The Federal Justice of San Rafael
stopped the occupation
of lands in the south of Mendoza by families descendants of the Mapuche people, who in January had obtained the endorsement with a resolution of the National Institute of Indigenous Affairs (INAI).
Judge Eduardo Puigdéngolas
ruled in favor of the precautionary measure
filed by the company Nieves de Mendoza SA, which had requested the annulment of INAI resolution 47/2023, which in January had established the recognition of the "current, traditional and public occupation of the Lof Limay Kurref Community, belonging to the Mapuche people".
The disputed fields are in the town of Los Molles, very close to the Las Leñas valley, in Malargüe.
300 kilometers south of the city of Mendoza.
The property covers
an area of 4,477 hectares
, within the property called El Álamo, which since 2000 belongs to the company Nieves de Mendoza.
The Governor of Mendoza Rodolfo Suarez (UCR) has also appealed the measure ordered by the Institute, which depends on the national Government, with the presentation of three
appeals
for reconsideration against the INAI resolutions that gave legal recognition to the occupation of community lands. Mapuches in 21 thousand hectares of the southern province.
"We have raised all the irregularities of the resolutions, the procedure, the illegality of the extension of Law 26160 ordered by the DNU,
the absence of INAI powers to recognize land occupation by the communities
and the historical statements about the non-existence of historical presence of Mapuches in the provincial territory, among other aspects", explained the Minister of Government of Mendoza, Víctor Ibañez.
Now, it is the Federal Justice in San Rafael that pronounces itself suspending the application of the resolution and in favor of the owners of that field, according to the cadastral registry.
The ruling
orders the suspension of the resolution of 47/2023 and a ban on innovation
against INAI;
until the underlying issue is resolved, which is the nullity action.
Resolution 9933/2023, signed by Judge Puigdéngolas, details that the INAI acted
without recognizing
the "numerous lease contracts signed" with the stallholders who occupy the place and who are members of the community to which the land was granted.
The judge
also does not recognize the beneficiaries of the land as legitimate Mapuche
and agrees with the land owners that it is impossible to travel that 4,000-hectare field in two days, especially in winter.
The judge concluded that: "There are sufficient indications of apparent
lightness
in the tasks carried out by the defendant (INAI) within the framework of the Program for the Territorial Survey of Indigenous Communities."
And it endorses the proposal of the company that owns the field that "constitutionally recognized rights are violated, such as: the right to property and due legal process", to guarantee the defense of those who have been harmed by the INAI resolution.
Among other arguments, the resolution indicates that "reasonable intelligence involves the obligation to give adequate participation to the registered owner in any act that concludes in an acknowledgment of community possession and ownership of lands that belong to him."
The disputed fields are owned by a group of Malaysian investors, members of the Walbrook holding company, which since 2000 have acquired those lands near the Las Leñas ski resort.
The Mendoza legislature had considered the Mapuches as "a people not native to Argentina."
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The Court ordered to suspend the delivery of land from the Army to a Mapuche community
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The Mendoza Legislature voted that "the Mapuches should not be considered original peoples of Argentina"