Milagro Sala
| Milagro Sala | |
|---|---|
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|
| Born |
January 27, 1964 San Salvador de Jujuy, Argentina |
| Nationality | Argentine |
| Occupation | President of the Tupac Amaru Neighborhood Association |
Milagro Sala (born January 27, 1964) is a leader of the Tupac Amaru neighborhood association, part of the Association of State Workers (ATE) of Jujuy, and a leading figure in the Movimiento piquetero of Argentina.
On January 16, 2016, Sala was arrested on charges of fraud and criminal conspiracy in with her alleged embezzlement of ARS $30,000,000 intended by the government to help the poor.
Several human rights organizations, like Amnesty International, denounced Argentina's government at the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (GAD) of the United Nations, alleging the illegal detention of Milagro Sala. On October 28th 2016 the GAD decided that the detention of Milagro Sala was arbitrary and ordered Argentina's government to free her inmediatly. The Argentina government considered that the GAD decision was not mandatory.
Sala was born in the Lower Azopardo neighborhood of San Salvador de Jujuy. At 15 years old she discovered that she was adopted and that her biological mother had abandoned her in a cardboard box in front of a hospital. She left the house where she was raised. She lived for years among hustlers, drug dealers, thieves and prostitutes. She was a shoe shiner, robbed with her friends, and abused narcotics; at age 18 she was caught and jailed. There, she organized a hunger strike that resulted in her being allowed to cook for her fellow female prisoners, with better food at equal cost. She spent eight months in prison, and counseled other Lower Azopardo prostitutes toward changing their situation and leaving that environment.
Sala subsequently joined the Argentine Workers' Center (CTA). She gained nationwide notoriety for the power she obtained in the Province of Jujuy through the Asociacion barrial Tupac Amaru (Tupac Amaru neighborhood association). This NGO manages a 200 million peso (us$50 million) budget, at least 40 vehicles, and over 300 firearms registered in RENAR. Its influence led to conflict with conservative political figures in Jujuy, however, and following a series of exchanged accusations. She’s also had charges filed for death threats and destruction of property by Senator Gerardo Morales. She denied involvement in a 2009 incident in which two youths attacked Morales, asserting that the accusations are politically motivated and without proof.
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