Chilean tourists who traveled to Mendoza to take advantage of the advantageous prices for their pockets that they find in supermarkets on this side of the mountain range, must necessarily spend the night in the province of Cuyo due to the closure of the Cristo Redentor international pass.
The international crossing that connects Argentina with Chile by Route 7, at the height of the province, was closed on Sunday afternoon due to a snowfall that began to fall early in the high mountain area, according to authorities from both countries.
The official communication to the users of the Cristo Redentor Integrated System had already been issued by decision of both coordinations and in conjunction with both roads. The closure was going to occur from 14.00 (Chile time) and 15.00 (Argentina time) this Sunday. But manytherapists prioritized shopping.
It is that the measured had to advance a couple of hours by the snow that precipitated in the area, which generated risks for the passability of the route that joins both countries through the Andes Mountains.
The Pehuenche border crossing was also closed due to snowfall, which has less traffic than Christ the Redeemer but is usually used as an alternative in the area for transit between the two countries.
This afternoon, several Chilean tourists who arrived in Mendoza to stock up on products of different types in local supermarkets lamented having to delay returning to their country as a result of the closure of the border crossing.
"We bought toiletries and some food. Olive oil, which we came to look for, was no longer left. There are products that definitely no longer remain," said a woman who arrived in Mendoza from Santiago, in dialogue with the local chronicler of TN.
"There are some prices that resemble those of Chile, but others such as sugar, flour and rice are cheaper. Fuel is also cheap," added the woman, who also took the opportunity to praise the night security she found in the streets of the Mendoza capital.
The devaluation of the peso is transformed into shopping opportunities for trans-Andeans. Photo Orlando Pelichotti/Los Andes
A similar closure had occurred last long weekend for May 1.
Flood of Chilean buyers in Mendoza
For some months now, at the border between Chile and Argentina there have been lines that can reach several kilometers and waits of up to five hours at Customs to enter our country. The reason: the shopping tours to supermarkets and hypermarkets organized by groups of Chileans.
The official data of the Delegation of Migrations in Mendoza showed a record in trans-Andean visitors in April: with 194,345 people entered from Chile, which gives an average daily transit of 6,478.
About 80 percent, an average of 5,180 per day, according to the National Gendarmerie, are Chileans who arrive to buy merchandise, personal hygiene items or cleaning.
In April 2019, prior to the covid pandemic, the movement from Chile to Mendoza and vice versa was 128,098 people. But at that time there were more Argentines traveling to Chile than Chileans crossing the border.
Shopping tours are not only in private cars but more and more travel agencies promote the shopping getaway, with lunch and a walk through the hot springs of Cacheuta, before returning to Chile.
DS
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