Social, human rights and political organizations marched this Tuesday in the streets of Jujuy against the criminalization of the protest, demanded the closure of a case for alleged illicit association involving several popular groups and reiterated the complaints of police infiltrations in mobilizations already made.
The march began near the Gymnastics and Fencing stadium and ended in Plaza Belgrano in front of the Government House, which was surrounded by a strong police fence.
The national leader of the Polo Obrero, Eduardo Belliboni, said that “Not only in Jujuy but throughout the country there is a climate against the organizations” and affirmed that “there are declarations from all the leaders, from one end of the political arc to the other to stigmatize them, to say that that is where crime nests”.
In this sense, he expressed that “in Jujuy there is a regime that (Governor Gerardo) Morales wants to extend to the entire country, despite the fact that clearly in Argentina there is a very serious social problem that cannot be dealt with with repression but with a response to the social issues”.
On July 6, Control Judge Rodolfo Fernández, at the request of prosecutor Diego Funes, specialized in Economic Crimes and Crimes against the Public Administration, ordered 16 raids on the homes of leaders and headquarters of social organizations for alleged illicit association.
During these operations, documentation, cell phones and computer elements were seized, among other objects in the framework of the judicial investigation.
After arriving at the central square, the referents carried out an act in which they rejected the actions of the “judicial apparatus of the province” and agreed to defend “democratic freedom.”
“Morales is breaking the law when he says that he is going to infiltrate the organizations, but he also prohibits the organization of the workers because when you step on the street they commit an infraction or an offense that can end up in a payment that no one can make or in jail,” Belliboni told Télam .
The call was to demand “the cessation of persecution of comrades and that the cases be closed”, because “they have a political content” and constitute “a violation of individual rights and the National Constitution”, said the main leaders.
On their long journey, the protesters tried to reach the Site of Memory where the Radioelectric Command operated at the time of the military dictatorship, but police personnel prevented a symbolic hug from being held at the headquarters.
“Our intention was to remember the days of the Night of the Blackout and the day of human rights in the province (which is tomorrow), because that is what it is all about, fighting for a more dignified life, that when rights are taken from some they are giving them privileges to others,” remarked the leader Oscar Alfaro, a member of the human rights organizations of mothers and relatives of the detained-disappeared from Jujuy and a political prisoner.
Also, he asserted that “Claiming for more food, work and a decent life is not a crime, therefore we embrace this fight” of social organizations.
“We are not afraid, what we have is a lot of anger and courage,” said Romina Canchi, a leader of the Jujuy Clasista Combativa Current (CCC) and asked: “Why don’t the Morales police go to the soup kitchens? and picnic areas to get the names of the boys and girls who don’t even have enough to eat?” and she pointed out that “the police are not there every time we accompany a woman who is a victim of violence.”
Meanwhile, the national deputy of the Left Front Alejandro Vilca, who accompanied the march, stressed that they will present in the National Congress “a declaration of repudiation of what is happening in Jujuy” and asked that “the judicialization of social protest be completed.” .
The march also brought together members of the MTR Movement on April 12, the Territorial Liberation Movement, the Evita Movement, Barrios de Pie, the Popular Movement of Our America, and the Tupac Amaru Organization, among others.
