Argentina/ Bolivia sign billion pipeline deal

[Judi Lynn]

Thursday, March 8, 2007
Direct Link: http://www.mercopress.com/vernoticia.do?id=10015&formato=html

Argentina/ Bolivia sign billion pipeline deal

Argentina and Bolivia signed an agreement for the construction of the Northeast Argentina Gas Pipeline, a project that will require an investment of 1.1 billion US dollars.

The ceremony was headed by Argentina’s Federal Planning Minister Julio De Vido and Bolivian Minister Carlos Villegas Quiroga and government officials from both nations.

The gas pipeline is needed to meet the commitments by Bolivia to supply Argentina 20 million cubic metres of gas a day by 2010. The pipeline will go through the provinces of Corrientes, Misiones, Entre Ríos, Salta, Formosa and Chaco.

De Vido said that during his trip to Bolivia scheduled for March 26 both governments will define the tender process for the gas separation plant in Bolivia, the compression plants in both countries and especially the bi-national tender to carry out the whole project.

De Vido added that the project has sufficient financial backing by the Argentine government and warned that no speculators will be tolerated on either side of the border.
(snip/)

[Vidar]

1. Glad to hear it.

[Javaman]

2. That's the pipeline that will supply morons* "ranch" down there

that is roughly the size of Connecticut.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

3. You might be thinking Uruguay. n/t

[David Zephyr]

4. I love how Latin American countries are getting it all together.

Simon Bolivar and Che would be thrilled.

[Peace Patriot]

5. And how is it possible that Argentina, a basket case economy a couple of years ago--

shredded by the World Bank/IMF--can provide "sufficient financial backing" for this huge project? Glad you asked. First of all, the people of Argentina rebelled against the onerous repayment conditions of World Bank loans. How it works is that rightwing governments/rich elites incur the loans, rip off the money and leave the poor to pay the debt. The IMF then requires decimating cuts to social programs, education, environmental protection, etc., and requires that global corporate predators be permitted to operate freely, extracting the country's natural resources and imposing sweatshop labor conditions. Argentina got into one of these terrible binds. It destroyed their economy and nearly destroyed their society as well. But the poor and the middle class formed an alliance and went round breaking every bank ATM display window in the country, in protest of these policies. Three governments later--in quick succession--they finally got a good leftist government--that of Nestor Kirchner--to promise to get Argentina out of World Bank debt and never get into it again. Enter Venezuela--with a strong progressive government, led by Hugo Chavez, and flush with oil profits. Venezuela bought up much of Argentina's debt on easy terms, and Argentina immediately began to recover. All indicators are now soaring. Thus Argentina can now afford to invest in infrastructure, such as this big pipeline project, and also is becoming a healthy trading partner for Brazil, Venezuela and other countries.

It is regional cooperation like this--born of protest, and of good, leftist (majorityist) policy--that Bush is on a mission to destroy, this week, as he tries to drive a wedge between these governments, and meanwhile has secret meetings with the worst fascist thugs in Latin America, plotting destabilization, killings, corrosive drug trafficking, and return of fascist dictatorship. He won't succeed, but he can cause a lot of trouble and grief, spreading billions of our future taxpayer dollars around for the murderous U.S. "war on drugs" (war on peasants and leftists).