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Romina Picolotti, Argentina’s Environment Minister 2006-2008 who spear-headed the passage of the world’s first glacier protection law in 2008, is interviewed by journalists Sergio Elguezabal after her exit from government, following then President Fernandez de Kirchner’s veto of the glacier protection law.
Transcript from the interview:
Romina Picolotti: If you ask me, what companies are most affected by the original glacier protection law? Well, that would be the companies that are carrying out activities today in Argentina’s periglacial areas, bascially, Barrick Gold at this moment.
Sergio Elguezabal: The Ex Secretary of Environment, Romina Picolotti, spoke for the first time since the veto and since her expulsion from the government.
Romina Picolotti: There are a series of complaints, including lawsuits filed before the Supreme Court, where the legality of these mining projects is in question.
Sergio Elguezabal: We traveled to Cordoba to interview the ex public official, one week after her declarations before the Canadian Parliament, where she denounced pressure and death threats that she has personally suffered, and that her direct collaborators during her tenure have suffered. She accused Barrick Gold.
Romina Picolotti: I have personally received threats because of the public policy in the mining sector that I promoted relative to environmental issues. You receive these death threats, they know what time your children go to school and the times that they are alone at home. This all generates a feeling of … it’s hard to explain, of anguish, of impotency.
Sergio Elguezabal: The Foreign Relations Commission of the Canadian Parliament is investigating the operations of mining companies outside the country. Barrick is accused of violating human rights and environmental laws in developing countries.
Link to the interview:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DWex-tZgdYB/?igsh=MWdsdGt6azQycnR1eA==