La Pampa Files Injunction in Court to Claim Royalties from Los Nihuiles

The Government of La Pampa filed a preliminary injunction with Federal Court demanding the immediate suspension of articles in Presidential Decree No. 982/2026 that grant Mendoza one hundred percent of royalties from the Los Nihuiles hydroelectric complex.

Governor Sergio Ziliotto announced the initiative through social media, arguing that the measure violates provincial rights backed by regulations and case law from the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation.

Basis for the Claim

Ziliotto argued that "the Atuel River is also La Pampa's" and cited Supreme Court rulings from 1987, 2017, and 2020 establishing the interstate nature of the waterway. According to his argument, since the dam generates energy using water originating from La Pampa, its royalties should also correspond to that province.

The governor invoked the 1992 agreement signed between the National State and both provinces, subsequently approved by the Supreme Court. Under that framework, he noted, Mendoza is obligated to pay royalties to La Pampa calculated using percentages established in Law 15.336 and Decree 1560/73.

"No decree can nullify an agreement between parties. We will not abandon any fight for what belongs to us. Faithful to our history, we defend La Pampa, every day, wherever necessary, before anyone," Ziliotto stated in his message.

The legal action represents the latest chapter in a long-standing dispute between both provinces over the distribution of revenues from hydroelectric energy generated in the Atuel basin.