No to repression and the criminalization of opposition and social protest in the Argentine province of Jujuy

We, the undersigned, members of the CLACSO Working Groups: The Central American Isthmus: Peripheral Epistemological Perspectives; Anticapitalisms and Emerging Sociabilities; Critical Studies of Rural Development; Communication, Cultures and Politics; Lefts and Social Struggles in Latin America We express our deep concern and unease regarding the events that have taken place in the Argentine province of Jujuy, in the north of the country, where, since June 5th, various social sectors have been peacefully but forcefully demonstrating their opposition to the provincial government. These voices of discontent have been met with silence, inaction, and repression. The provincial government, under the orders of Governor Gerardo Morales, has violently and indiscriminately repressed public acts of protest led by teachers, students, Indigenous people, senior citizens, women, and children.

This escalating repression is not new in this northern Argentine province, targeting these and other actors, both political and social, but it has been largely ignored by the provincial political establishment—where the ruling party has forged an alliance with the main opposition party—the judiciary, and the dominant mass media. The executive, legislative, and judicial branches, as well as the media in Jujuy, answer to Governor Morales, who, with no regard for the separation of powers, concentrates all public authority, as has happened previously during the dark periods of dictatorship.

The lack of dissemination of the acts of persecution and violence carried out by the provincial State under the direction of Morales continues to this day, at which time leaders of various trade union or partisan organizations (including university professor Iván Blacutt and lawyer Alberto Nallar, who are detained) or opposition members who have participated in the various demonstrations are being subjected to judicial persecution.

They have also attempted to silence the outrageous acts of repression perpetrated against unarmed civilians, such as the June 17th protest at the Purmamarca roadblock, which left a high number of Indigenous people, many of them women and elderly, injured by rubber bullets, and where 17-year-old Lian Lamas lost an eye. The same occurred on June 20th when riot police threw stones, tear gas, and rubber bullets at teachers, Indigenous people, and local citizens protesting the swearing-in of a provincial constitution, approved hastily and without due process, which strips Indigenous peoples of their rights and promotes the persecution and criminalization of social protest.

This clearly demonstrates the collusion between these sectors of national politics, the dominant mass media at the provincial and national levels, the provincial and national judiciary, and the concentrated sectors of the economy. It is utterly outrageous that, after the provincial government carried out these repressive acts, the governor himself resorted to spreading blatant lies through provincial television networks and social media, attempting to blame the victims.
The protagonists of the protests were the very violence he himself instigated, stemming from a frankly anti-democratic approach. In his attempt to spuriously appropriate the concepts of “peace” and “order,” Morales relies on shameful and disgraceful press conferences, in which he makes threats and invokes repressive policies, violating aspects of the National Constitution and international treaties long ago signed by the Nation. He did so, for example, against the University of Buenos Aires (UBA) campus in Tilcara, which he threatened to expropriate during a televised address on July 10.

Similarly, it is striking how silent the national mass media –with a few honorable exceptions– and the provincial and national political authorities have been regarding the violation of university autonomy by the police and provincial state repressive powers, who illegally entered the facilities of the National University of Jujuy while the university's superior council was in session.

This expressed concern has transformed into a collective call for the full implementation of democracy and politics as a means of resolving the conflicts at hand, and a rejection of the repression and criminalization of dissent. It calls for a broader perspective on democracy and politics, one that can distinguish between what is legal and what is legitimate, between the ideal of a democracy for the few and what should be a democracy for everyone.

We express our support and solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Jujuy who are suffering under the onslaught of a despotic and anti-democratic provincial government. We demand the immediate release of all political prisoners and opposition members, and an end to the judicial persecution of those who are fighting back. We stand with the Indigenous communities, guardians of Jujuy's natural resources. We support the just demands for salary increases championed by the teachers' unions in Jujuy. We categorically reject all acts of repression against the people of Jujuy who are fighting back. We condemn the repression and judicial persecution of those who legitimately express their opposition to an unconstitutional reform that violates the National Constitution and conventions signed by the Argentine Republic, such as the ILO Convention. We also raised the need for ethical journalism among all media outlets in Jujuy and Argentina, so that the truth and the diversity of voices and opinions are disseminated regarding the serious events that have been occurring for more than a month in the province of Jujuy.

NO TO THE POLITICAL, JUDICIAL, AND MEDIA BLINDING IN JUJUY!
LONG LIVE THE RIGHTS OF ALL WORKERS AND CITIZENS!
LONG LIVE THE WIPHALAS!

July 18, 2023
CLACSO Working Groups
The Central American isthmus: peripheral epistemological perspectives
Anti-capitalisms and Emerging Sociabilities
Critical studies of rural development
Communication, Cultures and Policies
Leftist Movements and Social Struggles in Latin America
Social security and pension system

This text expresses the position of the aforementioned CLACSO Working Groups and not necessarily that of the centers and institutions that make up the CLACSO international network, its Steering Committee or its Executive Secretariat.