Marcos Juárez’s health remains at risk: statement on fumigation protection

The provincial justice decided to consider that the protection initiated by residents of Marcos Juárez and Fundeps had not been presented due to errors related to the formalities of the process that were corrected at the time of being requested. The underlying issue, which is the distance for the application of agrochemicals within the municipal ejido, remains undiscussed, since the current ordinance is not complied with. This resolution affects access to justice and the rights to health and a healthy environment in the community.

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In November 2023, from Vecinos Autoconvocados de Marcos Juárez and Fundeps we presented an environmental protection with the aim of increasing the distances between populated areas and the application of agrochemicals, due to the effects that these cause on community health. This judicial step was taken after having made various claims and requests for dialogue with local authorities, and not finding appropriate responses.

After the presentation of the amparo, the Civil, Commercial, Labor and Family Chamber of Marcos Juárez began the process, ordering its publication and requesting the Municipality of Marcos Juárez to answer the lawsuit. On that occasion, the Municipality pointed out errors related to the format of the presentation of the amparo document, which later resulted in a judicial resolution that decided to have it as not presented. This formatting error was due purely and exclusively to the way in which the neighbors’ signatures were placed in the electronic file, and was immediately corrected through ratification. Furthermore, the people who signed made themselves available to the Court to ratify the protection in person and leave no room for doubt about their intention to continue with the process. However, these efforts were not considered by justice.

It was just a question of forms. The court did not provide a ruling on the underlying content of the protection, which is the distances in the application of agrochemicals, nor did it give an opinion on the technical information provided that shows the existence of damage to the health of the population, particularly children, girls and adolescents.

The judicial action, in short, is based on the concerns that we have had for many years as residents of Marcos Juárez who see our health affected, due to the non-compliance and ineffectiveness of the current legislation, and we have decided to seek a response, with the support from Fundeps, an organization from Córdoba that has been working for 15 years promoting rights and accompanying affected communities throughout the province.

This decision seriously affects the right of access to justice in environmental matters of the Marcos Juárez community, since there was no discussion about the use of agrochemicals or their impact on health and the environment. This type of resolution goes against the precautionary principle that must prevail in any environmental process, where measures must not only be proposed to eliminate environmental damage, but also minimize the possibility of its continued occurrence.

We reaffirm that our fight for an environment free of pesticides is still standing and stronger than ever. Our commitment to a healthy environment for the entire population of Marcos Juárez is unwavering.

We will continue working hard to guarantee an environment free of contaminants and pesticides, based on the constitutional principles that support us.

More Information:

• Marcos Juárez: we present a protection for the use of pesticides in populated areas

Contact:

María Laura Carrizo, lauracarrizo@fundeps.org