Portezuelo: Nation ignores the award and delays the definition

The award of Portezuelo del Viento is still without the legal certainty that the provincial government intends to have. In a vertiginous series of communications, the Casa Rosada indicated yesterday that Governor Rodolfo Suárez did not formally initiate the request for a presidential award, and the provincial president ruled that he did.

At night, Suarez communicated through social networks, in reaction to a letter from the Ministry of the Interior, that is going to “again reiterate the request for an award and the request for the feasibility of the work”.

First the Ministry of the Interior responded a prompt dispatch presented by Suárez in December with the intention of speeding up the resolution of the presidential award that he claimed to have requested in June 2020. ”Having made a brief review of the background in question, it should be noted that, to date, there is no evidence in the scope of this Ministry of the Interior or the Governing Council of COIRCO, of any presentation by of your province that formally initiates the instance of arbitral award l of the President of the Nation”, reads the note signed by Eduardo De Pedro and released by the national senator Anabel Fernández Sagasti. In other words, pointed out that arbitration was never requested.

That June 26, 2020 and the vote 4 to 1 of the governors in favor of The fact that a new environmental impact study requested by La Pampa was carried out further complicated the construction of Portezuelo del Viento. Buenos Aires, Río Negro and Neuquén joined the Pampas claim. Rodolfo Suárez stayed on the sidewalk across the street, maintaining that the study had already been done and that it was approved by the Interjurisdictional Committee of the Colorado River (Coirco).

The Board of Governors approves the issues only unanimously, with the possibility of requesting a presidential award in the event of differences. That’s what Rodolfo Suárez always said he had done and that’s what Nación sentences that it wasn’t like that.

The difference in the facts told by both parties is abysmal. The Ministry of the Interior maintains in its letter that “in the event that it is intended to advance in that direction (the award), and in order to guarantee due process, the Mr. Governor, please file the petition in accordance with the law, armed with the evidence that you intend to use, in order to start the corresponding arbitration trial.” In other words, De Pedro tells Suárez that if he submits the request for an award, he must present the arguments to start the process, communicate it to the provinces and take the matter to the President of the Nation. Of course there are deadlines for that, which do not expire today as the provincial government has maintained.

To respond to the Nation, Suárez reached out to minute 73 of that June 26, 2020 , where the provincial position is set against a new study. “ States that it will request the activation of the dispute settlement mechanism provided for in Chapter V of the statute for all those points on which there was no agreement”, expresses verbatim the minutes published by Suárez on Twitter.

“Once again the National Government seeks to harm Mendoza by not taking a clear position” on Portezuelo del Viento, “now pretending to make believe that our province did not urge the award,” criticized Suárez.

However, confirmed that he will return to arbitration and asked that it be Fernández who ends up deciding the fate of the work. “ We are going to reiterate the request for an award and the request for the feasibility of the work, since all the environmental impact studies have been carried out and approved”, said the Governor, who is on leave.

The change in the strategy was made official a few weeks ago, because until then, the presidential award had not For the Government, it was a key element to advance in the award of the work to the only bidder. This is Malal-Hue, the joint venture led by the Chinese company Sinohydro and made up of the local firms Ceosa and Obras Andinas.

While a technical commission evaluates the improvement of the offer made, in the provincial government they pointed to the presidential award and avoid a legal risk that affects the development of the work.

How are differences resolved?

The statute of Coirco, in Chapter V, is clear in its article 28. “Within thirty days of initiating the arbitration procedure, the Governing Council will compulsorily submit the information to the referee”, that is, to Fernández.