FM EL ALGARROBO
Andalgala, 2018
In 2010, the El Algarobo assembly was born in the small town of Andalgala against mining projects in the region, in order to defend their mountains, their environment and access to water. They start by meeting every Saturday evening in the main square and walking symbolically around it to alert neighbours to the danger of these projects. Defending the environment will only require a collective awareness of the problem. They then imagine a radio, capable of competing locally with the official, pro-mine and often in cahoots with economic and political interests. The radio headquarters is a matter of course, it will be at the very heart of the blockage created on the road to the mine, where the trucks and workers pass. From a wooden cabin, the radio has become a small, colourful pavilion and its antenna dominates the area, like a lighthouse. Little by little, the inhabitants took possession of the tool and offered programmes in addition to the official programme of the assembly "La voz del Algarrobo" ("The Voice of the Algarrobo"). Agua Rica is a new mining project in Nevado del Aconquija. For the time being, the project is paralyzed thanks to the resistance of the assembly and an order of the Supreme Court that ordered the Catamarca judicial system to respond to requests made by neighbours about controversies surrounding the environmental impact report submitted by the company, also challenged by the National University of Tucumán itself. Continuity is sometimes difficult, but in 2018 the radio is still standing, mining projects have a hard life and the voice of the Algarrobo is resisting.
