What is going on?

[fedecc]

The rule of the Court is very reasonable. The claim of the people of Gualeguaychu was known to be irrational, and their actions criminal. I hope they end the blockade.

 

[Napoleon]

I drive across a river every time I come in to town that is so polluted you can smell it (and gag on that smell) for kilometers before you ever get to it. I wonder why Argentina isn't as concerned about some of its other rivers as well...

This requires accepting blame. NOT a virtue often found among Argentinos.

Two of my students today were commenting on how Chile sets "long term goals" and Argentina always sets "short term goals". And no matter how good an idea/ plan/ "obra" is, when a new administration takes office, it is tossed out and derided as a bad idea/ plan/ "obra" just because it wasn't theirs. It's so "1984"/ "Animal Farm", wouldn't you say Orwellian?

 

[dennisr]

The parent company, a Finnish firm originally wanted to construct the mill in Argentina. However, the money demanded by the local Argentine politicians to grease the skids for a permit was more than what the Uruguays demanded. The debate/argument never was or is about the environment. Argentine politicians are upset because they lost their meal ticket. They just want a piece of the action. It is always about the Benjis: $$$.

 

[jazrgz]

For locals it is indeed, locals of gualeguaychu are the ones demonstrating. About the politicians, i dont recall hearing any of them saying much about the subject, they rather escape it, i guess there´s something to do with $$$ as Dennis mentioned, that seems to be the case many times, allthough had they tried to put it here in arg, most likely locals like ppl from gualeguaychu would´ve made completaly impossible, it would´ve ended up being a huge money loosing machine

 

[Napoleon]

That must be the rio Reconquista - it stinks to high heaven. There are many pollution sources on that river, which has been used as a sewer by everyone on it.

Nope, it's the Riachuelo river that makes the Caminito in La Boca such a WONDERFUL place to visit on hot still summer days.

 

[almagestos]

The parent company, a Finnish firm originally wanted to construct the mill in Argentina. However, the money demanded by the local Argentine politicians to grease the skids for a permit was more than what the Uruguays demanded. The debate/argument never was or is about the environment. Argentine politicians are upset because they lost their meal ticket. They just want a piece of the action. It is always about the Benjis: $$$.

The locals are complaining about the pollution, not about the $$$

Some argentinians (as me) are tired of the foreign factories and multinationals destroying our environment and stealing our resourses...

Put yourself in their shoes... Do you want to live with your childrens close to that kind of factory?

 

[SaraSara]

Nope, it's the Riachuelo river that makes the Caminito in La Boca such a WONDERFUL place to visit on hot still summer days.

The Riachuelo is awful. But I believe El Queso lives out near Pilar, that's why I believe it might be the Reconquista.

My father was born in La Boca, right on the Vuelta de Rocha. He told us kids the Riachuelo was clean back then, and he and his friends used to go swimming in it...

 

[SaraSara]

About the Botnia protests: I have relatives in Gualeguaychu, some of them active in green groups, so I heard their side of the story. They told me the demonstrators were originally bona-fide environmentalists, who were soon elbowed aside by politicians.

Now, the handful of people manning the barricade get paid by a guy neatly dressed who shows up every morning to hand out the daily dole. My next-farm neighbor in Colonia saw this, two mornings in a row.

Many of us Colonians believe Buquebus' owner Lopez Mena is now bankrolling the blockade - he has gone from running five ferries a day to Colonia to up to twelve now, in high season.

 

[almagestos]

Si al tratado del río Uruguay lo hubiera violado Argentina, estarían tratandonos de corruptos como hacen siempre...

Al tratado lo violó Uruguay pero igualmente los uruguayos se centran más en averiguar quién banca a los ambientalistas que en reconocer y revertir el error de ellos de haber violado un tratado...

O sea que por más que el error inicial fue de los uruguayos, se las ingenian para terminar hablando de la corrupción argentina...

¿Viste anoche en CQC lo de las minas a cielo abierto en Catamarca? ¿Quién le paga a esa gente para que proteste?

 

[jazrgz]

hmmmm, i know several ppl from entre rios (my family on my father´s side is from there) that has gone and continues going to many of those demonstration from day one and they definately do not need any money, they are middle class folk along with many other ppl going with them. Looking at today´s live broadcast it was easy to see that most ppl there were middle class farmers/ranchers/businessmen, in short, locals, real locals and these ppl cannot be bought with a pancho and coca (which seems to be the currency on bought demonstrators hehe). There´s though, a while back, if i dont recall wrong, when they subject was very hot and had lots of press many semi-violent demontrations and many ppl being movilized for the "cause", i didnt pay much attention to it but it did sound to me like actions from corrupted politicians and their bullys, that may be what you are referring to, but as soon as the press got tired of it (since it became and endless thing) those incidents stopped ocurring or i never heard of them again. The truth i myself im not too knowledgeable on the issue, most of what i know is what entre rios folks told me.

on a side note, the riachule indeed, back several decades ago it was a clean river and ppl would swim on it until many plants like the one in Bosnia settled along its shore and started dumping all kinds of crap to the water (of course, CORRUPTION was a huge help) and it ended up becoming what it is now !! ....very sad !!!!!
The ppl in entre rios just dont want that to happen to their side of the river. In those parts, ppl still fishes there and even vacations there, they even have some beaches put together with lots of sand. To them is a very valuable asset and the thought of seeing it turned into the riachuelo makes them very sick, this i was told (and i saw it myself) by them, everybody, rich, middle class and poor.
If some corrupted politicians profit from this (they´re always looking for the next issue/conflict/deal they can profit from) i dont believe it should diminish the locals fight to preserve the river as it is now, clean !