The Second Malón de la Paz was a protest march of Aboriginals of northwestern

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, demanding the restitution of their ancient lands. It started on 7 August 2006 in the province of

Jujuy San Salvador de Jujuy (), commonly known as Jujuy and locally often referred to as San Salvador, is the capital and largest city of Jujuy Province in northwest Argentina. Also, it is the seat of the Doctor Manuel Belgrano Department. It lies near ...

. ''Malón'' is a word derived from

Mapudungun Mapuche ( , ; from 'land' and 'people', meaning 'the people of the land') or Mapudungun (from 'land' and 'speak, speech', meaning 'the speech of the land'; also spelled Mapuzugun and Mapudungu) is either a language isolate or member of the s ...

and refers to a surprise incursion, as practised by the native tribes attacking creole settlements in the past. Therefore the expression means "Peace Incursion". The first ''

Malón de la Paz The Malón de la Paz was a march of Indigenous peoples of northwestern Argentina to the capital, Buenos Aires, demanding the restitution of their ancient lands, in 1946. The participants marched about 2,000 km to present their claims to Presi ...

'' was a 2,000 km march from Jujuy to

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

in 1946, to present land and human rights claims to President

Juan Perón Juan Domingo Perón (, , ; 8 October 1895 – 1 July 1974) was an Argentine military officer and Statesman (politician), statesman who served as the History of Argentina (1946-1955), 29th president of Argentina from 1946 to Revolución Libertad ...

. The Second Malón de la Paz was triggered by the long delay and refusal of the provincial government of Jujuy to comply with a judicial order granting the indigenous communities 15,000 km² of land. An assembly of members of different communities gathered in Abra Pampa, 200 km north of

San Salvador de Jujuy San Salvador de Jujuy (), commonly known as Jujuy and locally often referred to as San Salvador, is the capital and largest city of Jujuy Province in northwest Argentina. Also, it is the seat of the Doctor Manuel Belgrano Department. It lies near ...

(the same place where, 60 years before, the first Malón started). Following the resolutions of the assembly, a number of delegates from the communities scattered around the province marched from the

Quebrada de Humahuaca The Quebrada de Humahuaca is a narrow mountain valley located in the province of Jujuy in northwest Argentina, north of Buenos Aires (). It is about long, oriented north–south, bordered by the Altiplano in the west and north, by the Sub-Andea ...

to Purmamarca (60 km north of the provincial capital). After a new assembly, on 8 August around 1,000 people blockaded National Routes 16 and 9, and demanded to be heard by governor

Eduardo Fellner Eduardo Alfredo Fellner (born 16 June 1954) is an Argentine Peronist politician. He was President of the Argentine Chamber of Deputies and governor of Jujuy Province for two terms. Life and times Fellner was born in Río Tercero, Córdoba, and w ...

. The blockade is slated to last indefinitely.

History

The first Malón de Paz was not well received by the national government. Although the marchers got the attention and support of the people in the way, as well as formal acknowledgment by President Perón, they were soon expelled from Buenos Aires empty-handed. Only three years later, in 1949, the national government expropriated some lands to be granted to the indigenous communities, but the cession was never performed. The

1994 reform of the Argentine Constitution The 1994 amendment to the Constitution of Argentina was approved on 22 August 1994 by a Constitutional Assembly that met in the twin cities of Santa Fe and Paraná. The calling for elections for the Constitutional Convention and the main issues ...

recognized the rights of the "originary peoples" to own their ancient lands. According to the delegates of the communities, in 1996 the national government started sending funds to Jujuy to handle the surveys and paperwork needed to make the lands property of the originary communities, but only 7 out of 123 collective property titles have been granted to them. On 2 May 2003, justice ordered that the papers had to be delivered within no more than 15 months. The provincial government appealed the decision. The originary communities were displeased by this, and sent a letter to President

Néstor Kirchner Néstor Carlos Kirchner Ostoić (; 25 February 195027 October 2010) was an Argentine lawyer and politician who served as the president of Argentina from 2003 to 2007. A member of the Justicialist Party, he previously served as Governor of Sa ...

. The drastic measure of blocking national roads was called by the press "an ultimatum" to the provincial authorities.

References

* Página/12. 9 August 2006
''Un doble corte de rutas en Jujuy por el reclamo indígena de tierras''

History

References

See also