In a historic ruling for the rights of indigenous peoples, María Valeria Freile, a judge of the Civil and Commercial Court of Comodoro Rivadavia, recognized the right of the Loma Redonda - Tramaleu Aboriginal Community to communal property and possession of "lot 19-a of Fraction D, Section G-II, in the Río Senguer Department," Chubut.
The litigation was initiated against an individual who illegally occupied part of the communal lands of the Loma Redonda - Tramaleu Aboriginal Community, which have been occupied ancestrally since the "conquest of the desert." The community celebrated the ruling as a fundamental step in the struggle for the recognition and protection of indigenous territories in Chubut and Argentina.
The judge dismissed the exceptions raised by the defendant, including the adverse possession claim and the lack of active legitimacy of the community, emphasizing that indigenous communal property cannot be usucapted or alienated. The ruling focused on the claim of 4,000 hectares recognized as part of the communal territory by the Provincial State through Indigenous Community Property Title No. 1,901.
In her resolution, the magistrate highlighted the sustained ancestral occupation of the territory by the community. The ruling orders the eviction of the individual who illegally occupied the lands within 180 days, under the threat of forced removal, reaffirming the community's right to its ancestral lands in accordance with the National Constitution, ILO Convention 169, and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The ruling constitutes a relevant precedent in the matter of territorial restitution for the Mapuche Tehuelche. The community reaffirmed its willingness to continue defending its rights and demanded the effective enforcement of the judicial decision, while the costs of the process were imposed on the defendant.