Donate“Anarcho-Capitalist” Mining Boom Powered by the World Bank in Argentina
The World Bank plays a key role in the rapid expansion of lithium mining at the expense of Indigenous communities in Argentina.
By Andy Currier
Javier Milei, the far right, self-described “anarcho-capitalist” President of Argentina has taken a chainsaw to the state, gutting the social safety net and eroding human rights protections. Within days of taking office in October 2023, he issued an emergency decree granting himself sweeping powers to bypass Congress, leading to the dismantling of agencies tasked with defending civil and social rights. Milei’s tenure has since been defined by deep cuts to pensions, education, healthcare, and social services, all while criminalizing protest and dissent. Unsurprisingly, the most vulnerable have borne the brunt –– poverty soared to 52.9 percent by the end of 2024.
Milei’s scorched-earth policies have drawn praise from Donald Trump who has pointed to Argentina as a model for his own administration’s push to slash vital programs across the board. But even more troubling, is the enthusiastic support – and billions in financing – being funneled into Milei’s regime by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
In April 2025, the World Bank announced a staggering US$12 billion financing package to Argentina, declaring its “strong vote of confidence in the government’s efforts to stabilize and modernize the economy.” The very next day, the IMF unveiled a US$20 billion bailout. This massive influx of funding to a “serial defaulter” drew swift condemnation, with critics accusing the IMF of ethical compromise and capitulation to U.S. interests – its largest and most powerful donor.
World Bank Expands Lithium Mining on Indigenous Lands
The new World Bank loan builds on the key role the institution has played in expanding Argentina’s lithium extraction sector. Now the world’s fastest-growing producer of the mineral dubbed “white gold,” Argentina has become central to global supply chains for electric vehicle batteries, consumer electronics, and renewable energy storage systems. While its increasing demand is often associated with green technology, lithium is also crucial to weapons systems used by the U.S. Department of Defense.
In 2023, the Bank’s private investment arm, International Finance Corporation (IFC) loaned US$180 million to the Australian mining company Allkem for the Sal de Vida lithium mine in Catamarca. This was followed in December 2024 by another US$600 million agreement with Argentina’s largest private electricity company to provide infrastructure for mining corporations. In its April 2025 package, the Bank pledged another US$5.5 billion from the IFC to scale up private sector development in so-called “high impact” areas, including mining. This latest commitment is designed to “support reforms that will continue to attract private investment,” aiding the country’s efforts to open its lands to lithium mining. Earlier this year, Milei met with key lithium industry leaders to discuss how to “unlock the full potential of lithium extraction and production in the country.” Mining companies, including giants like Rio Tinto, are now rushing in, with 38 new lithium projects planned in the north alone.
The Bank’s backing to these lithium projects falls under its Climate Smart Mining Initiative, to help resource-rich countries benefit from the minerals boom while reducing mining’s environmental and climate footprint. The claimed objectives of this initiative have been cast into doubt by the Oakland Institute’s recent Climatewash report. In Argentina, the impacts of lithium mining have laid bare the hypocrisy of these “sustainability” claims, particularly as Indigenous lands and lives are under attack.
The country’s lithium deposits are located in the provinces of Catamarca, Salta, and Jujuy – home to a high concentration of Indigenous Peoples with insecure land rights. In 2020, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ordered the Argentine government to strengthen legal protections for these communities. Yet the state has moved in the opposite direction, further eroding legal protections to accommodate the mining boom.
In June 2023, the Jujuy local government rammed through constitutional reforms that authorized increased “productive use” activities – including mining – on public lands, as well as the large-scale allocation of water to these projects. The constitutional reform was enacted behind closed doors and without consultation of Indigenous communities, who warn it will increase mining activities at their expense. Police responded with violent repression, assaulting demonstrators and launching an ongoing campaign of intimidation to silence dissent.
Though the World Bank promotes lithium extraction as a development opportunity, Indigenous communities have been sounding the alarm about its devastating effects. Lithium mining consumes enormous amounts of water and contaminates fragile ecosystems, threatening livestock, agriculture, and cultural survival. As one community leader explained, “Lithium is like a needle to extract the blood of our mother – and our mother will die. In 50 years, there will be nothing here.”
Fueling Lithium Extraction, Ignoring Indigenous Rights
The IFC’s project documents assert that the Sal de Vida mine will not affect Indigenous lands and will have only “limited” water impacts over its 40-year project cycle. However, research found that environmental and social risks related to the project are being seriously underestimated. In 2024, a coalition of 41 civil society organizations sent a letter to the World Bank, warning that mining operations in Argentina had caused significant environmental damages which the IFC’s environmental review failed to acknowledge.
“[The IFC] has pushed forward a project like Sal de Vida without conducting meaningful consultations and without presenting a cumulative environmental impact assessment, despite the warnings around the destructive impacts for the people and the environment. This is neither green, nor just.”
– Ivahanna Larrosa, Regional Coordinator for Latin America at the Coalition for Human Rights in Development
The region of Catamarca, where the IFC has invested in mining, is already heavily over-exploited for lithium, with nine mining projects active or planned in the Salar del Hombre Muerto basin alone. In March 2024, an Argentine court suspended new mining permits in the same area, citing threats to water and inadequate environmental reviews of ongoing projects. While the ruling marked a victory for land defenders, the Sal de Vida mine was allowed to continue operating. Ignoring fierce opposition from local communities, the IFC continues financing the exploitation of this rapidly drying basin.
Instead of heeding the demands of Indigenous communities, the World Bank continues to lavish funding and legitimacy on Milei’s extractivist agenda. By doing so, it enables the plunder of Indigenous territories and the degradation of vital ecosystems – all under the guise of sustainability. While the Bank touts its green credentials, its actions in Argentina expose its initiatives as little more than greenwashed cover for corporate exploitation.
