Yesterday, scientists from CONICET published a statement warning about the risks associated with the installation of the San Jorge Cobre Mendocino project in the town of Uspallata. In its Environmental Impact Statement, the company has not “substantively responded to the objections and suggestions raised in the technical report and in most of the sectoral reports submitted.” The lack of updated data, complete baselines, and adequate studies on water, biodiversity, archaeological heritage, and social aspects prevents a reliable assessment of the impacts the project could generate on the Mendoza River basin. Given that these informational gaps limit responsible decision-making and could compromise high-value natural, cultural, and community resources, it is considered necessary that authorities request a review and expansion of the study before proceeding with the administrative process. Approving San Jorge is a collective suicide. The report verifies four main areas threatened by large-scale mining: I: Impact on water resources. II: Impact on biodiversity. III: Socio-economic and heritage impact. IV: Impact on soil. The conclusions state: “Important deficiencies were identified in the Environmental Impact Report for the San Jorge Cobre Mendocino project.” Today, Wednesday, November 26, just as the Chamber of Deputies is voting on the viability of the mega-mining company, authorities in negotiations with the Cornejo government removed the report from the organization's official website and replaced it with one that supports the official discourse of “economic activities compatible with environmental sustainability.” Today, less than 24 hours after its publication, the statement issued by scientists from the organization, which provides rigorous scientific information supporting the activists' position, was removed from the official CONICET Mendoza website. The new statement, based on censorship, expresses a position of conciliation between environmental conservation and uncontrolled extraction for mining companies, prioritizing the interests of a few politicians who seek to enrich themselves. Furthermore, it ignores the evidence provided in the previous statement: “The communications issued by CONICET Mendoza do not reflect personal or political opinions, but are limited to available scientific and technical evidence and verifiable data,” when in fact, it contributes nothing scientific in its content. Below, we reproduce the document censored by the authorities of CONICET Mendoza.
