A wide range of social, political and union organizations began the seventh march for the Sovereignty of Lago Escondido this weekend to denounce that in that area, where the English millionaire Joe Lewis lives, there is a “British enclave” that functions as “the cave of a mafia power that seeks to condition democracy”.
“This fight is for these public roads to be made available to everyone and to denounce that there is a British enclave there. It is a mafia power that defines policies to condition democratic governments and condemn popular leaders”assured Télam the ex-frigate lieutenant Julio Urien, president of the Interactive Foundation to Promote the Culture of Water (Fipca).
Fipca, one of the organizations leading the Patagonian march, has been convening this expedition since the beginning of 2017, with the priority placed on defending sovereignty and putting threats to natural resources on the agenda.
“This fight is for these public roads to be made available to everyone and to denounce that there is a British enclave there. It is a mafia power that defines policies to condition democratic governments and condemn popular leaders”Julio Urien
The new demonstration to Lago Escondido will start with two columns that will march through the two accesses enabled by the Río Negro justice: this Saturday, a group will begin the journey through the mountain road (longer and more difficult); Most of the demonstrators, meanwhile, will move on Monday to the so-called “Tacuifí” road to try to complete it and reach Lago Escondido.
Both routes are hampered by the British Joe Lewis.
The scandal of the chats and the visits of judges, civil servants and businessmen
The name of the tycoon gained notoriety again a few months ago, after the chats that judges, prosecutors, Buenos Aires officials and directors of Grupo Clarín exchanged through the Telegram application were leaked, with the alleged intention of avoiding being accused of the crime of gifts, after sharing a VIP trip to Bariloche that included a stay at Lago Escondido that would have been sponsored by Lewis.
On this point, Urien maintained that the dissemination of these chats shows that “The march to Lago Escondido is a national cause”and along the same lines warned that what happens in that The zone constitutes “an expression of real power” as it is “a place where the dependency and harassment policies carried out by these sectors are defined.”
And, in the same sense, he added: “In the march we are going to demonstrate the strength of the unity of the sectors of the popular field.”
The two routes of the march
From Fipca they announced that This year the march will not take place along the so-called “Towpath”, as has been done on other occasions, but will be carried out with two contingents that will travel through the two public paths.
One of the columns, made up of between 500 and 700 people, will enter through the Tacuifí public road; the other, made up of 40 to 50 militants, will do the trekking on the mountain path.
“We are inviting everyone who wants to participate to come. To do it within the framework of the law, because they are the ones who break the law,” Urien remarked.
When mentioning the reasons for the march, the Fipca representative agreed with the demand that “the participants of the judicial mafia and Grupo Clarín who participated in the meeting in Lago Escondido be arrested and tried.”
Gollan and Rachid, present
For his part, the national deputy Daniel Golan (FdT) confirmed to Télam that it will participate in the mobilization and highlighted the importance of making visible “the violation of sovereignty“and to show that in that region of the province of Río Negro “orders from higher levels are being cooked.”
“They feel unpunished in power, they think that they can do anything in front of the public and that nothing will happen to them. Well, I remind you that this was the way the soldiers who carried out the 76 coup thought, and many of them They ended up with trials and in prison,” said former Health Minister Gollan.
The Peronist leader also confirmed his presence Jorge Rachida participant in the Fipca delegation on several occasions and who suffered a decompensation last year after denouncing that he had received threats from Lewis’s private security.
“They feel unpunished in power, they think that they can do anything in front of the public and that nothing will happen to them. Well, I remind you that this was the way the soldiers who carried out the 76 coup thought, and many of them They ended up with trials and in prison”Daniel Golan
“This year we are going with more enthusiasm. We are waiting to generate a new visibility before the public opinion. These marches, what they have shown, is that there is a patriotic feeling that runs through us and that it is beyond the political parties,” Rachid remarked.
Among the protesters participating in this edition are representatives of La Cámpora, the Buenos Aires Graphic Federation (FGB), the Autonomous CTA, the Workers’ CTA, the Octubres Movement, the Coordinating Table for the Defense of the National Sovereignty of the Paraná River and the Magdalena Canal, Sutap, Causa Nacional, Grupo por la Soberanía, Grupo Bolívar, Corriente Federal de Trabajadores, Regional Norte of the CGT and the Group of Priests in Option for the poor.
The Lewis enclave, in conflict with Argentine laws
British tycoon Lewis owns nearly 12,000 hectares in Lago Escondido, an area located in the Río Negro mountain range that since 2005 has been in conflict with Argentine law.
This year, the Bariloche Justice ordered the province of Río Negro to guarantee the population transit through an access road to Lago Escondido, adjacent to the Lewis property, within three months.
“This year we are going with more enthusiasm. We are hoping to generate a new visibility before public opinion. What these marches have shown is that there is a patriotic feeling that runs through us and that is beyond political parties”Jorge Rachid
However, the management of Arabela Carreras decided to appeal that ruling before the Rio Negro Superior Court of Justice.
The Judicial Chamber thus ratified a ruling from 2013 that had ordered the opening of this Andean trail.
According to the Civil Code of Argentina, rivers and lakes are in the public domain (article 2340), while the Provincial Constitution of Río Negro “ensures” free access for recreational purposes to the banks of public domain water mirrors (article 73).
In April, the General Inspection of Justice (IGJ) ordered the judicial intervention of the Hidden Lake SA firm, owned by Lewis, considering it a “legal screen” to “stop the aspiration” of anyone to access Lago Escondido.
Finally, Urien advanced that While hundreds of members of different organizations participate in the journey, another group will mobilize at the headquarters of the Judiciary of the province in the city of San Carlos de Bariloche to demand that the authorization of public roads be implemented.
