About the alleged cartel of reservoirs and the “avivatos” in hydroelectric projects

Jorge Gómez Gallego*, Medellín, February 27, 2011

(Translated by Chuck Summers, CSN Volunteer Translator. Edited by Teresa Welsh, a CSN

Volunteer Editor.)

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The Governor of Antioquia, without any evidence, and abusing the media power that the

enormous marketing budget, which he manages, gives him, has been conducting a systematic

campaign against small and medium mining in the riverbeds of Porce and Cauca, in which two

hydroelectric projects are being carried out.

The term 'avivatos' that the regional leader uses for these fellow citizens who make a living

extracting gold from these rivers and the accusation that they are part of an alleged "cartel of

reservoirs", is aimed at creating an adverse environment in the public opinion towards them.

In this respect it seems appropriate to try to answer two questions. The first has to do with the

fact itself, that is, if what the Governor says is true or not. The media power does not guarantee

the truth. The other refers to trying to perceive the purpose that is motivating Dr. Ramos to

advance such a crusade.

If it were true that those that are running the informal mining in these river banks were just a

few newcomers that have situated themselves in these sites waiting for the compensation arising

from the implementation of these projects, the matter would not be more than an episode of the

picaresque Colombian.

But the problem is that those of us that have the opportunity to be close to these processes, we

can ensure that this is not true. The better part of the citizens that work there as miners, come as a

result of different phenomena in hydroelectric projects, or have always been there in an unstable

manner.

That is evidenced by the fact known by most of the country that something similar happens, with

the same or greater intensity, in other sites that are not advancing such projects; the principle

reasons lie in the prevailing high unemployment, in the increase in international gold prices, and

in the forced change of activity of many people from the collapse of agricultural production or by

from the fumigation and eradication of illicit crops without the simultaneous implementation of

productive projects by the State.

Marginally it may be, there will always be people who in the midst of the harassment of

hunger search for hypothetical compensations there; but those who know the two areas,

who have walked every inch and have no incentive of pay from the owner of the projects

or from the utilities that were derived therefrom, can certify that those who work or have

established "cambuche" ("hut") in these territories, are the result of increasing informality of our

economy, or of non-permanent mining activity that have always been present.

There is a phenomenon that the authorities know but conceal: many miners are occasional, that

is to say, they are inhabitants of nearby towns and villages that at certain times of the year and

since forever, come to the rivers to compensate for months without a harvest, or those with the

most demand in the household expenses, such as the school season, or they simply do it in the

summer, when volume is low, and facilitate the extraction of gold. Many of these occasional

and casual miners, before the announcement of the execution of these projects, which will erase

in one fell swoop a periodic income that is no less essential, have tried to establish a kind of

permanent presence with the establishment of "huts."

Then if it is not true that the "cartel of reservoirs" exists and the miners there are no more than

part of the millions of Colombians, who have no alternative other than "rebusque," what is

sought with the unjustified stigmatization? In Porce IV, all evidence suggests that the Governor

of Antioquia contributes to the assembly of a false positive by Public Companies of Medellín.

These are the facts: in the second half of 2010 the agreement was consolidated so that EPM

builds, operates, and exploits Hidroituango, immediately after which it was announced the

suspension of the Porce IV project, owned by EPM. To build and operate Hidroituango is worth

half a megawatt installed to do the same in Porce IV and as if were small, the generation of a kw/

h in Hidroituango worth 22% less than in Porce IV. The day and night!

The readers should know that in 2008, EPM was awarded a position for reliability in power

generation in Porce IV for 962 gigawatt hours from the first of December 2015, which is a kind

of contract in which EPM is obligated to generate this energy, and the subsidiary of ISA that

controls the interconnected system pays an annual sum for the mere availability of the service.

But in case of failure, they must pay a large fine in dollars.

In announcing the suspension of that project, EPM and the city of Medellin have alleged, lying

to the pubic and developing an excuse to avoid the fine, unforeseen circumstances and of greater

strength, as the high and unusual growth in volume of people that should be compensated and the

disruption of public order.

The census that EPM advanced once declared an area of public interest Porce IV (2008) had

thrown a population to what was rumored in late 2010, and the security conditions of the area

were publically known since they took the pre-feasibility studies. Having secured the grant for

Hidroituango for 50 years, EPM decided to abandon Porce IV in benefit of Hidroituango, but the

fine (initially $14 million USD and growing as time passes) was an obstacle. That is where our

Governor appeared to be active, helping to set up a perfect alibi, helping to set up the plea of the

supervening fact and greater strength.

Another cleverness, but linked to the previous, is that which is presented in the case of

Hidroituango, where they are practicing arbitrary evictions of the mining population. There

the Governor, the same that is called to testify in the Supreme Court for the shameful scandal

of the para-political and that is being investigated and questioned by the absurd "botellón" of

recruitment, who is no longer an accomplice of the "avivato," as in Porce IV; no, here he is

the "avivato" in person.

He is appealing on his own behalf, as the IDEA and the Governor are owners of 53 percent.

Their profits will greatly increase as well as reducing costs, and the way they think of financially

structuring the project, evidence that that they will not shrink the earnings of the pirates of

speculative capital (see previous article on financing Hidroituango).

Nor will they lower the famous internal rate of return agreed upon with the Public Companies of

Medellin, the company of public nature that operates as private and that of rival of yesterday, for

the strength of the circumstances has become his sidekick.

In this case, EPM and the Government, previously opponents, are now in cooperation to come

to support the profitability for themselves and their potential investors. They focus on robbing

the affected body without power and without means: to miners that are stigmatized to lower the

amount of compensation; to property owners to pay them their lands at a price of stubble and

not of an energy generating riverbed and eye, to municipal governments to those that the new

owner of the premises will barely pay half of the current property tax, and they are enticing with

transfers of 1.5 percent of the gross sales of energy, which barely offset the drop in the collection

of property tax. Oh and are transfers with specified and pre-established destinations!, not free

destination as the resources that are lost.

This is the truth "cartel of the resevoirs!" The authentic association of the "avivatos!"

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*Deputy Departmental Assembly of Antioquia ALTERNATIVE DEMOCRATIC POLE

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