Villa la Angostura: Mapuches lifted the blockade of a road but demanded to be compensated “for the damages suffered”

Mapuches lifted the road blockade

The families that make up the Mapuche Paicil Antriao community, in Villa la Angostura, lifted the camp that had been blocking the construction of a road since January, after obtaining a commitment to complete the territorial survey in the area, although in the negotiation they demanded to be compensated ” for all the damages” they suffered.

The demonstrators stopped the execution of the works for two months, preventing the passage of road equipment and confronting not only the firm that builds the road but also the residents who spoke out against the claims.

The Mapuches obtained the commitment of the Neuquén government to conclude this survey and grant the corresponding technical folders and agreed to lift the measure of force.

However, among the demands, they stated that within a period of 20 days the community must be compensated “for the damages” that it suffered since the beginning of the conflict.

The agreement materialized in a conciliation hearing, which included the participation of the construction company, the Mapuches – from the community and other provincial organizations – and representatives of the Neuquén government, whose extensive intervention could have decompressed the conflict several weeks before.

For 60 days, Mapuche groups had prohibited the construction of a route

The Mapuche community – which maintains several fronts in conflict with the Angosturan community – demanded that the National Institute of Indigenous Affairs (INAI) end this territorial survey, with the aim of obtaining recognition of their ancestral presence in the place of conflict.

It may interest you: Unrest grows among residents of Villa La Angostura due to the blockade of the Mapuches to a road work

Until that commitment was obtained and the agreement was signed, the Mapuches halted the road work, intimidated the technical professionals of the construction firm and even staged crosses with the neighbors, who formed a group called the Angostura Community to “end the abuses of the community.” .

“More than 60 days of camping ended today with the establishment of an agreement between the government of Neuquén and the Mapuche people. The time will come when forceful measures will not be necessary to comply with the law”, they said from the community.

The communal government, for its part, stayed out of the conflict and avoided dialogue with the neighbors who demanded its intervention to guarantee the progress of the work. In the agreement signed this Friday, the communal leader Fabio Stefani had no participation either.

“We don’t just want the road blockade to be lifted. We noticed a striking collusion between the local Executive and the members of the Mapuche community, which has several businesses in the town although it lacks authorization, bromatological controls and other requirements that are common for conventional merchants, “the neighbors had denounced, in dialogue with Infobae.

The Mapuches demanded that the provincial government recognize their ancestral presence in the place of conflict

State Attorney Raúl Gaitán, representing the Neuquén government, was the one who expressed the commitment to finalize the survey. The construction company, for its part, must deliver a work plan “that guarantees the access road to Cerro Belvedere, as it is a road of primary community use,” according to what the newspaper Río Negro reported.

Another complaint for usurpation

Simultaneously with the signing of that agreement, the same Mapuche community was accused of usurping another piece of land on Cerro Belvedere, near the place where they maintained the blockade. The presentation was filed by a family from Villa la Angostura who verified the advance of members of that community on a private property.

The alleged usurpers would have even started construction in that space, whose owners submitted the document. In the complaint they mentioned that members of the “pseudo Mapuche community” entered the property and began construction of materials.

However, the owners of the lands exhibited the documentation to prove their ownership of the land since 1969, while the Mapuches could not document their presence on that site.

Finally, after the intervention of officials from the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Mapuches had to abandon the work and remove part of the equipment, having to go to the corresponding judicial offices where the file for alleged usurpation is being processed.

Keep reading:

Villa Mascardi: Justice rejected the release of the woman who calls herself a Mapuche spiritual leader

Villa La Angostura: Mapuches wanted to usurp a property with a view of the lake and the neighbors opposed it

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