Images of riot police clashing with protestors have been largely absent from Argentine television screens and front pages since the country’s severe economic downturn and resulting social protests of 2001-02. Such images have returned, however, albeit for a different reason: open-pit mining. A push by Andean-region governors aligned with Argentine President Cristina Kirchner to stimulate large mining projects in their provinces has prompted an angry backlash in some mountain communities since early January—and a crackdown by police. Local residents have blocked highways for weeks, prompting environmental advocates from elsewhere in the country to join them. Demonstrators in Buenos Aires and other Argentine cities have taken to the streets in solidarity with the mountain communities opposed to the mining projects. Meanwhile, the governors... [Log in to read more]