Mercedes municipal waste agreement and debt settlement

The Mercedes City Council has moved to renew its waste disposal agreement with the Metropolitan Ecological Area Society State Coordination (CEAMSE) and settle outstanding debts related to urban waste transport services.

Initial discussions regarding the agreement involved controversy within the Council. Opposition councilman Bernardo Zubeldía raised concerns over accounting discrepancies, noting that the approved amount for freight services appeared higher than his calculations. He also alleged that the municipal executive had disregarded warnings from an internal controller regarding unregistered debt from previous years.

Following negotiations involving the Province of Buenos Aires, the municipality reached a settlement to resolve a debt covering the period from March 2023 to February 2025. The settlement reduced an original claim of 1.25 billion pesos to a final payment of 718,184,390 pesos, which includes the elimination of previously claimed interest. The agreement was approved by the Council with nine votes in favor and seven against. Treasury Secretary David Valerga noted that while the waste disposal agreement dates back to 2015, the specific transport debt arose after a change in conditions communicated to the municipality in October 2024.