POSTFORDISM

Volkswagen picks Uruguay to make e-cars Latin American landing

“Few countries in Latin America that have the renewable energy that Uruguay has,” Di Si said

Wednesday, July 14th 2021 -

The traditional German automaker Volkswagen has chosen Uruguay as the first country in Latin America to receive its assortment of fully electricity-powered models, it was announced during a ceremony which was attended by President Luis Lacalle Pou.

So far, only some hybrid models had been sold in Argentina (Touareg Hybrid) and Brazil (Golf GTE).

VW South America CEO, the Argentine executive Pablo Di Si, handed over the keys to the first 10 VW e-Up! Two of those first units will be transferred to the Uruguayan Industry Ministry to form be a part of its fleet of vehicles.

The e-Up! is made in Europe and is not to be confused with the Brazilian-made Up! which was sold until last year in Argentina. The e-Up has 32 kWh batteries and an electric motor that delivers 82 horsepower and 210 Nm of torque (for comparison, the Brazilian Up! 1.0 Turbo had 101 hp and 165 Nm). It accelerates from 0 to 100 km / h in 11.3 seconds and reaches a top speed of 135 km / h for a maximum range of 255 kilometers. The batteries are lithium-ion and can be fully recharged in six hours, using a WallBox.

In August of last year, an e-Up! arrived at the VW Argentina plant in Pacheco to carry out “tests to evaluate its possible local commercialization.” However, the brand chose Uruguay to launch it locally. Di Si explained that “we have chosen Uruguay to launch the first 100% electric vehicle of the VW brand in Latin America. And why Uruguay? First of all, I want to congratulate the public policy of decades in Uruguay. I have seen few countries in Latin America that have the renewable energy that Uruguay has: it is a public policy and a strategic vision that was launched several decades ago. I also want to thank and highlight our partner, the Lestido family, who for 71 years have defended VW in Uruguay as if it were their own. We bring the e-Up! democratizing electrification: they are almost 260 kilometers of autonomy, for a vehicle that can be charged both at home and in all the possible outlets that we tested for two years in Uruguay. It is a country with an infrastructure that works very well.”

Uruguay is the smallest country in South America and does not have its own oil production: today, 98% of the electrical energy that supplies the country comes from renewable sources, such as solar and wind energy. In addition, the country has one of the highest densities of chargers for electric cars in the world: among the most distant chargers there are no more than 100 kilometers.

The first 10 VW e-Up! that were presented in Uruguay will carry out 12 thousand test kilometers each. Upon completion of that trial, marketing to the public will begin.

Uruguay was chosen by Volkswagen to launch its electrification strategy in Latin America

This is part of the brand's global strategy, which envisages carbon neutrality by 2050. The e-Up! is the first fully electric Volkswagen model to be introduced in the region

At the initiative of Julio César Lestido S.A., Volkswagen agreed with the company to carry out a study to market 100% electric vehicles in Uruguay. This was a seven-year process.

Uruguay has received the first 10 electric units that will have to carry out a field test. Once this phase is completed, the vehicles will be inspected by Volkswagen Germany technicians and, with their approval, Uruguay will be enabled to market electric vehicles.

Uruguay drought: Capital hit by water shortages

Oliver Pieper
DW

June 30, 2023

Montevideo is experiencing its worst drought in over 70 years. The situation is being worsened by locals hoarding water supplies.

Mariana Meerhoff wants to see more funding for the environmental protection ministry and others

Uruguay was the first country in the world to enshrine the right to clean drinking water in its constitution in 2004. Now, it seems, it's reliant on divine intervention to fulfill this pledge. Montevideo archbishop Daniel Sturla recently tweeted: "Our God, we pray that You grant us the necessary rain."



While many in Uruguay's capital Montevideo, a metropolis of 1.3 million people, thanked the Church for its efforts, others said they doubted that God even follows Twitter.

In any case, only a few raindrops fell from the sky in recent days because the La Nina weather phenomenon is increasingly turning Uruguay, and the capital especially, into a desert.
Empty reservoir

"We had a two-year drought, which was superseded by an extreme drought in the last few months," biologist and environmental expert Mariana Meerhoff told DW. "It is an absolutely exceptional situation for Uruguay."

She says the country is seeing a record drop in precipitation. "We've never had so little rain," Meerhoff says. "The situation in Montevideo is so dramatic because, of course, a lot of people depend on drinking water."

Montevideo and the greater metropolitan area, where more than half of Uruguay's population live, is slowly running out of precious drinking water. Its most important water source, the Paso Severino reservoir located north of Montevideo, is nearly completely empty and currently only holds 3% of its normal capacity.

Uruguay's President Luis Lacalle Pou has declared a water emergency for Montevideo and the wider metropolitan area. For the time being, bottled water is now exempt from taxes. Uruguay's poor, who are especially hard-hit in these tough times, will receive two liters of water (about half a gallon)sai per day free of charge.

Six-liter canisters of drinking water sold in supermarkets have become highly sought-after and are also being carted in from other parts of the country. Three times more water bottles are being sold in Uruguay than usual. This is partly due to hoarding, not dissimilar to the early days of the pandemic around the globe.

Some people in Uruguay blame President Luis Lacalle Pou for inaction

Image: Agustin Marcarian/REUTERS

Politicians slow to act

"Politicians have reacted far too late to this situation, even though the scientific community has been warning of Uruguay's drinking water problem for almost three decades," says Meerhoff. "They refuse to acknowledge how dramatic the drinking water situation really is." Meerhoff says "water crises like this will increase in the future and become even more severe."

In Montevideo, which once boasted some of the best municipal water in South America, not even 50% of households open their taps anymore, surveys show. The reason is that anyone who takes a sip will likely feel like they are drinking water from the Atlantic Ocean. The pitiful remains from the reservoir have been mixed with water from the pesticide-contaminated River Plate. River and seawater mix in the estuary of the Rio Parana and Rio Uruguay streams, leading to an increased chlorine and salt content in Montevideo's municipal water, far exceeding World Health Organization thresholds.

Uruguay's water emergency has therefore escalated into a political crisis, sparking street protests. Environmental protection group Redes - Amigos de la Tierra blames the dire situation on "plundering." It says that cellulose factories, rice-growing companies and soy farmers consume vast amounts of water without having to pay a single peso.

Montevideo protesters took to the streets on May 31 demanding the government take urgent steps to tackle the water shortage

Image: Matilde Campodonico/dpa/AP/picture alliance

Agriculture and industry to blame?

"Almost 80% of our freshwater goes to the agricultural and forestry sector, so we can certainly say water resource exploitation is very high in Uruguay," says Meerhoff. "Because so much water is used in industry, the amount for water for personal use and nature is obviously very limited."

Montevideo hospitals and schools now receive drinking water from two wells in the city center, which were rapidly built because of the water shortage. Another reservoir near Montevideo has been in the works for six months. And the repair of the city's old leaky pipes, which often lose a significant amount of water, should soon be on politicians' to-do list.

How climate change is intensifying drought  04:00

Unfortunately, many of these measures are only a drop in the ocean. What Uruguay needs – along with many countries and cities around the world – is water long-term strategy. "What is happening here in Montevideo can happen in any city in the world," says environmental expert Meerhoff. "It has happened before a few years ago in Cape Town, South Africa, and Curitiba, Brazil when extreme drought left people without drinking water — with climate change, such scenarios are becoming more and more likely around the world."

 

Uruguay's New Offshore E&P Leases Overlap Proposed Marine Parks

Experts are perplexed that areas designated priorities for protection overlap with offshore oil concessions

Isla de los Lobos, one of eight proposed marine protected areas off Uruguay (Jimmy Baikovicius / CC BY SA 2.0)

PUBLISHED MAR 26, 2023 1:40 PM BY CHINA DIALOGUE OCEAN

 

[By Lucía Cuberos]

Uruguay’s coasts are valuable for its tourism, fishing, shipping and trade. But, in a country whose renewable energy efforts have seen it dubbed an environmental “success story”, marine conservation remains a challenge.

Back in 2016, under the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 14, the Uruguayan government committed to protecting 10% of its coastal and marine area by 2020. Yet less than 1% are protected today.

It would seem difficult for Uruguay to contribute its share of the global target, established at the recent COP15 biodiversity talks in Canada, of protecting 30% of the ocean by 2030.

Uruguayan authorities are, however, working on plans to ensure the percentage reaches double digits soon. If realised, these plans could see Uruguay improve on its position as a marine protected area (MPA) laggard.

But just as it looks to boost conservation, the government has also authorised fossil fuel companies to explore for oil offshore, in areas that overlap with priority areas for protection. Environmental organisations and experts have described this move as a contradiction; as have members of the administration itself, who argue it goes against the country’s climate commitments.

Protect and exploit?

In 2022, the state hydrocarbons company, ANCAP, awarded six offshore concessions to explore for oil and gas in Uruguayan waters to private international firms including subsidiaries of Shell.

The news was poorly received by the environment ministry. Gerardo Amarilla, the ministry’s undersecretary, said the initiative “seems a contradiction in terms in the 21st century”, with fossil fuels something “that humanity is trying to leave in the past”.

In order to establish what needs protecting from possible offshore oil activity, two environment ministry bodies began a two-year study of the country’s waters in 2020. They then prepared a report which identified eight marine sites of priority for conservation.

Uruguay’s priority areas for marine conservation overlap with offshore oil concessions. Data source: Uruguay Ministry of Environment / ANCAP

In the document, published in December, the experts described the country’s progress on MPAs to date as “scarce”, highlighting that just 0.7% of its aquatic territory is currently protected under the National System of Protected Areas (SNAP), and that these are exclusively coastal areas.

“We want to have clear rules in advance,” Amarilla said of the report and the country’s offshore exploration plans. He said the idea is for the document to be the starting point for Uruguay to reach 10% of its waters under protection, by limiting activities that could harm these ecosystems. However, he acknowledged that the ministry is still seeking international support and funding, so while there are hopes to make considerable progress, it cannot guarantee all plans will be realised by the end of 2023.

“This technical report and the ministerial decision to authorise it are a clear signal from the Uruguayan state to companies interested in offshore exploration that there are environmentally fragile riches [in the seas] that the country is willing to protect from future operations,” Amarilla said.

Alicia Torres, an environmental advisor to the National Energy Directorate of the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Mining, told China Dialogue Ocean that the situation need not be a case of either/or. She said oil exploration and the creation of new MPAs “can coexist”, and claimed that the government’s offshore intentions “do not contradict” its policies to promote green energy.

Oil exploration “provides information on the resources we have, even if they do not end up being used,” she said. “These are studies that involve huge investments and that would be paid for by the companies.”

The advisor was keen to highlight that although Uruguay generates the vast majority of its electricity from renewables, the world is on the whole still consuming oil: “If there is still a long way to go [in the transition from fossil fuels] and the country has a resource it can use, would it give up using it when it could generate greater benefits for its society?”

Offshore oil plans

Uruguay’s offshore oil concessions have been awarded to a range of international firms: Block 6 is in the hands of US-based APA Corporation; British-Dutch giant Shell was awarded blocks 2 and 7; London-listed Challenger Energy Group will focus on Block 1; Block 4 was awarded to a consortium of Shell Group companies, APA and BG International Limited; and Block 5 went to Argentina’s state energy company YPF.

Speaking to China Dialogue Ocean, ANCAP’s general manager, Ignacio Horvath, claimed that there is “no dichotomy between renewable energies and those of fossil origin”, but rather it is a process of energy transition between them. He reported that currently 42% of the energy consumed in Uruguay comes from hydrocarbons, which are used mainly in transport; at the global level, about 80% of energy is supplied by fossil fuels. Although the goal is to reduce the use of carbon-intensive sources, Horvarth said “it is not possible to stop using them in an instant.”

Horvath explained that the Uruguayan government is proposing to start producing this resource instead of importing it. “Crude oil has to come from somewhere,” he said, so it is better to ensure that it is produced in, he claimed, a “sustainable, responsible and controlled” way, while seeking to reduce emissions.

“This does not go against the efforts that Uruguay is making in terms of renewables, nor does it go against environmental agreements,” Horvath claimed, but he acknowledged that it is still necessary to adapt to demand.

The International Energy Agency (EIA) has said exploitation and development of new oil and gas fields must stop now if the world is to stay within safe limits of climate change and meet the targets of the Paris Agreement.

Horvath said that MPAs in Uruguayan waters “can coexist without problems” with seismic exploration for oil and gas. Some evidence suggests that the seismic method, which uses sound waves, can be harmful to species such as whales and dolphins. For the ANCAP manager, “it is natural” that certain parts of Uruguay’s sea should be protected. The important thing is that there is clear regulation on how such areas are to be treated, he added.

Southern right whales in the Valdes Peninsula, Argentina. Sound waves from seismic exploration may be harmful to cetaceans like these. (Image: Alamy)

“Exploration can be done in a responsible way, in compliance with all the regulations and with all the environmental precautions, which is what has been done in previous explorations,” Horvath said. “If all precautions are taken, there is no need to interfere with marine fauna.”

Proposed MPAs

According to the Ministry of Environment’s report, the eight potential MPAs have been proposed because they include “unique species that make them a priority for conservation.” The areas are also said to be associated with oceanographic and ecological processes “of great ecosystemic relevance”.

The first proposed site is Banco Inglés, a shallow sandy formation 40 kilometres south-east of the capital Montevideo. It constitutes a habitat for molluscs, and food and shelter for deep-dwelling fish, the report states.

The second is Isla de Lobos, an island eight kilometres south of the resort city of Punta del Este, and its surrounding waters. Covering some 44 hectares, this area is home to one of the largest permanent colonies of sea lions and fur seals on the continent. In addition, it contains mussel beds that provide habitat for invertebrates and fish, and is an “important part of the migration route of the southern right whale,” the report adds. The area has already been proposed as an MPA by civil society organisations, and the SNAP’s National Advisory Commission started discussing it in December 2021.

Colony of sea lions and fur seals at Isla de Lobos, home to one of the largest permanent colonies of these species on the continent (Image: Jimmy Baikovicius / Flickr, CC BY SA)

The third proposed site is the “Restinga del pez limón”, an area of seabed formations located at depths of 20 to 40 metres at the mouth of the Río de la Plata, where fish species of “ecosystemic and commercial importance” seek refuge and food.

The fourth site is El Pozo de Fango, which is located on the coastal shelf near Punta del Este and is particularly important for sharks and rays.

The fifth is described only as “Mollusc beds of special interest”, where shoals of mussels, oysters, octopus, snails, squid and hermit crabs can be found. It is also a site of special relevance for sharks including the angel shark, bull shark, catshark and copper shark, the report says.

The sixth is described as a “nursery area”, considered a “habitat of ecological relevance” for hake and other species, given the pressures on their numbers from fishing.

The seventh is the “continental slope and its deep-sea corals”, another area that has been studied for conservation since 2021. It extends from 200 to 1,000 metres below sea level and includes seven submarine canyons that have not yet been explored. In turn, they contribute to the formation of coral mounds, which serve as refuges and nursery grounds for many species. Lobsters, orcas, swordfish and blue sharks have been identified in their vicinity.

The importance of these areas has garnered international attention. National Geographic, through its Pristine Seas programme, has carried out two expeditions in Uruguayan waters to document biodiversity there. The first, in March 2021, carried out along with Uruguayan researchers, the national navy, civil society representatives and government authorities, focused on the area of the continental slope; the second, took place at the end of the same year around Isla de Lobos.

Alex Muñoz, Pristine Seas director for Latin America, told China Dialogue that “both places proved to be of enormous ecological relevance at a global level.” After the expeditions, the team submitted two reports to government authorities to promote the prioritisation of these areas.

In recent years, Muñoz said, “the whole world has realised that the sea is in crisis”, and that the creation of MPAs is necessary “to restore the ocean to its former productivity”, given the effects of overexploitation. There is increased awareness of the need to protect biodiversity in the face of accelerated species extinction, and to mitigate the effects of climate change on the ocean.

“Uruguay has been one of the countries that has made the least progress in the world in the creation of MPAs,” Muñoz said.

He welcomed the Uruguay Azul 2030 (Blue Uruguay 2030) plan released in 2022 by the national government, which outlines a marine spatial planning process for the coming decades.

However, Muñoz said it is essential that any MPAs created have significant restrictions “so that they are not just lines in the water”. These sites, he added, should be protected so that species can reproduce and thus become more abundant. “There is no need to be afraid of MPAs. These areas are seedbeds where species can recover and thus give more vigour to the fishing sector outside their boundaries.”

On ANCAP’s offshore oil plans, Muñoz commented that the world needs to move away from fossil fuels as soon as possible: “It is hard to understand why Uruguay is still betting on offshore hydrocarbon exploration when the entire international community is trying to find alternative sources of energy to move the economy.”

Several of the proposed MPAs are located in areas where ANCAP has authorised offshore oil exploration. Muñoz explained that the offshore exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbons often has very serious environmental consequences, due to accidents and poor risk management.

Andrés Milessi, a marine biologist and coordinator of the Un Solo Mar (One Sea) project, which promotes MPAs in Uruguay, echoed Muñoz’s points. While he welcomed the Uruguay Azul roadmap, he said that some of the areas suggested – such as El Pozo de Fango, Restinga del pez limón and mollusc beds – “fell short” in terms of their size, and that more research is needed. “There is a lack of long-term studies, of sampling maintained over time,” he said.

Expectations for the future

Although Uruguay has backed the goal of 30% of the global ocean being protected by 2030, the environment ministry’s Amarilla claimed that “the country has not formally committed itself” and is not obliged to reach that percentage in its seas.

Mariana Ríos, head of the Marine Coastal Management Department of the Ministry of the Environment, told China Dialogue Ocean that conservation in Uruguayan waters is to be done via marine spatial planning. This allows for the identification of the most fragile sites in ecosystemic terms, the composition of their biodiversity, the services they provide and the oceanographic characteristics they possess, as well as their link with socio-economic activities.

The aim, Ríos added, is to evaluate all of Uruguay’s marine as a basis for designing a network of MPAs, but also for the evaluation of new projects in the marine space, including for example hydrocarbon exploration activities. In this way, the impacts of projects could be mitigated and biodiversity could be managed sustainably, she said.

Lucía Cuberos is a journalist based in Uruguay. She writes for Búsqueda magazine

This article appears courtesy of China Dialogue Ocean and may be found in its original form here.

Top image: Isla de los Lobos, one of eight proposed marine protected areas off Uruguay (Jimmy Baikovicius / CC BY SA 2.0)

The opinions expressed herein are the author's and not necessarily those of The Maritime Executive.

‘It’s pillage’: thirsty Uruguayans blast Google’s plan to exploit water supply

Story by Grace Livingstone in Montevideo 
The Guardian

Photograph: Eitan Abramovich/AFP/Getty Images© Provided by The Guardian

Aplan to build a Google data centre that will use millions of litres of water a day has sparked anger in Uruguay, which is suffering its worst drought in 74 years.

Water shortages are so severe in the country that a state of emergency has been declared in Montevideo and the authorities have added salty water to the public drinking water supplies, prompting widespread protests.

Related: Brazil says illegal miners driven from Indigenous territory, but ‘war’ not over

Critics claim that the government is prioritising water for transnationals and agribusiness at the expense of its own citizens. Daniel Peña, a researcher at the University of the Republic in Montevideo, said: “Only a tiny proportion of water in Uruguay is used for human consumption. The majority is used for big agro industries, such as soya, rice and wood pulping. Now we have Google planning to use enormous quantities of water.”

The search giant has bought 29 hectares (72 acres) of land to build a datacentre in Canelones department, in southern Uruguay. The centre would use 7.6m litres (2m gallons) of water a day to cool its servers – equivalent to the domestic daily use of 55,000 people, according to figures from the Ministry of Environment obtained by Peña through a legal action. The water would come directly from the public drinking water system, according to Peña.

Uruguay’s industry ministry says these figures are out of date because the company is revising its plans, and the datacentre will be “a smaller size”.

In a statement, Google said the hub would serve Google users worldwide, processing requests for services such as YouTube, Gmail and Google Search. “The Uruguay data center project is still in the exploratory phase, and Google’s technical team is actively working with the support of national and local authorities. We expect preliminary numbers (like projected water consumption) to undergo adjustments. At Google, sustainability is at the core of everything we do, and the way we design and manage our data centers is no exception,” it said.

Extremely low rainfall levels and record high temperatures have left Uruguay’s main reservoir dry and rivers depleted, and to make up the supply, public water authorities have started taking water from the Rio de la Plata estuary, where seawater mixes with freshwater, giving tap water a salty taste.



The Paso Severino dam in Florida, Uruguay, on 4 July 2023. 

The South American country is now suffering its most severe drought in 74 years.

 Photograph: Matilde Campodonico/AP© Provided by The Guardian

The foul-tasting tap water has caused shock waves in a country which has the highest GDP per capita in South America and was the first country in the world to declare access to water a constitutional right.

The government has doubled the permitted levels of sodium chloride in tap water and is advising pregnant women and people with serious health conditions not to drink it. Parents have been advised to prepare baby milk with bottled water and not to add salt to children’s food.

Uruguay’s president, Luis Lacalle Pou, has announced emergency measures such as lifting taxes on bottled water and distributing two litres (a half gallon) of free water a day to 21,000 poor or vulnerable families. He has also promised to build a new reservoir in 30 days.

But public anger remains widespread. “Tap water is virtually undrinkable. But there are approximately 500,000 people who can’t afford to buy bottled water,” said Carmen Sosa of the trade union-backed Commission to Defend Water and Life. Its slogan, “This is not drought, it’s pillage,” is scrawled on walls across Montevideo.

“More than 80% of water goes to industry, like soya and wood pulping. Yes, we have had a shortage of rain, but the drought has simply shown the problems with our economic model. We can’t concentrate resources in a few hands,” said Sosa. “Water for human consumption has to come before profit.”

Last month, the world’s biggest pulping plant started operations in Uruguay, the third such mill in the country. The new plant, run by the Finnish company UPM to create raw material for paper, is forecast to use 129.6m litres (34m gallons) of water a day, and releases effluent into a local river. UPM said it treats the effluent before release, and constantly monitors the water quality in the Río Negro.

A UPM spokesperson told the Guardian: “Uruguay is facing the worst drought in a century. Within this framework, UPM’s operations in Uruguay have no connection with the drought that is occurring. The drinking water consumed in Montevideo comes from the Santa Lucía River. None of the pulp mills installed in Uruguay are linked to this river. This challenging climatic situation cannot be associated in any way with the forestry sector.”

 

Uruguay's Navy Looks to Shine a Light on Dark Fishing Fleet

Uruguay's main naval base in Montevideo (Vaimaca / CC BY SA 3.0)

PUBLISHED MAR 24, 2024 8:17 PM BY CHINA DIALOGUE OCEAN

 

 

[By Lucía Cuberos]

Every day, sailors on fishing vessels around the globe turn off their tracking systems and vanish from the gaze of authorities.

There are legitimate reasons for ships to disappear in this way from the Automatic Identification System (AIS) that broadcasts their identities and locations – including seeking to avoid pirates. But the practice has been linked to oil smuggling, gun running and human trafficking.

In the Atlantic waters off South America, Lieutenant Commander Hugo de Barros of the Uruguayan Navy watches for tell-tale signs of a different activity linked to this “going dark”: illegal fishing.

De Barros is interim head of the fleet command’s search-and-rescue center, which is responsible for monitoring Uruguay’s water. He says the navy has tools that enable it to approximate ships’ locations while dark. “When we see these vessels disappear and show up in the system, it creates clues and patterns that allow us to determine if they are in a suspicious situation of illegal fishing.”

Such illegal fishing threatens tuna, sharks, swordfish, turtles and seabirds in Uruguayan waters. It is a growing concern as the country seeks to safeguard its marine environment and establish more protected areas. The problem is compounded by a lack of resources for patrolling national waters, but this may be changing.

Out of the system and causing problems

Dark activity and the often-related issue of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing is a growing global problem. According to one study, fishing vessels switch off their AIS systems around 6% of the time, in ways that suggests this is often related to IUU activity.

In Uruguay, where China Dialogue has previously reported problems with foreign fishing ships docking at the main port of Montevideo, there is concern that going dark may be on the increase. A study team from Mar Azul Uruguayo, a project of the NGO Che Wirapitá, analyzed 46 ships apparently fishing between November 2022 and November 2023 in an area identified by the environment ministry as a priority for conservation – the Restinga del Pez Limón. Using data from the tracking projects Global Fishing Watch and Skylight, they found 42 of these vessels switched off their AIS systems 736 times in that period.

(Data source: Global Fishing Watch; Map: China Dialogue Ocean)

According to their report, four of these were registered in Taiwan, and their dark activity took place in international waters, not within the area. Inside the Restinga del Pez Limón, 26 Argentinean-flagged vessels were responsible for 89% of the dark activity and 12 Uruguayan-flagged vessels for the remaining 11%.

Comparing just November 2022 and November 2023, the Mar Azul Uruguayo researchers found dark activity more than doubled in the Argentinean fleet, from 66 events to 162. Among the Uruguayan boats, it tripled from 13 to 40.

Andrés Milessi, the director of the group, says the efforts of many people to promote greater control of fishing are held back by the “obstacles and bureaucracy” of the state.

“There are many freely available surveillance tools at Uruguay’s disposal, but it depends on the political will to access them,” says Milessi.

He says a number of organizations are now trying to convince deputies and senators in the Uruguayan Congress to toughen up laws on illegal fishing. For the moment, however, “the boats are still coming in and out, and the authorities are pretending that it’s business as usual”.

Ship shortage hampers fisheries enforcement

According to De Barros, the navy’s lack of capacity has undermined its ability to combat illegal fishing. He says fishing and related activities, such as the transfer of catches between vessels, constitute “about 99% of the dark activity that is recorded”.

At the end of 2022, the navy obtained vessels to patrol the Uruguay River. But De Barros says “we are most depleted” in the Río de la Plata, where the Uruguay River flows into the ocean, and in the Atlantic itself. He says the navy currently has only three vessels capable of navigating these waters, two of which “are quite limited in terms of speed”.

In December, the Ministry of Defence signed off the purchase of two ocean-going patrol vessels as it moves to strengthen the navy’s capacity to protect territorial waters. These are in addition to other boats already acquired during the current government, which took power in 2020, including four launches, a search-and-rescue ship, and a scientific vessel.

According to De Barros, the new patrol boats “are fundamental because they are specifically designed to meet [our] needs”. Most importantly, they will increase the navy’s deep-water surveillance capability, both directly and through their ability to carry helicopters that can travel even further and faster. “We gain a much greater response capability,” he says.

De Barros says he is unaware of the figures reported by Mar Azul Uruguayo but believes that any increase in the problem is probably due to the lack of navy vessels.

Although the construction of the new vessels “will take time”, he hopes they will be a lasting solution. “Not like what has happened in recent years, when friendly countries give us material that is already at the limit of its useful life, generating very limited capacities.”

Fishers flit through legal loopholes

Another issue has been undermining the fight against illicit fishing. “Nowadays, illegal fishing in Uruguay is considered an administrative infraction and not a crime under the penal code,” explains De Barros. This limits the actions the navy can take. A vessel caught fishing illegally is usually fined and eventually has its cargo confiscated, but no one can be arrested or prosecuted.

Other navy sources, who spoke to China Dialogue Ocean on condition of anonymity, say the current law “has their hands pretty much tied”. Some countries allow their militaries to take strong action against foreign vessels that contravene their rules. Argentina has been known to open fire at and even sink vessels it accuses of fishing illegally.

Juan Riva Zucchelli, the president of Uruguay’s Chamber of Fishing Industries, tells China Dialogue Ocean that when vessels break the rules and are detected, they may be detained, but in the end “they return to their own waters”.

He also worries that the navy’s capacity “is very low… We all know the resource and fuel problems the navy has,” he says. “We don’t have what we should have to protect the country’s wealth.”

Despite this, Riva Zucchelli insists that “there are not so many cases” of illegal fishing in Uruguayan waters.

“NGOs, in the name of protection, go overboard with the numbers. I’m not against what they do, but sometimes they raise alarms because they want to protect more than they should,” he says.

Getting tough

China Dialogue Ocean tried unsuccessfully to contact Uruguay’s National Directorate of Aquatic Resources for comment on this story.

But Environment Minister Robert Bouvier has said illegal fishing is “being worked on in close inter-institutional collaboration”, especially in view of the new marine protected areas that the ministry is considering establishing.

In addition to preparing for its new vessels, sources say the navy has recently begun training an illegal fishing analyst, and a first report on the issue should be published in May. It is also developing and deploying technology that correlates satellite imagery, AIS data and other information to track vessels, and using artificial intelligence to analyse whether they are engaged in suspicious fishing activities.

“This technology makes it possible to see through clouds or at night using synthetic aperture radar, and to detect ships that do not want to be detected and photograph them,” De Barros explains.

With the navy’s rising capacity, going dark off the coast of Uruguay may not be enough for boats to get away with illegal fishing in the future.

Lucía Cuberos is a journalist based in Uruguay. She writes for Búsqueda magazine.

This article appears courtesy of China Dialogue Ocean and may be found in its original form here. 

Top image: Uruguay's main naval base in Montevideo (Vaimaca / CC BY SA 3.0)

The opinions expressed herein are the author's and not necessarily those of The Maritime Executive.

Uruguay’s green power revolution: rapid shift to wind shows the world how it’s done

Sam Meadows in Montevideo
Wed, 27 December 2023 

Photograph: Alessandro Cinque

It was the 2000s, and fossil fuel prices were rising worldwide. After a period of volatility in the 1980s, the crude oil price per barrel had reached one its lowest points – $20 – at the end of 2001 but then, over the course of six years, it tripled before a new oil shock saw prices surpass those of the 1970s, reaching a record $145 a barrel on 3 July 2008.

Uruguay imports its oil, so it had a problem. Demand for energy in the country had grown by 8.4% the previous year and household energy bills were increasing at a similar rate. The 3.4 million-strong population was becoming restless. Lacking alternatives, President Tabaré Vázquez was forced to buy energy from neighbouring states at higher prices, even though Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay had a mutual aid agreement in case of emergency conditions.

To escape the trap, Vázquez needed rapid solutions. He turned to an unlikely source: Ramón Méndez Galain, a physicist who would transform the country’s energy grid into one of the cleanest in the world.


Today, the country has almost phased out fossil fuels in electricity production. Depending on the weather, anything between 90% and 95% of its power comes from renewables. In some years, that number has crept as high as 98%.

Phasing out fossil fuels was a central issue at Cop28. After a week of tense negotiations in Dubai, countries agreed to transition away from fossil fuels within energy systems – but campaigners, governments and environmental experts continue to debate how to make that transition.

One answer could lie in what Uruguay has achieved within a decade and a half.

“I had been working abroad for 14 years, and when I came back, there was this energy crisis, but the only solution people were giving was to install a nuclear power plant – that was it,” Galain remembers. “I was a nuclear physicist, so I thought I could understand a little about this problem.”

The more Galain researched the issue, the more he became convinced that nuclear power was not the answer for Uruguay. Instead, he argued, it was renewables. He published his findings in a paper that laid out his belief that the country should go all in on wind power. Soon after, he received a phone call inviting him to become Uruguay’s energy secretary and to implement his plan.

“Imagine my surprise,” Galain says. “This was crazy. But I did something even more crazy: I accepted.”

Uruguay is a small country – about 26% smaller than the UK by area – wedged between two giants. Argentina’s sprawling capital, Buenos Aires, lies 31 miles (50km) south of the mouth of the Rio Plata, which forms part of the border between the two countries, while Uruguay shares its northern border with Brazil.



No one believed we could do it. We needed new solutions. We needed to do things differently

Ramón Méndez Galain

In this context, the country is easily overlooked. However, economically it is a South American success story. Its GDP per capita was £16,420 in 2022, according to the World Bank, the highest on the continent; only a tiny fraction of its population lives in extreme poverty. The country has a burgeoning middle class – accounting for about 60% of the population – and there are high expectations for lifestyle and opportunities.

Such demographic change has driven demand for the trappings of a contemporary, 21st-century lifestyle. Homes are fitted with washing machines and dishwashers, and air conditioning units have become commonplace, as have vast flat-screen TVs and connected devices.

All of that requires power. Over the course of about a decade, Uruguay, under the stewardship of Galain, installed about 50 windfarms across the country, decarbonised the grid and bolstered its hydropower.

The biggest challenge, however, was to change the “narrative” about renewables. Back then, sustainable energies were still surrounded by many misconceptions, says Galain: they were too expensive, too intermittent or would raise unemployment – and changing these stories proved vital to getting buy-in from all levels of society.

“No one believed we could do it. We needed new solutions. We needed to do things differently,” he says. “Today, even members of that cabinet say to me: ‘When you were saying those things on TV in 2008, we were thinking, how are we going to explain this when we fail?’”

Galain says there needed to be a “strong national narrative” to make it work. “I told people this was the best option even if they don’t believe climate change exists. It’s the cheapest and not dependent on crazy fluctuations [in oil prices].”

With that narrative, the government set about winning over a sceptical populace. One initial concern was that jobs would be lost in the energy sector. Instead, about 50,000 new jobs were created – a large number in a country with such a small population. The idea of a “just transition”, in which nobody was left behind, became central, and some workers were offered places on retraining schemes to adapt to the new normal.

Others were able to play the changes to their advantage. Santiago Ravello, 52, owns a beef farm in central Uruguay, about 175 miles north of the capital, Montevideo. Beef production is a primary industry across the country, owing to its vast swathes of grasslands.

In 2009, the Ravello family was debating whether to sell its farm. That was when Ravello met Fernando Schaich, who ran what was previously a small energy-efficiency consultancy, and had learned about the country’s transition to renewables.

Schaich had spotted an opportunity in the transition plan early on. His company had previously made its money by advising businesses on how they could cut their energy usage, but it moved into windfarm development. He told Ravello that his family’s farm could be a site for an onshore windfarm – and that building one need not affect his cattle.

The pair prepared a bid for a contract and went to a developer, but lost. “Fernando was gutted by this,” Ravello says. “He told me: ‘You can go with another company.’ But he had always been honest with me, so I told him: ‘It’s not all about money.’”

Today, Ravello’s farm is home to 22 wind turbines, a side business that gives the family a healthy source of income.

***

Uruguay’s green transition has not been without its challenges, however. One was logistics, according to Gonzalo Casaravilla, who served as president of the state energy company UTE between 2010 and 2020.

Outside cities, Uruguay’s roads are small, with few motorways. The parts of wind turbines are anything but small, and moving them into position a difficult undertaking. This was achieved by means of rolling roadblocks and convoys to create minimum disruption when new windfarm projects were built.



People are wondering what happened and why their bill isn’t lower. But in that same time period, we had 40% poverty; now it’s 10%

Ramón Méndez Galain

“It was funny. In the beginning, the technical people in my company were saying: ‘Whoa, be careful.’ A year and a half later, they said: ‘OK, it’s a good idea,” says Casaravilla. “There was friction at the beginning, but then it was the best team we could have had.”

The transition has not been universally popular. There are occasional grumbles from people who wonder why their energy bills have not fallen if renewable energy is “free”. This is a complaint that Galain shrugs off. “People are wondering what happened and why their bill isn’t lower,” he says. “But in that same time period, we had 40% poverty; now it’s 10%, and extreme poverty has almost disappeared.

“People now have air conditioning that they didn’t have before, using more and more electricity.”

Xavier Costantini, a partner at the consultancy McKinsey, based in Montevideo, says that the idea that renewable energy is free is a misconception. There are maintenance costs – although relatively modest – but crucially, the initial investment needs to be paid back.

Related: Africa can become a renewable energy superpower – if climate deniers are kept at bay

The question of whether Uruguay’s transition provides a vital blueprint for the world is not a simple one. Some characteristics gave the country an advantage, Costantini says. It is “blessed by nature” with strong winds and considerable hydropower, which is sometimes sold to Brazil when in surplus.

An alternative energy source such as hydropower is vital to plug gaps in a renewable grid as wind and solar are intermittent.

Unlike some countries in the region, Uruguay is very stable politically, which made investing for the long term much more palatable for foreign companies, Costantini says. It also had relatively high tax rates on imports, a lever it was able to use to encourage foreign investment.

However, such conditions can be found elsewhere. In the UK, for example, Scotland has considerable hydropower potential. “Full decarbonisation is expensive, but you could get to a high level of decarbonisation,” Costantini says. “I’d say by the end of the next decade, there’s certainly [scope] for a country such as the UK to have a highly decarbonised grid at a very cost-competitive rate.”

Uruguay, meanwhile, has moved on to what is becoming known as the second stage of its transition. It is gradually moving its buses and public vehicles over to electric, and incentivising taxi and minicab drivers to switch. How well this works could provide a global roadmap for how other countries can decarbonise their economies.

Uruguay's century-old Russian colony troubled over war from afar


People walk past the Maximo Gorki Cultural Centre in San Javier, 

Uruguay on March 2, 2022

 (AFP/Eitan ABRAMOVICH)


Russian descendant Alejandro Sabelin poses at his house

 in San Javier, Rio Negro department, Uruguay on March 2, 2022 

(AFP/Eitan ABRAMOVICH)



Russian descendant Alejandro Sabelin shows the passport of his grandfather at his house in San Javier, Uruguay

 (AFP/Eitan ABRAMOVICH)

The Na Zdorovie restaurant and hotel is seen in San Javier, Uruguay on March 1, 2022, where the village's Russian roots are visible in the business's name

 (AFP/Eitan ABRAMOVICH)


A girl poses with traditional Russian nesting dolls, called matryoshkas, at the Libertad square in San Javier, Uruguay, on March 1, 2022

 (AFP/Eitan ABRAMOVICH)

Aerial view of San Javier, Rio Negro department, Uruguay, on March 2, 2022 (AFP/Ivan PISARENKO)

Jordane BERTRAND
Mon, 7 March 2022

Far away from Kyiv and even further from Moscow, residents of the small Uruguayan village of San Javier -- an old Russian settlement -- look on with dismay at the invasion of Ukraine.

At a first glance, the community's grid plan, low houses and surrounding fields resembles any other rural Uruguayan village -- but a scratch below the surface reveals the history of a site founded more than a century ago by Russian peasants.

Although few of their descendants speak Russian or even carry Russian names, the inhabitants here insist they are "proud" of their Slavic heritage, while also firmly denouncing the motherland's invasion of Ukraine.


San Javier has several Cyrillic inscriptions on display, a "Maximo Gorki" cultural center and five giant matryoshka dolls on the central square.

It all points to a history that is "unique in Uruguay and South America," says Leonardo Martinez, the deputy mayor of the village of 1,800 people.

San Javier's story began in 1913 when 300 families -- originally from Russia's western Voronezh region and followers of the "New Israel" Christian sect that was persecuted by Tsarist Russia -- arrived in Montevideo.

A few months later, around 600 people settled in San Javier, a five-hour drive northwest of Montevideo and flanked by the Uruguay River.

It was the largest autonomous Russian agricultural colony in South America, and quickly became a roaring success.

A century later, the sunflower -- which the colonists introduced to Uruguay -- appears everywhere as the village symbol.

"Looking at photos we feel a bit nostalgic... for the great sacrifice they made," said Martinez, 43, the great-grandson of an original settler.

The mayoral office claims a "high percentage" of the current inhabitants descend from the Russian colonizers, although over time the village has seen a blending of people and cultures, like the country as a whole.

The local restaurant offers the typical Uruguayan grilled meat "asado" as well as "shashlik," a type of lemon-seasoned skewered meat popular across much of the former Soviet Union.

The village square hosts Uruguayan creole folk dances as well as traditional Russian ones.

- Killing 'brothers' -

The village, which has its own museum, has become a tourist site for its Russian history.

But despite those ties, not a single flag or banner proclaiming partisanship can be found in its streets.

"I've not seen explicit support in San Javier" for either country, said Martinez about the war between Russia and Ukraine more than 10,000 kilometers (6,200 miles) away.

"We're against the war, that's obvious," he said. "Against all armed conflict."

Leonardo Lorduguin, a 22-year-old San Javier resident, has set up a Facebook page dedicated to his village.

He is fascinated by the Russian language, which he has been learning for two years -- one of the few of his generation to speak it.

But he would not commit to either side in the conflict.

Like many other villagers, he insists that the first settlers came from "Great Russia" -- an old term that includes territories outside the modern Russian borders.

"In 1913, only Russians came but some had Ukrainian names. They came to Montevideo and were told there was a Russian colony in San Javier," said Lorduguin, reeling off the Russian and Ukrainian surnames of some villagers.

Alejandro Sabelin, 80, is one of the only other villagers who speaks Russian alongside Spanish.

His father was born in San Javier three months after his grandparents arrived there.

He recognizes that the language is being lost in the community. His own children understand Russian better than they speak it.

A picture of his grandparents hangs in his small house.

"I'm really sorry about what is happening because it is almost like killing your brothers," he said of Russia's invasion of its neighbor.

Although he has never visited the homeland of his grandparents, Sabelin says, "I will never stop supporting Russia."

But "the war is awful, what's happening is horrible," he adds.

jb/bc/caw

Uruguay rides out COVID threat without imposing a lockdown

Issued on: 02/07/2020 -

Women jog along the seafront of Uruguay's capital Montevideo, where government strategy has kept the coronavirus pandemic under control Mariana SUAREZ AFP/File
Montevideo (AFP)

Uruguay's president was recently photographed surfing in the early morning ahead of a cabinet meeting, symbolizing his government's relief that a policy of "freedom with responsibility" in containing the COVID-19 pandemic is succeeding.

Photos of 47-year-old Luis Lacalle Pou emerging from the South Atlantic in a wetsuit with a board under his arm and a smile on his lips hit the newsstands on Tuesday, as Europe reopened its borders to 15 countries.

The list included only one Latin American country: Uruguay.

With less than 1,000 registered novel coronavirus cases and just 27 deaths, the country of 3.4 million is a notable exception in a region that has become the epicenter of the global health crisis.

Uruguay currently has just 83 active cases, while its giant neighbor Brazil is the world's worst-hit country after the United States.

This success is especially remarkable as there never was an official lockdown.

- Closures, but no lockdown -

Instead, amid industry furloughs and school and border closures, officials urged people to stay indoors and strictly adhere to social distancing.

The message was drilled home in the media and by police helicopters flying overhead.

The center-right president, who took office in early March as the pandemic was heating up, has said he opted for "individual freedom" rather than "a police regime."

The calls for self-isolation were widely followed.

Infectious diseases specialist Alvaro Galiana attributes Uruguay's success to early tracing.

"The early appearance of well known cases, at a time when the circulation of the virus within the population was very limited, led to adequate measures being implemented -- even if at the time they seemed exaggerated -- right at the start of the school year," Galiana said, referring to the southern hemisphere's school year.

Uruguay's demographics were also in its favor, given a low population density and the absence of large urban centers outside of the capital Montevideo.

- Gradual easing -

Uruguay chose to ease back to normal gradually, beginning in April with the return of 45,000 construction workers. Later, cafes and restaurants reopened, followed by gyms in May.

Shopping centers reopened in mid-June and football, the national passion, is due to resume on August 15, though in empty stadiums.

The economic shock however has been considerable: 200,000 people are unemployed, a massive spike from the 10,000 at the start of the pandemic. Exports fell 16 percent in the first half of the year, and GDP is expected to fall by 3.0 percent this year.

The IMF is forecasting a 9.4 percent contraction for all of Latin America this year.

The government is also relaxing requirements in a bid to attract foreign investment.

This week, Uruguay became the first country in the region to allow schools, colleges and universities to reopen.

The government however is refusing to declare victory, fearing flare-ups or even a second wave. Meanwhile, after three months of voluntary confinement, Uruguayans are easing back into a semblance of normality.

In February work started on the first tests to screen for the virus, said Henry Cohen, a specialist on the government's COVID-19 advisory board. "Today we have more than the country needs," he said.

Spanish carrier Iberia is to resume direct flights between Madrid and Montevideo on Sunday, though land borders with Brazil and Argentina remain closed.

Facundo Caballero, 29, has been waiting to join his girlfriend in Europe since his flight to Paris was canceled in March.

"I've been waiting for someone to tell me 'go ahead' and I'll go for it. You never know if there is a second wave and I have to stay here longer," he said.

© 2020 AFP

Canadian rating agency praises Uruguay's fiscal consolidation and raises BBB- trend from stable to positive

Saturday, November 27th 2021 

MERCOPRESS

The Positive trend reflects DBRS' view that Uruguay’s fiscal outlook has improved due to fiscal consolidation efforts and improvements to the budget

Canadian credit rating agency, DBRS Morningstar confirmed Uruguay's Long-Term Foreign and Local-Currency – Issuer Ratings at BBB-, and at the same time, elevated its prospect from stable to positive.

The Positive trend reflects DBRS Morningstar’s view that Uruguay’s fiscal outlook has improved due to fiscal consolidation efforts and institutional improvements to the budgetary framework. While spending rigidities remain a medium-term credit challenge, tight expenditure control by the president Lacalle Pou administration and the phasing out of pandemic-related programs next year should help put public finances in a more sustainable position.

Some of the upward pressure on the ratings also stems from the cumulative effects of gradually diversifying Uruguay’s economy and reducing the country’s exposure to external shocks. The Uruguayan economy bounced back from the pandemic in the first half of 2021 but the recovery was uneven. While a large wave of COVID-19 cases from March to June delayed the revival of private consumption, investment and exports expanded quickly.

Fixed capital formation increased 21% in real terms in the first six months of the year relative to the prior year. The boom in investment was driven by the construction of a large new pulp mill in central Uruguay and an associated railroad project. Goods exports also increased markedly, due to a pick-up in global demand and higher prices for agricultural commodities.

While consumption underperformed, the outlook is better for the second half of 2021 and 2022. New COVID-19 cases are now at low levels and 75% of the population is fully vaccinated. Uruguay reopened its borders in November to vaccinate non-residents, which should support the tourism sector. In addition, high-frequency unemployment insurance data points to a recent strengthening in the labour market.

Overall, growth prospects look better than in the pre-pandemic period. The IMF projects GDP growth of 3.2% in 2022 and 2.7% in 2023. The confirmation of Uruguay’s BBB (low) ratings balances its strong political and macroeconomic fundamentals with its medium-term fiscal pressures, modest productivity growth, a partially dollarized financial system, and limited financial depth.

The political environment is characterized by high-quality public institutions, low levels of corruption, and predictable macroeconomic policymaking, all of which constitute an important source of credit strength.

However risks stemming from volatility in the region are elevated, but ample foreign exchange reserves, conservative public debt management, diversified export markets, and sound regulation of the banking system bolster the economy’s defences to potential shocks.

The government has made progress in its multi-year fiscal consolidation plan. The central government deficit (excluding the “cincuentones” pension transfers) is expected to narrow from 5.8% of GDP in 2020 to 4.9% this year, even as the government has continued to provide emergency support to households and firms affected by the pandemic. As emergency expenditures expire and the cyclical recovery advances, the deficit is projected to decline further to 3.1% in 2022, nearly one percentage point better than before the pandemic in 2019

News from Latin America and Mercosur — MercoPress