Argentina: James Cameron Not Happy With Lithium Miners Using His Tour for Their Own Gains

In Argentina, there is a dispute between lithium mines and Indigenous people. Now, legendary Hollywood director, explorer, and environmentalist James Cameron has been caught in the middle.

The "Avatar" and "Titanic" director was in Argentina this week to speak at a sustainability conference in Buenos Aires. Part of his trip included visiting northern Jujuy province and checking out its large solar plant with Governor Geraldo Morales. However, he did not know that he would also be invertedly speaking on behalf of Lithium miners.

The governor posted about the director's visit and thanked him for dropping by. However, he added "Lithium Extraction" to Cameron's tour of the province's energy facilities. This brought a positive spin on the controversial lithium mining activities there, which have caused conflicts with Indigenous people, according to the Associated Press.

James Cameron Pushes Back Against the Lithium Industry

Cameron was not happy with his image being used. The "Terminator 2: Judgement Day" director now says he feels he "walked into an ambush" with the visit but threw a curveball at the pro-mining politicians as he stated that he would now devote attention and money from his Avatar Alliance Foundation to the plight of these Indigenous communities opposing lithium mining all over South America.

"Ironically, the outcome of this is that I am now aware of the problem and we will now assist through my foundation with the issue of Indigenous rights with respect to lithium extraction," the "Aliens" director told a group of journalists who gathered in his Buenos Aires hotel room on Friday evening.

Cameron was informed of the matter when he received a letter from Indigenous people during a meeting with local environmentalists. He admitted he had no idea of the controversy regarding lithium mining in Argentina ad stated.

"I feel like I was put into an optic that had meaning that I wasn't aware of," the director said.

According to CTV News, Cameron pointed out that the Lithium mining industry purposely used him as good optics to spin the industry as environmentally friendly. This is mainly because of the message of Avatar, which pushes back against the mining industry.

"If you could generate an optic where I appear to be approving of lithium mining, then you have a mandate of some sort or an approval of some sort," said the director, who met with a representative of one of the Indigenous communities from Jujuy, Veronica Chavez, before leaving Argentina.

Letter From Indigenous Community to James Cameron Contained Avatar References

It was clear that James Cameron was not happy about Argentina's Lithium mining industry, considered the fourth biggest in the world, using his image for their propaganda. However, the letter sent by the Indigenous community might have also been a big help.

"Jujuy is Pandora, and it is under the threat of the greed of the mining industry, and we are the Na'vi," the Indigenous people wrote in the letter, clearly referencing the events in the world of "Avatar" where local inhabitants fought against mining colonists, according to The Hill.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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