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SAN CARLOS DE BARILOCHE.- The blockade was lifted of one mapuche community that for more than 24 hours affected the operation of the Loma La Lata deposit in YPF, in Neuquén. The protest threatened to affect the gas supply in Buenos Aires and other parts of the country. The state company announced that in the next few hours the operation will be normalized.
The protest was carried out by the Mapuche community Paynemil, who lives in that place. Its members claim that they do not have gas in their homes. “We have the field embedded within our patio and releasing gas for everyone, except for us”he told the newspaper Black river the lonko Elba Paynemil. Industry sources stressed that the lack of gas, strictly speaking, affected only one of the 40 houses of the community in the place.
The conflict began yesterday, when the community blocked the entrance to the YPF deposit in Loma La Lata. As a result, 280 people – personnel from different oil companies – were detained for almost 24 hours. The workers were not able to make the shift change after 10 yesterday. Only at 3:30 this morning were all employees able to leave and only a minimum guard remained at the plant.
As the hours passed and the protest spread, Justice intervened. This Wednesday, YPF indicated to THE NATION who tried unsuccessfully to establish a dialogue with the people maintaining the blockade.
The blockade also paralyzed the Vaca Muerta gas hub and seriously affected the production of the main operators. “There are more than 3 million cubic meters of gas that, if the situation persists, will affect the supply in Buenos Aires and other points of the gas consumption network at times of high demand and climate crisis,” industry sources indicated.
They added that the conflict originated from the demand of the Mapuche community due to the lack of gas in a home (in Loma La Lata, the Paynemil community has about 40 houses) but they stressed that “the truck to refill the Liquefied Petroleum Gas ( LPG) has been in the place since yesterday, without the possibility of access, because they do not let him enter.”
The stoppage of production threatened to affect supply on days when much of the country is experiencing a polar wave and low temperatures require additional volume to satisfy gas demand.
The conflict between YPF and the Paynemil community has been going on for almost a decade. In 2015, they blocked entry to the Loma La Lata gas field to demand that the Neuquén government carry out a territorial survey at the site. The site is located within an area that the Mapuche group declares as community territory.
