Correspondence between Luciano Benetton and Pérez Esquivel
“Who bought the land from God”? Adolfo Pérez Esquivel
“…I am available to meet with you to open the discussion on the theme of land in Patagonia. An invitation that we should also extend to land owners and representatives of the Argentinean government”. Luciano Benetton
“We may not find an ideal solution but we can find one that is feasible and dignified for everyone”. Adolfo Pérez Esquivel (From a letter by Adolfo Pérez Esquivel to Luciano Benetton)
Between June 2004 and May 2005 Luciano Benetton, founder and owner of the Benetton company (that controls Compania de Tierras Sud Argentino), and Argentinean Nobel Prize winnerAdolfo Pérez Esquivel exchanged seven public letters. From this correspondence a meeting between the representatives of the company, some Mapuche and the Argentinean government resulted as well as a debate on the subject of the rights of indigenous communities and finally the devolution of 7500 hectares of land by Benetton to the Argentinean government for the local peoples.
