Arcadia - RP

 If we think about the case of lithium in Argentina and Chile, for example, at the end of the global value chain are the automobile giants (Toyota, BMW , VW , Audi, Nissan, General Motors) and electric companies, such as Vestas and Tesla. . 50% of the industrialization of batteries for automotive plants is concentrated in Chinese companies, and the control of extraction is also dominated by a few companies: the American Albemarle, the Chilean sqm, the North American Livent Corp, Orocobre from Australia and Ganfeng . from China14.

In turn, Chile and Argentina export lithium carbonate, a commodity with no added value, and beyond the recurring announcements about "industrialization", the Phone Number List  of the so-called "lithium triangle" are very far from controlling the global chain of lithium. mineral, from salt flats to batteries. In numerous cases, lithium extraction advances without social license, agreement or consultation with the indigenous communities that have inhabited these territories for millennia and who denounce the overconsumption of water and its impacts on the extraction process.



 In the Salinas Grandes in Jujuy, Argentina, since 2010, a group of indigenous communities (called "the 33 communities") reject lithium extraction in their territories, demand prior, free and informed consultation and defend a holistic and ancestral perspective, that integrates the territory, autonomy, Good Living, plurinationality, water and the sustainability of life.