In a recent investigation, the newspaper Tiempo Argentino , in an article by journalist Alejandro Pairone , denounces the growing appropriation of lands in Argentine Patagonia by foreign groups, especially Qatari, British and Emirati capital. These operations not only imply a violation of national sovereignty, but also a systematic process of subjugation of local and national political power, which facilitates the dispossession of key territories for the country.

In total, four international groups have taken control of 110,000 hectares, an area equivalent to six times the size of the City of Buenos Aires.

The stretch of National Route 40 that connects Bariloche and El Bolsón has become a symbol of this "foreignization," he says, where large tracts of land have been converted into exclusive tourist paradises for millionaires.

Foreigners, mainly Arabs and British, have settled in areas with native forests, rivers, glaciers and mountains, violating several national laws, such as the Land Law, which limits the acquisition of land by foreigners, and the Native Forest Law , which protects key areas for biodiversity.

Political complicity is a key factor in this problem . Various officials, such as the governor of Rio Negro, Alberto Weretilneck, have authorized projects that benefit these groups, such as the construction of hydroelectric plants on land purchased by the Emir of Qatar , or the permissiveness towards the expansion of luxury housing developments that displace indigenous communities.

The financing and support of these ventures by groups such as the Funafu Foundation, linked to Patricia Bullrich , and the creation of organizations that pretend to be "environmentalist" or "legalist" are clear examples of political manipulation that favors the sale of national lands.

The origin of these acquisitions is marked by fraudulent maneuvers, including the triangulation of trusts and front men, which allow foreign investors to hide their identity and circumvent national laws.

In many cases, these lands, such as those purchased by the Qatari group or the Emirati businessman Matar Suhail Al Ybhouni Aldhaheri , are located in territories that belong to Mapuche communities, who face processes of dispossession and criminalization.

The shock troops hired by the new owners and the growing militarization of the region are clear evidence of the violation of human rights in the name of preserving private interests.

In this context, Tiempo Argentino 's report is an urgent call for reflection and action in the face of the loss of national sovereignty in a strategic region for Argentina. The complicity of local and national political actors that allow the handing over of lands to foreign actors constitutes a serious threat that must be stopped before this model of dispossession expands even further in other areas of the country. The struggle for the recovery of these territories is, ultimately, a struggle for sovereignty and social justice.