The official's statements first impacted the town of Ituzaingó in Corrientes province, where the hydroelectric project that Argentina shares with Paraguay is located, about 90 kilometers from Posadas, on the Paraná River.
In that municipality, which during the years of the dam's construction functioned as a gigantic construction site, complaints arose from different sectors regarding the lack of complementary works, as compensation for the damage caused by the hydroelectric plant.
Thomas responded on his Facebook account by pointing out that " if the locals didn't know how to take advantage of the opportunity that Posadas and Encarnación didn't have (before), what they supposedly lack today is because they dedicated themselves to taking naps and watching history go by sitting in the shade of a tree drinking tereré and fishing for mojarras ."
After disclaiming responsibility for the EBY, he pointed out that " even today they don't know how to take advantage of the investments made by the missionaries in weekend homes and the spending carried out by the hydroelectric workers in the area."
No matter how much he was given, the story would be the same.
Don't cry, plan and work to have a better quality of life.
The governor of Corrientes, Ricardo Colombi , responded to the remarks of the director of the EBY, calling him " a nefarious character who has caused much harm to Corrientes due to attitudes that are not in keeping with the responsibilities of someone in charge of a national organization ."
National Senator Eugenio "Nito" Artaza and his provincial colleague Noel Breard also countered Thomas's statements by asserting "provincial pride" and defining the Misiones official as "inept" and "executioner."
Senator Artaza said that Thomas had pointed out that " we Correntinos do not have favorable results from Yacyretá due to our own negligence."
I remind you that in Corrientes the complementary works were never completed, even though our province was the most affected by the dam.
" Instead of criticizing us Correntinos for drinking tereré and taking siestas, it would be better if this man admitted that the shortcomings in the dam's facilities are due to the ineptitude of his own management ," the Radical added.
Senator Breard stated that Thomas's remarks were an " unfair and gratuitous insult, a textbook attitude of an authoritarian who is on his way out, feels cornered and resorts to insulting the victim" and called him "the executioner of the people of Corrientes, of Apipé Island and an executioner of Ituzaingó ."
In Ituzaingó, in the area of the binational dam, the Deliberative Council strongly condemned the statements made by architect Oscar Thomas , as did the provincial Senate at the request of the legislator from the Front for Victory, Carolina Martínez Llano.
The latest chapter in the dispute that began in early April was recorded on Wednesday, when a meeting took place between the Minister of Planning, Julio de Vido, and the director of the EBY, although the latter made it clear that it was only a meeting to "analyze the plans for the progress of the scheduled maintenance" of the Yacyretá dam.