By Hedelberto López Blanch on August 11, 2023
The obelisk in the center of Buenos Aires. photo: Nuevo Diario.
The recent repressions against social movements in the province of Jujuy and in the city of Buenos Aires can be compared to a repetition of the violence, terror and disappearances of men, women and children suffered by Argentines prior to the 1976-1983 civil-military dictatorship.
The murder 2 days ago in broad daylight of journalist and social activist Facundo Molares, in front of the Obelisk of the capital city during police repression against a small peaceful assembly, has been the most current event that defines what lies ahead for Argentines should the Larreta-Morales formula win the presidency of the country in the next elections.
It is no coincidence that Horacio Rodríguez Larreta, head of the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires and Gerardo Morales, governor of the province of Jujuy, two ultra-right-wing politicians who openly declare to take coercive and controlling measures against social movements and political parties that do not agree with them, have joined as candidates for the presidency and vice-presidency respectively, for the general elections of in October.
Facundo Molares
The police forces attacked the peaceful protest that was gathered at the Obelisk and Facundo was beaten, thrown to the ground, dragged several meters and numerous witnesses confirm that two cops crushed his head and put a knee on his neck until he was exhausted. This action was similar to that which occurred in the United States with the African-American George Floyd in the American city of Minneapolis, in May 2020.
After being taken to the hospital, Molares died and the city authorities argued that it happened due to a heart attack. Six other people were arrested and are still in prison. Any resemblance to the civil-military dictatorship is purely coincidental.
Last June, the security forces of Jujuy, a province in the north of Argentina, attacked members of social organizations, indigenous peoples and teachers who were demonstrating outside the Legislature against the approval of the reform of the Provincial Constitution enacted by Gerardo Morales.
The demonstrators demanded answers from the governor, who withdrew articles of the constitutional reform, particularly those dealing with private property and the rights of indigenous communities over territories rich in natural resources, such as lithium. In just the first moments there were 170 wounded and 70 arrested by the oppressors.
Morales appears with an obscure endorsement because in the period 2000-2001, he was appointed Secretary of Social Development, a key position to rearrange the then economic and political crisis suffered by the government of Fernando de la Rúa, which resulted in 38 deaths and the resignation of the President.
The changes approved in the new Constitution, which was made behind the backs of the people, legalizes the plundering of natural resources such as lithium, and dispossesses the native peoples of their lands and water resources.
The modification of Article 36, on the right to private property, leaves people who dispute land with native communities in better conditions, by incorporating mechanisms and quick and expeditious ways to protect private property and restore any alteration in the possession, use and enjoyment of the property in favor of its owner.
Many of the arrests occurred inside homes and in workplaces, against people who had not participated in the demonstrations but were registered as “dangerous” in police lists. Other similarities with the actions taken during the dictatorship.
The Larreta-Morales election binomial is a dangerous threat to Argentina’s weak democracy in which the lack of action by the national government to guarantee the security and rights of citizens has become evident.
Let us hope that terror is not repeated on Argentine soil. The people have the power to express it at the ballot box and in the streets.
Hedelberto López Blanch is aCuban journalist who writes for the daily Juventud Rebelde and the weekly Opciones. He is the author of “La Emigración cubana en Estados Unidos”, “Historias Secretas de Médicos Cubanos en África” and “Miami, dinero sucio”, among others.
Source: Cuba en Resumen