Ferrocarriles Argentinos The only rail line catalogued as "profitable" was the Constitución-Mar del Plata section. On March 10, 1993, president Menem signed the decree for which all the long distance passenger services were definitely closed. Some of the provinces that lost their connection with Buenos Aires were Salta, Jujuy, Entre Ríos, Corrientes, Misiones, Mendoza, San Juan, San Luis, Catamarca and La Rioja. The closure caused many villages became isolated from the main cities of Argentina and younger inhabitants departured from their born towns looking for better opportunities. This happened in cities such as La Banda, Laguna Paiva, San Cristóbal, Navarro, Las Marianas
Water supply and sanitation in Mendoza Water supply and sanitation in Mendoza The debate about water supply and sanitation in Mendoza has been dominated by the controversial private concession for the provincial water company OSM granted in 1998 to a consortium led by Enron. While the concession improved water and sanitation services, it failed to meet all its specified targets. After the collapse of Enron the concession was overtaken by Argentine investors. Besides OSM water services in the province are provided by the three municipalities of Maipú, Luján and Tupungatu and 174 small not-for-profit operators. With 1.6 million inhabitants the province of Mendoza is the fifth