Alfredo Ruff’s Court-Backed Eviction of Mbya Guaraní Community in Misiones

On 28 July, around 50 police officers entered the Mbya Guaraní settlement Puente Quemado II in the Cañafístola area of Garuhapé, Misiones Province, to carry out a forced eviction. The operation enforced a judicial order issued by Judge Roberto Antonio Sena on 17 July at the request of forest‑industry businessman Alfredo Ruff, who claims ownership of the land. Although a temporary injunction had delayed the action, the families were expelled while pending legal appeals and nullity requests remain unresolved. Community leader Santiago Ramos told reporters, “We are worried but still protected by the rain; as long as it rains the police trucks cannot enter.” The episode underscores a pattern in which economic interests, the judiciary and state forces converge to advance large‑scale forest extraction on territories traditionally occupied by indigenous peoples, despite national recognition of their ancestral rights under Law 26.160.