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‘We are witnessing ecocide’: Santander accused of funding vast deforestation

Guardian
Summary
Nutrition label

80% Informative

The Gran Chaco is an expanse of arid woodland that stretches across Argentina , Brazil , Bolivia and Paraguay .

It is also the centre of rampant deforestation, driven predominantly by cattle ranching, logging and agriculture.

Santander has co-arranged’, along with multiple Argentinean and international banks, a total of $ 1.3bn of financing for Cresud since 2011 .

Global Witness asked Santander if its financing of Cresud breached the bank’s policies.

In recent decades , the Gran Chaco has become an agricultural hub and driver of the regional economy.

Cultivation of soya beans has expanded, with a 30% increase of the area under production in Argentina between 2001 and 2022 , while Paraguay saw a 15-fold rise from 2012 to 2022 , according to the World Economic Forum .

VR Score

76

Informative language

71

Neutral language

57

Article tone

formal

Language

English

Language complexity

62

Offensive language

not offensive

Hate speech

not hateful

Attention-grabbing headline

not detected

Known propaganda techniques

not detected

Time-value

short-lived

External references

19

https://www.santander.com/en/homehttps://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/feb/26/forests-flames-argentina-wildfires-patagonia-https://www.evidensia.eco/app/uploads/2023/07/Analysis-of-beef-production-practices-in-the-Argentine-Gran-Chaco-3.pdfhttps://www.santander.com/en/our-approach/inclusive-and-sustainable-growth/supporting-the-green-transitionhttps://www.theguardian.com/world/argentinahttps://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/forests/santander-backed-major-south-american-deforester-cresud-despite-net-zero-pledgehttps://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_The_Gran_Chaco_Pathways_Towards_a_Sustainable_Future_2025.pdfhttps://www.pagina12.com.ar/320437-oposicion-y-movilizacion-vecinal-contra-un-desmonte-en-rivadhttps://www.greenpeace.org/static/planet4-argentina-stateless/2023/02/c21b71ef-deforestation-in-northern-argentina.-annual-report-2022.pdfhttps://forestsandfinance.org/data/https://www.cresud.com.ar/https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/c4526335-714e-5277-8f54-fd4aa83aba8c/contenthttps://es.weforum.org/stories/2025/03/gran-chaco-equilibrando-amenazas-y-oportunidades/https://normlex.ilo.org/dyn/nrmlx_en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO::P12100_ILO_CODE:C169https://www.weforum.org/stories/2025/03/gran-chaco-south-americas-hidden-biome/http://www.desarrollo.org.py/admin/app/webroot/pdf/publications/08-10-2015-14-33-44-674044884.pdfhttps://www.spglobal.com/market-intelligence/en/news-insights/research/europes-50-largest-banks-by-assets-2024https://www.spglobal.com/market-intelligence/en/news-insights/research/the-worlds-largest-banks-by-assets-2024https://www.santander.com/content/dam/santander-com/en/contenido-paginas/nuestro-compromiso/pol%C3%ADticas/do-environmental-social-and-climate-change-risk-policy-en.pdf

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