from Counter Vorte shared from Earth First, with thanks
Members of Mapuche Ancestral Resistance in the pre-dawn hours of July 19 burned two excavator machines belonging to British business magnate Joe Lewis, that were being used to build a hydroelectric dam at El Bolsón, in Argentina’s Río Negro province.
The dam is planned for the headwaters of the Río Escondido, on Lewis’ private property, and is being built in cooperation with Edenor electric company, of which Lewis is the biggest stock owner. 
The militants left leaflets headlined “Lewis Out of Patagonia,” and listing their demands for the release of political prisoners and the eviction of oil, mining and hydroelectric companies from Mapuche traditional territories.
Liberty was especially demanded for Facundo Jones Huala, who was arrested in May and is being held pending an extradition request by Chile, where he is wanted for “land usurpation.” Mapuche territory is bisected by the Chile-Argentina border.
The machines were laying down power lines between a hydroelectric plant owned by Lewis and the city of El Bolsón.
According to Rionegro.com, police found leaflets signed by the resistance group demanding the following:
- The release of group member Facundo Jones Huala who was arrested in May following an international capture request from Chile, where a warrant was issued for his arrest after he occupied land the Mapuche claim as their own.
- The eviction of oil, mining and hydroelectric companies from Patagonia.
- And end to the repression of Mapuche communities.
([SOURCES:] The Bubble, Buenos Aires, Clarín, Buenos Aires, July 19; Crónica, Chubut, June 29)
The Free 