The alliance between San Rafael and General Alvear for the anti-hail fight has collapsed and there will be no aerial operations this season. San Rafael refused to sign the November 3 agreement even though the province offered to cover the missing 900 million pesos.
The alliance between the municipalities of San Rafael and General Alvear to sustain the anti-hail fight in southern Mendoza has collapsed, and the mayor of Alvear, Alejandro Molero, warned that there will be no aerial operations this season. It is a central system for the region's grape and fruit production that, in fact, should already have started operating several weeks ago.
What until 2024 had been a sustained state policy is now the main source of discord in Mendoza politics. The dispute is playing out inside Alfredo Cornejo's government, between the provincial government and the affected municipalities, and among the mayors themselves, amid a provincial internal battle involving the governor and Senator Luis Petri.
For this season, the provincial government had decided not to contribute financially to the aerial fight plan, discontinued since 2024 but still backed by the Executive. What the southern municipalities negotiated was to prevent the aircraft from being sold, to get them transferred to their control free of charge and to raise funds to cover the shortfall.
San Rafael committed 1,500 million pesos and General Alvear 600 million, but the costs of fuel, personnel and pyrotechnics exceeded what was raised by about 900 million. Faced with that shortfall, Molero said he negotiated again with the province and secured an offer of the 900 million needed to complete the budget, included in a draft agreement dated November 3 along with the delivery of the aircraft and the radar service.
The provincial contribution, however, came with one condition: the province would provide those funds only once and would then deduct them from the compensation that producers in San Rafael and General Alvear might receive through the Fondo Compensador Agrícola, that is, they would be subtracted from the assistance earmarked for those who suffered crop damage.
San Rafael questioned that mechanism. Mayor Omar Félix stated in writing that he would not sign the agreement sent by the Ministry of Production and confirmed that the municipality had the 1,500 million pesos available.
However, he insisted on the conditions raised since September: that the province guarantee the aircraft for a period of between 8 and 10 years, assume their maintenance and the supply of flares, and cover half of the remaining operating expenses.
The decision exploded in Alvear, where they claim the region will be left without an aerial fight system because of the unilateral decision of the neighboring mayor. At a press conference on Friday, Molero described the stance as "a unilateral and absolutely petty move taken without consultation by the San Rafael government" and argued that "it is the Félix (in reference to the mayor and his brother) who do not want the anti-hail fight in General Alvear."
"They wanted the planes, we got them. They wanted them free of charge, we got them. They wanted 3 instead of 2, we got that. They told us money was missing and that if we contributed 900 million they would back General Alvear, we got that too. But they ended up saying all of that was insufficient," Molero denounced.
The Alvear mayor lashed out: "Evidently, there is no fight in southern Mendoza, because Félix doesn't want it and because they operate with pettiness and lies." He apologized to the production sector of his district for the failed effort and assured that it will continue underway.
