MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentina/Uruguay dispute: with blocked bridges, “no dialogue”

“With blocked bridges there's no dialogue”, said Uruguayan president Tabare Vazquez when asked if a bilateral meeting with President Nestor Kirchner was scheduled next Friday in the framework of the Ibero-american summit in Montevideo.

Neighboring Uruguay and Argentina are going through a period of strained relations because of the construction of pulp mills on the Uruguayan side of a shared border river which Argentine environmentalists object as "highly contaminating" and regularly protest impeding or delaying traffic between both countries.

The Kirchner administration which originally encouraged the pickets and the blockading of bridges across the river Uruguay, now has appealed to the protestors to cease their actions since they are contrary to Argentina's diplomatic strategy in international and regional courts, but refuses to use force to ensure the free flow of traffic and people, as was recommended by Mercosur's arbitration tribunal.

Taking advantage of the world coverage of the Ibero-american summit with at least twenty heads of state or government in Montevideo, Gualeguaychu residents announced they will be blocking access to the bi-national bridges over the weekend.

But Vazquez strong stance of "no dialogue while bridges are blocked" was somehow debilitated when re-elected Brazilian president Lula da Silva phoned the Uruguayan president to tell him he would not be coming to the Montevideo summit since he's working on building a coalition for his second mandate.

Uruguay' strategy has been to "regionalize" the dispute and Brazil as mediator has always been a clue piece in finding a solution to the dispute. Besides, Brazil will chair Mercosur beginning January. Argentina on the other hand has insisted in keeping the issue bilateral and Kirchner has so far managed to keep Lula da Silva distant.