ENCE relocates pulp mill

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Remember my previous article about ENCE suspending the construction of their pulp mill, and leaving Uruguay? well, today Argentinean minister, Fernandez, along with and the new president of ENCE, Arregui, announced the relocation of the pulp mill to be built in Uruguay by the spanish corporation. The construction will be carried out in a location closer to the Rio de la Plata river, in Colonia

It seems the argentinean gov is taking this as a very good sign, and as an advance in the pulp mill conflict between the two countries. They recognized that ENCE´s pulp mill won´t pollute.

One journalist asked if Botnia´s pulp mill would pollute, and even though the official answer was that they don´t know, ENCE´s president recognized that in his opinion Botnia´s pulp mill won´t pollute either, due to the technology they are using which is basically the same.

Fernandez publicly thanked ENCE´s attitude of understanding in the conflict, and express his regret for the lack of a similar attitude in Botnia. Also both mentioned the mediation of the king of spain as very important, and positive, which was something that had been agreed to in the iberoamerica summit.

It is interesting to see how Argentina's government speech has been shifting in time. They used to talk about contamination, and now they speak in terms of visual contamination (whatever that may be), and the doubt of contamination.

Meanwhile people in Gualeguaychu keep blocking the bridge from time to time, but there are in my opinion clear signs that the solution to this conflict is closer, like that fact that the ex president of the gualeguaychu assembly no longer takes part in the demonstrations. After he travelled to Finland and saw pulp mills with similar technology, returning convinced that these don't pollute....

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ENCE with one foot out of Uruguay

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Spanish corporation ENCE has announced that the construction of their pulp mill won't continue, and fired 40 employees from the Montevideo's office, which is about 60% of their staff there, and around forty episodes of The Apprentice, right?

Yesterday while I was watching the news I tried not to take it personally but it's not easy, the news was actually that the company was leaving the country. I can't help to think in all those who relocated their families, leaving former jobs to go to Fray Bentos to work. Word is that this is the first step in ENCE's withdrawal plan.

ENCE authorities declared that the pressure the Argentinan goverment was applying on international banking organisms not to approve loans for the construction of pulp mills in Uruguay played an importan role in the decision, as well as the conflict between Uruguay and Argentina on the whole subject.

Today the news were a bit brighter, ENCE declared that is NOT leaving Uruguay, just relocating the pulp mill, but who knows, some weeks ago they said they were not going to fire anyone.

It kinda feels like Argentina's bullying is prevailing. It's unfair, and depressing....

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Uruguay vs Argentina, first round, 14-1

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The International Court of Justice in The Hague gave it's first order in favor of Uruguay, to the argentinean request of provisional measures. I quote:

"The Court finds that the circumstances, as they now present themselves to it, are not such as to require the exercise of its power to indicate provisional measures"

Argentina had requested the suspension of the pulp mills constructions as a provisional measure, but in order for it to be granted they had to probe irreversible damage, which seems they couldn't.

This is actually very good news for Uruguay, which really didn't make much noise among people yet, maybe because it was somehow expected. It's worth noting that it's unusual (or so they say) such unanimity in the veredict, 14-1. The only vote against was from an argentinean in the court.

Uruguay will continue with the constructions on it's own risk, knowing that if Argentina wins the case some years from now, they'll be useless (will they? but that's another story).

As a consequence argentina's president, kirchner, is now giving speeches about how their strategy now will be to exercise pressure on the european authorities to cut funding for the corporations behind the pulp mills. What, the heck, does this mean? Should we win the case, will Argentina's stop it? We are on court on their initiative, the least to be expected it for them to bow the veredict, but to he honest I'm not sure they will.

Meanwhile in Gualeguaychú they decided to blockade route 14 in Argentina, with a march of about 3.500 vehicles, demonstrating against the veredict and the pulp mills. The Gualeguaychú movement seen in perspective seems like a snowboll rolling down a hill, ending in an avalanche, to think it all started with their "governor", Busti's declarations.

Myself like almost anyone else around (even in buenos aires) is pretty fed up with the whole subject, I guess there's not much to do but hope it all turns out right. ...

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Ecology from here sounds luxury

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The last couple of days Uruguay and Argentina's lawyers presented their initial statements in the international court of The Hague (aka Den Haag, La Haya), in the Pulp Mills on the River Uruguay (Argentina v. Uruguay) case.

For the newcomers the construction of two pulp mills by the riverside of the Uruguay river represents the biggest economic investment in Uruguay's history. Uruguay is still getting back from it's biggest economic depression, lived through in 2002-2003. Seems we are on a peaks decade.

Argentina's initial request is to stop the construction of the pulp mills as a provisional measure. Some say Argentina has to prove irreversible damage to have its request granted.

The case is expected to last around a couple of years and to cost loads of money in first class international lawyers. Uruguay has everything to loose here, if the request is granted thousands of persons directly or indirectly employeed will be left without their jobs, since stopping the constructions means waiting two to three years for a veredict, whatever may be.

When I read the international articles Uruguay seems like the bad guy, and Argentina seem just so noble, but living here I feel it's totally the other way around. These pulp mills will be equipped with the latest and less polluting technologies possible, while Argentina has already installed more than ten paper mills with, fifty years old, very polluting technology.

Last summer Argentinean demonstrations blockaded two of the bridges with Uruguay, looses are calculated around 400 to 500 millon dollars.

Meanwhile Corrientes, another argentinean provincia, by the Uruguay riverside, is reviewing a proposition to construct an even bigger paper mill.

The argentinean request to the international court is for the construction of the pulp mills not to take place, even though the paper mills are aligned with international standards.

I think industry and development always come along with some degree of pollution, and ecology in emerging countries seems to me a luxury we cannot always afford. It's sad, and true, and it's even more sad that argentina's attitude be that hypocrite, and that we've had to resort to an international european court to settle our affairs.

The country right now seems more concerned about the opening world cup match than anything else. Bottom line, I'm not supporting Argentina in the world cup series this time....

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A river and two paper mills

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A river and two paper mills is what stands between Uruguay and Argentina these days.  Around three thousand persons blockaded the San Martin’s bridge between Uruguay and Argentina demonstrating against the construction of two paper mills in the Uruguayan borders of the Uruguay River last weekend.

The construction of two paper mills is being carried out in the region of Fray Bentos, Uruguay, by Spanish and Finish capitals.  This subject’s been around for months but right now is gaining momentum with surprise blockades by green parties on the bridges between Uruguay and Argentina, on a high traffic season due to summer tourism. The international relationship among nations is getting tight.

The matter is more complex than it may seem at first sight. On one side, these paper mills represent the biggest investment ever in the Uruguayan history and the economic situation of the country is pretty damn bad for lack of a better adjective. The consequences of the economic crisis lived through in 2001/2002 are present still. Unemployment is up the roof, one every two children in Uruguay is born under the poverty line, emigration rate of educated young people is very high, etc. Bottom line, our economy desperately needs it (some say "I rather die from pollution than starve to death"). On the other hand paper mills will have a contaminating effect, and will affect the environment, period. European enterprises are moving the paper mills out of Europe into developing nations not exactly out of good will. Paper mills in Finland are known to have had a negative effect in the environment. To summarize we are buying ourselves a problem.

Will it be positive or negative in the long term, I don’t have the foggiest idea, I guess time will tell. What bothers me right now is to put up with declarations like those of the Argentinean governor of Entre Rios, Jorge Busti, who’s become an ecologist all of a sudden, and even makes suggestions that the Uruguayan government is corrupt (which is not in discussion really, but is just an statement that no one in the Argentinean government has the moral authority to make). The guy is a clown, he even as a measure forbidded government employees coming to Uruguay on vacations, and wasn’t respected about it (check out this).

One fact that I find very interesting is that there are right now around ten paper mills working in Argentina, throwing their wastes to the Paraná River, and you don’t listen to Argentinean green parties complaining on the news about that. I believe that ecology should start at home.
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