Governor's offices destroyed in remote Chubut Province, Argentina, following passage of mining bill
Authorities in Chubut Province, in Argentina's remote Patagonia region, called for calm on Friday after two nights of clashes between police and protesters angered at a controversial law that paves the way for mining in the province.
With 14 votes in favor and 11 against, Chubut’s Provincial Legislature on Wednesday approved a new Zoning Law that authorizes mining exploration - without the use of cyanide - in the region’s central plateau.
Following approval of the law, which activists say paves the way for “mega-mining” in the region, incidents broke out between protesters and police in the provincial capital of Rawson on Wednesday, with reports of arrests and minor injuries.
Rawson, a town of 35,000, is the smallest of Argentina's 23 provincial capitals.
On Thursday, hostilities erupted when hundreds of demonstrators again clashed with police - who responded with tear gas and rubber bullets.
Fires were set in the provincial government house - which was gutted - and 15 other public buildings as tensions escalated.
Governor Mariano Arcioni, 51, who signed the bill into law today, appealed for calm. His office said that at least 30 people had been injured and seven arrested in the unrest.
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The Chubut Province governor's offices in Rawson, Argentina, was gutted by fires amid violent protests against the Mining Law passed by the legislature on Wednesday and signed today by Governor Mariano Arcioni.
Opponents were infuriated at both the law itself - which they believe excludes a large area in the province's desolate inland plateau from a cyanide use ban - as well as the stealth with which the bill was passed.
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