Argentina is witnessing waves of protests in defense of water and the environment against the threat of large-scale mining. In the province of Mendoza, following the approval of the San Jorge copper mining project, thousands of people took to the streets with the slogan 'Water is not for sale!'. During one of the demonstrations, police used force and detained 13 people. Two of them, Renzo and Facundo Gollano, were arrested and placed in custody. Their lawyers, in turn, stated that the detainees were beaten by the police. In another region of the country, the province of Chubut, the court upheld the sentences of six activists who participated in protests against mining and ordered the immediate arrest of two of them. Activists and human rights groups see these actions as an 'intimidation strategy' and the 'criminalization of protest'. They claim that authorities and courts are in collusion with mining corporations, trying to suppress the movement to protect water using laws inherited from a military dictatorship. 'Fighting and defending Mendoza's water is not a crime!' stated lawyer Maximiliano Villareal. These arrests and sentences are part of a single struggle for the right to clean water and a healthy environment, which continues throughout Argentina.
