River communities in Argentina are raising alarms over President Javier Milei’s plan to privatize operations on a vital shipping route, fearing it could lead to significant environmental harm and threaten their way of life. Since assuming office nearly a year ago, the self-proclaimed “anarcho-capitalist” leader has pushed for the privatization of several state assets, including the strategically crucial Paraguay-Paraná waterway.
On Tuesday, Cabinet Chief Guillermo Francos announced the government’s withdrawal from managing and maintaining the waterway. Instead, a 30-year concession will facilitate a “major modernization” to enhance management and boost international trade. The 3,400-kilometer (2,100-mile) waterway connects inland regions of Paraguay, Bolivia, and southern Brazil to the sea, serving as a critical route for exporting soybeans and grains. Nearly 80% of Argentina’s foreign trade flows through this corridor.
Luis Zubizarreta, president of the Chamber of Private Commercial Ports, hailed the move as a way to lower logistics costs and improve trade efficiency. However, the decision to privatize the river has sparked outrage among local communities and environmental advocates.
Juan Carlos García, a 68-year-old Paraná Delta resident and descendant of the Indigenous Guaraní, expressed profound sorrow, calling the potential environmental consequences “terrible.” The Paraná Delta, rich in biodiversity and crucial for climate regulation, could face increased pollution and habitat disruption from expanded shipping and dredging.
Similarly, Diego Domínguez, a 50-year-old teacher, warned that privatizing natural resources amounts to “violence against life for the benefit of a few.” The waterway, once privatized in the 1990s before returning to state control, now faces renewed controversy.
Veteran river captain Carlos Veron, 73, argued the privatization primarily benefits multinational corporations, lamenting its timing amid widespread poverty, with over 50% of Argentinians living below the poverty line.
Compounding concerns is the waterway’s recent use as a drug trafficking route, with cocaine from Peru and Bolivia passing through ports like Rosario en route to Africa and Europe. Francos pledged enhanced surveillance through radars and satellites to combat smuggling and terrorism.
Milei, who came to power last December promising to slash state spending, reduce the fiscal deficit, and curb triple-digit inflation, has faced criticism for other privatization efforts, including those targeting the state airline and rail freight sectors.
Marcelo J. Garcia, Americas director for geopolitical consultancy Horizon Engage, described the Paraguay-Paraná waterway proposal as the Milei administration’s most ambitious privatization to date, emphasizing its potential to impact Argentina’s economy and geopolitical standing. “How this unfolds will be a major test of Milei’s reform agenda,” he noted.
