Smith tried to justify the inaction of the judiciary by claiming that "the environmental ruling must be executed with special attention to survival." What he omits is that the Chamber's exhortation was clear and that the Municipality has already acted in accordance with the ruling. The insistence on litigating every step of the operation responds more to a delaying strategy than to a genuine concern for nature.
The previous company, Jorba, withdrew after discovering that the tree was more difficult to move than the Municipality had anticipated. Smith keeps that the company did so due to social pressure, although he admits that "we haven't seen any public shaming." This way, he downplays the harassment campaign that included threats, protests, and blocking of machinery, without presenting a single viable alternative beyond "it must not be touched."
The saga over the quebracho tree in Villa Allende added a new chapter following the official announcement of the hiring of a new company to continue with the removal of the tree. The Secretary of Government, Felipe Crespo, confirmed that the decision was made due to the previous company's withdrawal for "abandonment of the work." Although he did not reveal the name of the new contractor, he assured that work would resume in the coming days.
The official also once again referred to the small group of residents who continue to block the operation. "They are in an unyielding position to keep the tree where it is," Crespo stated, making it clear that the environmentalist stubbornness continues to prevail over compliance with the law. The Municipality reiterated that they have all the necessary legal endorsements and that the decision seeks to preserve the specimen as much as possible.
Meanwhile, environmentalists continue to halt the progress of the project, the municipality defends the relocation as a measure to "give it a chance of survival." The tree, remembered for causing congestion on a key avenue, has been at the center of absurd disputes that distract from real problems. In the meantime, the residents who travel through the area daily remain the most affected.
La municipalidad de Villa Allende contrató una nueva empresa para continuar con la remoción del árbol
Ideological pressures over common sense
The lawyer and environmentalist Juan Smith stated that the tree has already suffered and that removing it would be nearly impossible. However, his assessment is the same as the one he gave before the work began and lacks technical evidence to support it. "What we need is for the tree to stay where it is," he said, completely ignoring the court order that authorizes the relocation.
Ambientalistas radicalizados congregados alrededor del quebracho
A symbol of how progress is halted
The option of modifying the avenue's route, proposed by Smith, was never a serious solution. "With a simple shift in the route this would have been solved," he said, as if redesigning an urban road could be solved with a few brushstrokes on a map. The truth is that technical reports have already evaluated that option and ruled it out as unfeasible.
Militant environmentalism once again placed its banners above the general interest. Smith tries to suggest that the quebracho is "iconic of a problem in the province," but he doesn't mention that it was the municipality itself, with judicial backing, that acted to preserve the tree through a transplant, not a felling. At no time was the destruction of the specimen considered, but rather its conservation outside the asphalt.
Meanwhile, the residents of Villa Allende remain trapped in an unnecessary and prolonged conflict. The judiciary has not yet authorized actions during the recess, although the municipality's legal representatives have already requested its intervention to ensure compliance with the ruling. The unwavering defense of the tree, turned into an ideological banner, seems more like an act of political obstinacy than a gesture of love for the environment.
