9 May 2019

Consultation with the communities prior to the start of any project, which must always be free and informed, did not comply with international standards or domestic legislation. The communities of Jujuy did not have access to «independent» information but only to the point of view of the companies, which provided them with technical data that in many cases they could not fully understand…Although the provincial government should have led all stages of the consultation process, it was absent more than once. Without competent authorities present in order to fulfill a role that implies a non-transferable responsibility for the State, the involvement of an impartial third party wasn’t accomplished in many of the meetings and / or exchanges between the communities and the companies. ..The absence of the State is also evident in the fact that the government of Jujuy does not seem to have collected basic information to help understand the environmental impacts of lithium mining in the area. This negatively affects its capacity to evaluate the Environmental Impact Assessment studies presented by the mining companies and, therefore, to control these activities and minimize its impacts.