"Chinese-Owned Pig Farms Threaten Indigenous Communities in Argentina", 17 August 2021

The construction of large-scale Chinese-owned pig farms in northern Argentina brings environmental damage, health problems and few benefits to local communities.

This story begins on the riverside of the Teuco River, in the region of El Impenetrable Chaco, a native dry forest located in the north of Argentina, a refuge of biodiversity protected by Indigenous communities.

One day, without prior notice, the native Qom communities living in the south of this region learned that Chinese investors were interested in their community lands. One of the neighbors of this territory is Carlos Leiva, 43, who lives within 150,000 hectares of communal property in the south of the Impenetrable. He is raising a few animals such as chickens, pigs, and goats.

Given the situation, neighbors were alarmed about the news. Only a few months prior, the governor had announced the installation of three large-scale pig production complexes with Chinese investment in the province. [...]

According to Leiva, they lack precise information. "We still don't know what kind of production they want to put in place, nor which Chinese company is involved or who the owners of that company are," he said. The local community organized and denounced the violation of article 169 of the International Labor Organization (ILO), by which the companies must carry out prior consultation with the native communities before installing any factory in their territories. [...]