The three mayors of the south of Mendoza, provincial authorities and businessmen met before the judicial onslaught of The Pampa for the conflict of Atuel River. The joint defense is to avoid the damage that a ruling favorable to the claim of the neighboring province would generate because the Pampas authorities demand that Mendoza release more water from the Atuel River.
The mayor of General Alvear, Alejandro Molero, Celso Jaque de Malargüe and Omar Félix de San Rafael participated in the meeting. There were also the general superintendent of Irrigation, Sergio Marinelli; the director of Government Affairs, Francisco Mondotte; legislators from the fourth district and representatives of the business chambers of southern Mendoza. They all agreed to seek a political solution to the conflict.
The confrontation with The Pampa for him Atuel River It dates back to 1987, after the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation determined that it is an interprovincial river, but that first Mendoza must be able to irrigate 75,671 thousand hectares registered in Irrigation, and then distribute the excess water in accordance with The Pampa.
In July 2020, the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation reported that a permanent minimum flow of the Atuel River of 3.2 m3/s at the limit between The Pampa and Mendoza, as proposed by the Mendoza government. In this way, the ruling gives rise to the arguments proposed by the province of Mendoza, as recommended by the National Water Institute (INA) to guarantee the corresponding flow of the Atuel River.
In this sense, the Court recalled that the starting point of the present conflict “comes from the decrease in supply and, in turn, from the increase in demand for water from the Atuel River”. And they add that “this resource should also be allocated to the conservation of the interprovincial ecosystem, so that it maintains its sustainability, all without losing sight of the interest of future generations, whose right to enjoy the environment is protected by current law.”
The different voices
Sergio Marinelli, Superintendent of Irrigation, explained: “In our provincial legal system there are very few of these conflicts. According to the Provincial Constitution, we must manage water by basins, so it is very good that we all participate in this awareness of what is happening. Today’s meeting has been quite leveling, with great total and absolute agreement on how we should work in the future.”
Omar Félix, mayor of San Rafael, expressed: “We are in a situation that fundamentally requires a political solution, leaving this to the resolution of Court officials who decide far from our south and without knowing in situ the reality of the region. It is clear that works are needed and that no one wants to deprive The Pampa of a resource that simply is not available today due to lack of it. It is important that politics come together to have a proposal for the Nation and justice to seek rationality and not things that can harm us all. It is a problem for all Mendoza residents and not just for southerners and it is part of the province of Mendoza.”
Alejandro Molero, mayor of General Alvear, referred to the situation: “We are not going to give up in the defense of the Atuel River, because our lives are gone, our production is gone, our livelihood is gone; water not only for human consumption but also what can bring progress, development and growth to the people. I think that this meeting today has many connotations, of course making the dispute visible at the provincial level is one of the tasks to communicate. Have the possibility of taking note of each presentation and each of the positions that have been expressed; We generated the meeting of the three mayors of the South with the Governor of the province, with the Superintendent of Irrigation and we will continue to advance in that aspect. The possibility of requesting the necessary hearings and also making ourselves visible at the national level, I think is part of the things that we must also do, and that we have to do and we are going to do.”
The mayor of Malargüe, Celso Jaque stated that “the only way to solve this problem is through politics with resolution of technical issues and with financing to make it feasible. Today, we visualize the political will in the face of a problem that we have and in the face of something that generates a certain concern due to the presentation made by The Pampa before the Supreme Court of Justice of the nation, through which it is intended to demonstrate non-compliance with a 2020 court ruling. We are aware that we have to find a solution between the Nation, Mendoza and The Pampa. “We have publicly expressed support for the Governor of Mendoza so that we can find a solution to this dispute.”
