight march spanning more than 15 blocks runs through the city. Down with the reform! Up with wages!"

"The reform greatly affects us... Where will people like us, who don't have land ownership titles but have always lived here, end up?" expressed Eduardo Arrueta, a spokesperson for the "Resistance Against Morales" movement.

In the afternoon, the Argentinians headed towards the central square of Perico, although they announced that they would continue to block the roads even if the police repress them.

Meanwhile, protests are multiplying within and outside the province of Jujuy. In Abra Pampa, for example, students and teachers occupied a technical school to protest against mining projects that would affect the environment and water.

On Tuesday night, torchlight marches took place in various Argentine localities, while citizens carried out eleven road blockades in the Quebrada and Puna regions.

In Europe, French social organizations called for a demonstration in support of the Jujuy people that will take place on Thursday, at 7:00 p.m. at Trocadero Square in Paris.