Reconquista River

It originates in Marcos Paz, Buenos Aires Province, and flows across 18 municipalities, emptying into the Luján River.

The river carries about 33 percent of the total pollution drained by the estuary of the Río de la Plata, taking into account both industrial and domestic waste.

In 1995, the national government obtained a loan from the Inter-American Development Bank for the cleaning and control of the Reconquista.

According to Martín Nunziata, member of a Río de la Plata environmental group, this failure to comply with the plan was the result of political corruption, and also due to the pressure exerted by the polluting industries on the workers: "The companies warn [them] that, if the environmental laws are applied, they will have to close."

Nunziata also alluded to the cellulose plant conflict between Argentina and Uruguay: "If, starting today, it was decided to demand from the industries of the Reconquista River the same things we want Uruguay to demand from the Fray Bentos cellulose plants, out of the 12,000 companies installed, at least 10,000 would have to close down."