The approval of the Jujuy’s constitutional reform prompted protests and roadblocks that were brutally repressed. On the morning of this Tuesday, the conflict intensified again due to the oath of reform, which had been announced for the afternoon. Protesters in the place warned the media that they were being repressed again, while a group tried to enter the Legislature.
SOnly the oath of the modifications of the Magna Carta remained, scheduled for this Tuesday 20, at 6:00 p.m. in the Miter theater, located in the heart of the capital of Jujuy. Finally, andThe act was brought forward and was carried out this morning, confirming the entry into force.
A group of protesters gathered in front of the Legislature since morning. While the assembly members approved the provincial Magna Carta behind closed doors and without live transmission, some protesters entered the building and clashed with the police.
Since the Protestants found out about the approval of the new Magna Carta, everything was chaos. Protesters tore down security fences, They threw stones at the uniformed officers who were guarding the place and caused damage to the windows of the legislature. Some even managed to enter the compound and set a fire inside.
The medium “Vamos Jujuy” assured, this Tuesday at noon, that the Special Police Operations Corps (CEOP) was sent to the streets to repress the demonstrations. It is a special unit that has professionals in VIP custody, negotiation, resolution of crisis situations, highly dangerous raids, tactical shooting with small arms, water rescue, tactical descent, among others.
Infantry police personnel took to the streets in San Salvador de Jujuy, to repress the protesters. Photo El Tribuno Jujuy.
“There is a clear conviction of the people to resist,” assured the provincial deputy of Neuquén, Andrés Banco, from the protest in Jujuy. The legislator traveled to be part of the demonstrations and this morning he sent a video meters away from the repression.
Another of the leaders who traveled was the teacher from Neuquén, Angélica Lagunas, who shared videos from the Legislature, where the protesters tore down the first fence and the policemen rearranged themselves behind the second. In addition, he stressed that the song was heard: “We are teachers, we are not criminals.”
Seriously injured by the repression in Jujuy ‼️
This is crazy. have to give up @GerardoMorales pic.twitter.com/34U950LAPY
— Sergio Chouza (@SergioChouza) June 20, 2023
#Now
Urgent Jujuy: Morales represses teachers with gas and rubber bullets meters from the Legislature where he approved and swore in the Express Constitution in a day and a half. This is happening right in the center of San Salvador. The police shoot at the heads of the demonstrators. pic.twitter.com/FXvJkfGfSW— Juan Alonso (@jotaalonso) June 20, 2023
Now in #jujuy with 22 active roadblocks, a massive banner of teachers, fences, and repression. This is how he swore the Reform of the Constitution (of which we do not finally know what its text is) @GerardoMorales
That is not Democracy, it is Totalitarianism. pic.twitter.com/zUZBY0iL34– Leila Chaher (@leilachaher) June 20, 2023
Morales blamed Alberto Fernández and Cristina Kirchner for the violence generated by the constitutional reform in Jujuy
In the midst of the riots in the province of Jujuy, Governor Gerardo Morales issued a forceful message through his Twitter account. In his post, Morales He blamed President Alberto Fernández and Vice President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner for the extreme violence that is taking place in the region.
I hold the president accountable @alferdez already the vice president @CFKArgentina of the extreme violence that is taking place in the province of Jujuy.
The violent are not going to twist our arm. After 40 years of democracy, I repudiate and call on all Argentines to repudiate what is… pic.twitter.com/HTHGULaILA
— Gerardo Morales (@GerardoMorales) June 20, 2023
The governor expressed his firm determination not to be intimidated by the violent andHe called on all Argentines to unite in repudiation of the actions of Kirchnerism and the Left Front in Jujuy. With almost 40 years of democracy, Morales highlighted the importance of preserving order and peace in society.
They denounce police infiltration during a demonstration in the Jujuy Legislature
During the demonstration in the Jujuy Legislature against the partial reform of the Constitution, denounced the presence of police infiltrators among the demonstrators, generating serious acts of violence.
Susana Ustarez, General Secretary of the Provincial Association of Control Organizations (APOC), claimed to have personally witnessed how violent plainclothes officers started the riotsbeing later protected by shields and pretending to be detained when they are removed from the place.
These accusations of police infiltration have generated widespread controversy and have intensified the debate around the protest, raising questions about security and the legitimacy of violent acts during demonstrations.
What happened in Jujuy since the approval of the reform oath
On Saturday, a 17-year-old boy lost an eye and it was not until Monday, two days after the arrests, that the people who had been detained since Saturday were finally released. In addition, the Secretary of Human Rights of the Nation, Horacio Pietragalla Corti, traveled especially to the province due to the situation. In the region, courts were organized of Neuquén-Cipolletti bridges and strike in schools Neuquinas and Rio Negro.
Jujuy’s constitutional reform was approved on Friday, during the early hours of the morning. His main question is two articles that sanction and restrict social protest. Immediately, the CGT and the CTA called a provincial strike and the National Ministry of Labor warned that it could declare the two sections unconstitutional.
In addition, as Laura Vales explains in Page 12: «an article of the reformed Constitution promotes the expedited eviction whose do not have property title. Although they are ancestral inhabitants, the 90 percent of the communities lack these titles«. These lands are linked to the exploitation of lithium. “The reform proposes an extractivist view of mining resources,” said Penélope Vaca Ávila, a researcher in the Subnational Policy and Intergovernmental Relations area, in an article from the University of San Martín.
Finally, on Monday night, Governor Gerardo Morales announced the withdrawal with the writing of two articlesthe 50 that establishes “rights and guarantees of the communities of the indigenous towns”, and the 36 consigns the paragraphs referred to “private property”.
The vote was marked by controversy, with a massive torchlight march led by the Jujuy teachers’ unions. The accelerated treatment of the modifications to the magna carta only took two ordinary sessions, during which eight resignations of conventional constituents were presented, six from the Left Unity Front and two from the Justicialista Front, in disagreement with the reform.
“Having generally approved the partial reform of the Constitution and having dealt with and approved all the articles that have been proposed for the reform, it is approved,” said the governor and presidential candidate of the UCR, Gerardo Morales, to the close the debate that lasted until just after 4 in the morning this Friday.
During the discussion, Morales he held the presidency as conventional to defend the project. “We are not going back” added when defending the initiative.
What happens in Jujuy: the constitutional reform prohibited roadblocks
With the vote of the 29 pro-government representatives, the “prohibition of roadblocks” in the context of protests, in an article that it also prevents the occupation of public buildings for social and union claims.
Morales defended the concept of prohibiting roadblocks and streets: “The exercise of dThe right to demonstrate cannot hinder the exercise of other rights and this is the debate that has to do with the consolidation of peace,” he said.
During sessions, the imposition of new bodies and rules was discussed that are promoted in the administration of justice in the province and modifications in the Electoral Regime and the Municipal Regime.
As the main novelty that refers to the highest court of the province, made up of nine members, it is promoted that renamed the Supreme Court of Justice and divided into rooms.
In addition, it promotes the ccreation of a local Judicial Councilmade up of eleven members, to be maintained for a period of four years and responsible for carrying out control of the operation of the Judiciary.
Regarding the Electoral Regime in the province, contemplated in a last commission that also addressed changes in the Municipal Regime, one of the proposals was linked to the fact that all the electoral laws to be promoted need an aggravated majority.
Added to this is the incorporation of institutions such as the so-called “clean file”already sanctioned by provincial law, referring to the limitation of access to elective positions for reasons of the fight against corruption.
Among others, it also exposes the prohibition of the Law of Slogans, as part of promoting a more representative democracy; and that the gender parity with constitutional rank, with respect to conventions, the Chamber of Deputies and the Deliberative Councils.
Referring to the municipalities, the reaffirmation of municipal autonomy; the extension of the attributions of the municipalities to the urban planning, the care of the environment, among others; and the extend the period of ordinary sessions.
The limitation only exists today for the positions of governor and vice president and it is being proposed that it be extended to the rest of the elective positions in the province, that is, to mayors, provincial deputies, councilors and members of municipal commissions, who They may only be re-elected once consecutively.
What happens in Jujuy: a reform that “limits the right to protest”
He Center for Legal and Social Studies (CELS) warned that the constitutional reform approved in Jujuy appeals to “social peace” in order to “limit the right to protest” and denounced that, less than 24 hours after its approval, the local police repressed a demonstration by teachers and communities indigenous people in the town of Abra Pampa.
«The government of Jujuy approved a constitutional reform that appeals to “social peace” to limit the right to protest. The text mentions international human rights standards” but that “remain a dead letter: Since it anticipates that a law will be enacted to limit demonstrations and leaves the door open for the government and the police to decide who can and who cannot protest,” Cels said on its Twitter account.
“Democratic life is conflictive, especially in countries like ours with enormous inequalities,” explains the organization and adds that “The idea of ’social peace’ limited to the absence of conflict in the streets only serves to criminalize and stigmatize those who demonstrate.”
He also denounced that “less than 24 hours after the approval of a constitutional reform that restricts protests, Jujuy police repressed a demonstration by teachers and indigenous communities in the town of Abra Pampa«, in the framework of the massive protests that took place throughout the province.
Social, political, trade union, human rights organizations and indigenous peoples of Jujuy came together in a massive protest march against the partial reform of the provincial Constitution approved that morning, which was coupled with the plan of struggle that teachers in the province have been maintaining for ten days.
“Gerardo Morales approved his constitutional reform behind the backs of the people of Jujuy,” indicated the central motto of the march, which included roadblocks and streets in various locations.
Telam Agency