MR. DIRECTOR:
Chile has had its main land corridor to Argentina closed for more than 20 days. More than 6 meters of snow have buried Los Libertadores since July 14, along with a significant part of our foreign trade. This is not an winter anecdote: it is the second longest closure in years, and the country continues to act as if it were a surprise.
While short-term solutions are being discussed, hundreds of trucks and their drivers are stranded in conditions that no one should normalize: hours and days of waiting in the open, in the mountains, exposed to the cold and uncertainty. Behind each stopped truck is a person, a family, and cargo that the Chilean economy needs to move.
How long will we continue to depend on a pass at 3,200 meters above sea level, hostage to every storm? Chile has low-altitude alternatives that have been on paper for years, such as the Las Leñas pass, capable of operating 365 days a year and providing continuity to our logistics. What is missing is not technology, but a state vision suited to the times we live in.
As a union representing road freight transport, whose main task is to supply the country and the continent, we believe that it is no longer the time to lament each closure, but to advance in border infrastructure that facilitates Chilean foreign trade. Next year, “coincidentally,” winter will return, and with it, a new storm that will not give more warning than this. The p…
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MR. DIRECTOR:
Chile has had its main land route to Argentina closed for more than 20 days. More than 6 meters of snow have buried Los Libertadores since July 14, along with a significant part of our foreign trade. This is not an winter anecdote: it is the second longest closure in years, and the country continues to act as if it were a surprise. While short-term solutions are being discussed, hundreds of trucks and their drivers are stranded in conditions that no one should normalize: hours and days of waiting in the open, in the mountains, exposed to cold and uncertainty. Behind each stopped truck is a person, a family, and cargo that the Chilean economy needs to move.
How long will we continue to depend on a pass at 3,200 meters above sea level, hostage to every storm? Chile has low-altitude alternatives that have been on paper for years, such as the Las Leñas pass, capable of operating 365 days a year and providing continuity to our logistics. What is missing is not technology, but a state vision tailored to the times we live in.
As a union representing road freight transport, whose main task is to supply the country and the continent, we believe that it is no longer the time to lament each closure, but to advance in border infrastructure that facilitates Chilean foreign trade. Next year, "coincidentally," winter will return, along with a new storm that will not give more notice than this one. The question is whether the country will finally be prepared.
Raúl Clavero
President of the Board of ChileTransporte AG
More about: Los Libertadores Pass Transport Trade Supply Low passes