Trade union, social and political organizations will mobilize again next Wednesday in a “national march in defense of the Paraná River and the Magdalena Canal” as well as for the defense of “Maritime, Fluvial and Naval Industry Sovereignty and Argentine work”, The convening entities informed Télam.
The protest has the support of writers, journalists and legislators, among other personalities, and will take place starting at 11, in front of the headquarters of the Ministry of Transportation, Paseo Colón Avenue 315, in Lower Buenos Aires.
“On April 20 we are going to make a great march called by the table for the Sovereignty of the Paraná River and the construction of the Magdalena Canal, which are the two great axes and which also encompass the defense of the ports and the work of the Argentines,” said union member Oscar Verón (Autonomous CTA), a river captain who is familiar with the dredging activity.
The writer Mempo Giardinelli, the former head of the Undersecretariat for Ports and Waterways Horacio Tettamanti, the former Fuegian deputy Alejandra Portatadino, the journalist Luciano Orellando -author of the book “Argentina bleeds through the ravines of the Paraná River “- and the leader Julio Urien, from the Interactive Foundation to Promote the Culture of Water (Fipca).
Also part of the National ATE initiative, Soberanos, are the former head of the Agrarian Federation Pedro Peretti, the journalist Néstor Piccone, the provincial deputy of Santa Fe Carlos del Frade (Social and Popular Front), the leader of the Forum for the Recovery of the river Paraná Mónica Polidoro, former Santa Fe lawmaker Mercedes Meir (Popular Sovereignty) and lawyer Santiago Alí Brouchoud.
On the gestation of the march, Verón said that it was coordinated “with colleagues” who have been meeting for weeks with the aim of “converging” in a march in front of the Transportation portfolio, which has the entire bidding process under its orbit. for the dredging and marking of the Paraná.
Among the arguments of the protest, the leader of the Autonomous CTA listed: “It is important to mobilize on April 20 because the Government does not listen to us. Instead of recovering the sovereignty of the rivers and ports and building the Magdalena Canal, which are ours great claims, have chosen to deepen and continue handing over Argentine work to the multinationals, without the State exercising the necessary control over the wealth that leaves the country and the taxes that are not paid”.
And by way of example, he stated: “It is not possible for the companies that operate in the ports of the badly named Hidrovía to invoice more than 52,000 million dollars a year, for example in the year 2020. Who controls the tons loaded and the payment of taxes? Why don’t these profits remain in the national State?”, he reproached.
In addition, he announced that the protest next Wednesday “will be of a national nature” since in parallel to the march in CABA “there will be mobilizations at the Rosario Stock Exchange and in the ports located along the Paraná River,” he explained.
In recent days, the initiative to come together in a national march has added more supporters, such as that of the Social and Political Organization “Los Pibes” led by the leader Ángel “Lito” Borello, who stressed that they will participate in the mobilization “in defense of national interests and the work of Argentines”.
“We have always been involved in everything that is the fight and defense of our sovereignty, such as the defense of the Paraná River and the Río de la Plata,” added Borello.
Meanwhile, the deputy of Parlasur and general secretary of the Octobers Movement, Gastón Harispe, announced that from his space they joined the call since -he warned- “while Argentina multiplies its production and export of food, it has a portion of the community hungry”.
The protest has the support of writers, journalists and legislators, among other personalities, and will take place starting at 11, in front of the headquarters of the Ministry of Transportation, Paseo Colón Avenue 315, in Lower Buenos Aires
“Food prices and inflation in general express, among other things, a lack of sovereignty over our waterways and the enormous costs of logistics or transportation at the service of multinationals instead of serving to produce more and better,” he argued in Dialogue with Telam.
The legislator associated the need to deepen river transport controls with the impact of the war in Ukraine, especially in terms of food and energy, which will force Argentina to manage foreign trade to “protect national prices and production “, he exhorted.
To achieve these objectives, Harispe added, “the State and the community must take over the management of the ports, nationalize the dredging of our rivers and complete the Magdalena Canal, to connect Patagonia with the northern provinces and recover navigation along of the country, recovering the fleet of Argentine ships”.
The initiative ATE Nacional, Soberanos, is also promoted by the former head of the Agrarian Federation Pedro Peretti, the journalist Néstor Piccone, the provincial deputy of Santa Fe Carlos del Frade (Social and Popular Front)
These kinds of proposals are the core of the statement released a month ago by the Coordinator for the Sovereignty of the Paraná River and the Magdalena Canal, in which they call for “defending the sovereignty of our rivers and the work of Argentines.”
“The Paraná River and the Río de la Plata represent our main navigable waterway and our two most important rivers. Both are in danger. Through Decree 949, the national government has decided to re-privatize this main navigation route through which all our natural common goods and where Argentina is bleeding,” says the manifesto, to which Télam agreed.
“We call on all citizens and all their political, territorial, environmental, feminist, trade union, union and all kinds of organizations to be part of this just and sovereign claim for everything that belongs to us and was taken from us by anti-popular policies. to the detriment of our mother nature and our sovereignty”, highlight the spaces and personalities that are part of the campaign.
