In Mendoza province, Argentina, the 'Gesta Libertadora por el Agua' (Liberating Gesture for Water) has begun, a caravan on foot initiated by the Uspallata Water Assembly. The objective of the mobilization is to express to the provincial Senate its rejection of the Environmental Impact Statement (DIA) for the San Jorge mining project, which the provincial legislature is set to approve tomorrow. The mobilization started on Monday morning at the 'Plaza del Agua Pura' in Uspallata. Neighbors, families, cyclists, and socio-environmental groups gathered under the unified slogan: 'The water of Mendoza is not negotiable.' The caravan will follow an extensive two-day route of over a hundred kilometers to the provincial legislature. Along the way, posts with water, food, and rest areas have been set up every seven to eight kilometers, allowing more people to join the march, whether on foot, by bicycle, or by vehicle. The call is open and has already received confirmations from assemblies and social movements in Lavalle, the Uco Valley, and Eastern Mendoza, which will hold parallel caravans to unify forces in defense of water. The protesters argue that the San Jorge project—recently renamed PSJ Cobre Mendocino—poses a serious risk to water availability in the environmentally fragile region. They demand that provincial legislators vote against the initiative. This mobilization is consolidating as one of the most significant protests of the Mendoza environmental movement since the massive demonstrations of 2019. The arrival at the legislature is expected tomorrow morning, just as senators begin the debate on the mining project's DIA. President Javier Milei supported the project, stating it will bring 'an investment of 600 million dollars to put into production a mine of 40,000 tons per year of copper concentrate.'
