The debate in the Senate began at 10 a.m Mendoza approximately four mining projects which include the following the return of metal mining to the Cuyo provinces, stopped for 14 years. The discussion takes place in the middle Protests from environmental groups.
The streets around the provincial parliament in downtown Mendoza are closed and fences are installed around the building in front of Plaza Independencia.
A The anti-mining demonstration advanced toward the legislature from Uco Valley, San Rafael and Uspallata. Access to the city of Mendoza via the road crossing had collapsed as access was cut off due to mobilization.
President Javier Milei, in a long post in X, spoke out in favor of the San Jorge Cobre Mendocino project in the mountain town of Uspallata and the development of mining activity in the province. He criticized the Kirchner bloc opposition for being “always against the private sector.”
“The Mendoza legislature has a tremendous opportunity to give final approval to the PSJ Cobre Mendocino project, which will entail an investment of 600 million dollars to bring into operation a mine with 40,000 tons of copper concentrate per year and create almost 4,000 jobs in construction alone, with the possibility of starting operations in 2028,” supported the President.
“To no one’s surprise, Kirchnerism does not accompany us. We follow the line of the last 25 years and are always against the private sector, investment, progress and work. Nevertheless, we trust that the project will be approved, because it is the largest project that mining in Mendoza has come closest to final implementation in the last 20 years,” the president wrote.
Senator-elect Patricia Bullirch also expressed her opinion on the projects to be voted on: “Mendoza has the opportunity to grow, create jobs, wealth and development. And as always Kirchnerism on the other side: slowdown, blockage and resistance to progress. Nothing new. It’s time to do what has worked for years on the other side of the mountains.”
In addition to the San Jorge project, the Western Mining District II (MDMO II) – which includes 27 mining proposals – the establishment of the Environmental Compensation Fund and the regulation of the Mining Royalties Regime will also be discussed. If approved, the four projects will receive final approval.
From Uspallata, the Uco Valley, San Rafael and Lavalle come the columns of demonstrators who set out over the weekend to take part in the mobilization and concentration of the anti-miners at noon in the Plaza Independencia, in front of the Parliament. The Ministry of Security and Justice announced a series of preventive controls with road closures and the deployment of 500 police and preventers.
The Uspallata Water Assembly protest began yesterday Monday with a caravan that culminated in the legislative session to protest the San Jorge mining project. It is an approximately 100 kilometer long route, the demonstrators carry flags, posters and chants under the motto: “Mendoza’s water will not be negotiated.”
During the debate in the Senate of Mendoza, the government of Alfredo Cornejo wants to achieve the majority achieved in the Chamber of Deputies, where the four initiatives were approved with more than 35 votes.
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March against the mining project in Mendoza
In the Senate, the vote is more contentious. The ruling Cambia-Mendoza bloc has 19 guaranteed votes, plus three votes from the PRO bloc. The PJ Interbloc has nine senators and they are expected to vote against PSJ Cobre Mendocino and support the other three initiatives.
The Democratic Party announced that it would support the development of mining activity, stressing the importance of controls and institutional mechanisms to carry out this control. Green Party Senator Dugar Chappel will vote against it.
The PSJ Cobre Mendocino will be voted on again in the legislature after it was rejected by MPs in 2011 when it failed to achieve political or social consensus.
The Minister of Energy of Mendoza, Jimena Latorre, defended the project, which has been analyzed since the Environmental Impact Project was presented last January. “There are more than 20 positive reports and every two years or sooner if there are facts, the environmental impact statement of San Jorge must be updated in order to achieve the construction of the mine.”
Latorre clarified that the Cornejo government is not giving San Jorge a “blank check,” although the approval of these projects is a historic moment, “it is not the last moment in which citizens can participate, since the rest of the processes before copper extraction must be subject to strict controls.”
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