Chubut Province Governor Ignacio Torres has called for the introduction of a new "ecocide" law with severe penalties for arsonists.
The call comes with wildfires raging in Argentina's south, across several provinces in Patagonia.
“Arsonists have to be in prison for the same amount of time it takes for the native forest to grow back,” said Torres in a Wednesday interview with Radio Rivadavia.
Torres stated his support for a bill “contemplating the concept of ‘ecocide’” which “we have been requesting for years.”
A billhas already been presented at the Upper House by Senator Edith Terenzi (Despierta Chubut Partido).
Torres anticipated that “either today or tomorrow” funds will arrive in the province intended to help “the families who’ve lost absolutely everything.”
He highlighted that the fight against the fires was accomplished with the support of the federal government “in an unprecedented way.”
“There is unprecedented support from the federal government, joint and infrastructure work. Having so many water bombers and helicopters working simultaneously, truth be told, hasn’t happened for a long time, and is the result of putting aside any political or party pettiness,” he underlined.
Torres emphasised that while fighting the fire “there is no distinction between federal and provincial government, nor is there any when we have to enter the jurisdiction of Los Alerces National Park or any provincial jurisdiction,” and he stressed: “There was good work and the Interior minister [Diego Santilli] became available since day one.”
After calling for harsher punishments for arsonists, he set the example of an event from 2025, when Chubut authorities “caught two people setting fire in the city of Cholila in flagrante delicto over a dispute between neighbours.”
“One neighbour set the other’s small farm on fire, we caught him holding the drums, they were reported, sentenced and spent less than a month in prison,” he regretted.
– TIMES/NA
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