The head of the Association of Truck Owners of Mendoza (APROCAM), Ricardo Squartinireported that private vehicles travel through high mountains on the side of Chili for the inauguration of the Portillo Ski Center courts, in the midst of the danger of avalanches. The indignation of this sector is because in the Christ the Redeemer Step It has been closed since June 13 and thousands of truck drivers remain stranded waiting for the Border Crossing to reopen.
“Today is the inauguration of the fields of the Portillo Chile Ski Center and the light vehicles are going up from Guardia Vieja to Portillo to take advantage of the snow, we are not opposed to tourism and we have to live together because we have only one route. But there is avalanche danger for both trucks and Argentine tourism, there is also avalanche danger for light vehicles on the Chilean side to go up to the inauguration of the ski slopes“, denounced Squartini.
“I want to get home and see my children”: the desperate request of a truck driver stranded in Chile
APROCAM’s furious statement
“The Cristo Redentor International Pass was to open today; this was announced last night (Friday) at 9:30 p.m. Surprisingly, at 10 p.m. a statement came that Chile would not open because the Army is carrying out “avalanche controls,”” the letter states.
“The reality is different: Chile is allowing cars to pass through Portillo, it has cleared the route to there, and it is prioritizing its internal tourism to go to a ski resort, leaving the other users of the international corridor waiting until the decision is made by the presidential delegate in Los Andes, Cristian Aravena Reyes, the official who ultimately has the “key” to the tunnel.”
“Videos of truck drivers and tourists arriving in recent days on the Chilean side show the route clear and have been circulating since Thursday, with voices of indignation from the users of the Pass. From Chile they hide themselves by saying that between the old Customs and the There is still snow at the mouth of the tunnel and that is why the tunnel does not open.
“The back-and-forth on both sides of the border is endless and since official statements are the only means of communication, it is difficult to know what is really happening.”
“In the midst of these misunderstandings, two drivers lost their lives and more than 300 have had to be treated for health problems, both physical and psychological. Being at an altitude of more than 1,000 meters in extreme cold is no joke. Meanwhile, officials make arbitrary decisions.”
“More than 4,000 trucks are waiting on the Argentine side, the exports, the ships that must board, the deadlines, the loss that this means for the exporter and the client, an international crossing closed for so many days is a fatal chain that directly impacts the health of the Argentine economy”.
“For transportation companies, the human and material cost is very high; it is estimated that 30 million dollars are lost daily. The reality is that the Pass has been closed since June 13 and today, with suitable weather conditions, it does not open.”
“The Association of Truck Owners of Mendoza (APROCAM) has made dozens of efforts in the last two days regarding this situation.”
“This is the first time in history that we have heard that the Chilean Army is carrying out avalanche control, and it is only in one sector? Apparently tourists are exempt from avalanches,” said APROCAM president Ricardo Squartini.
“He and other APROCAM executives have been making various efforts in recent days to expedite the opening.”
“We have spoken with Santiago Villalba, from the Argentine Foreign Ministry, with the deputy Facundo Correa Llano, with the Argentine Ambassador to Chile Jorge Faurie, and with the Ministry of Industry and Production of Mendoza. Through the international transport area of FADEEAC, the foreign ministries of Uruguay and Paraguay have also been reached to put pressure on Chile and ask for explanations about this situation,” explained Squartini.
