Historia de indupa y su impacto económico, social y ambiental en Cinco Saltos (1948-2010).

Abstract

This work covers the history of the company Indupa, Patagonian Argentine chemical industries, and the important economic and social impact which had the Alto Valle de Río Negro and, particularly, in the city of Cinco Saltos since it launched in the year 1948, until its final closure in 1996. Indupa, as all of the petrochemical industries in the country, was favored by the State in its different stages, with regulatory and industrial promotion policies of broad scope, which energized the activity that was developed in parallel with the fruit-growing. The constant growth managed to materialize with its participation in the Polo Petroquímico Bahia Blanca and culminated with the neoliberal and deregulatory policies of the 90s, which led to the closure of the plant in Cinco Saltos and to the declaration of "the social and economic emergency" in city. The corollary was the nationalization of the private debt left by Indupa and an important environmental liability. A story that make an incursion into unsanitary work conditions to which workers were exposed, as well as they suffered. After nearly 50 years of operation of the company, the consequences of environmental pollution and the Organization of neighbourhood movements to fight for the environment, which took place between 2006 and 2010, are analized. The reconstruction especially based on qualitative methods such as surveys, interviews and oral testimonies, reflect the importance that the company had in the city and the indelible prints it left in the citizens. These are manifested in the quest for environmental justice that continues into the present.