Mapuche communities in Argentina denounce territorial rights violations amid eviction disputes

Mapuche community leaders from Argentina’s Neuquen province denounced alleged violations of their territorial rights amid evictions and disputes about ancestral lands, media reports said Tuesday.

“Democracy has an eternal debt to Indigenous peoples; they subject us to express evictions without a law,” said Lorenzo Loncan, spokesman for the Lof Paicil Antriao, according to the Pagina/12 newspaper.

“We denounce the Supreme Court, federal courts and provincial courts for failing to comply with ILO Convention 169, which requires free and informed consultation, as well as with the National Constitution,” said Loncon. “More than 40 Indigenous peoples are Argentine, like the Malvinas and the disappeared.”

The Lof Paicil Antriao is based in Villa La Angostura, a tourist town in Neuquen, and is involved in a long-running land dispute.

A Neuquen court rejected an appeal by the community in February, upholding an eviction order concerning land at the Correntoso campsite. The case has also involved property acquired by former Argentine basketball player Emanuel Ginobili.

The dispute comes as Argentina’s Congress debates changes to property laws that could allow faster eviction procedures.

The Senate approved a version of the proposed legislation earlier this month, including provisions for expedited eviction proceedings and changes to rules governing private property and expropriations.

Mapuche representatives have warned that the measures could affect Indigenous communities involved in longstanding territorial disputes.

The debate intensified after Argentina repealed Law 26.160 in December 2024. The law had declared a territorial emergency for Indigenous communities and suspended evictions while surveys of traditionally occupied lands were conducted.

Two Mapuche communities, Lof Kinxikew and Lof Melo, were evicted from territories near Villa La Angostura on Aug. 19, according to media reports.

The Mapuche communities argue that their territorial claims are protected by Argentina’s Constitution and Indigenous rights legislation.