2023-10-20 03:10:00
In view of the presidential elections, proposals have resurfaced that aim to defund science and research. The president of the board of directors of Y-TEC and YPF Litio, Roberto Salvarezza, stated that “in the world, science and technology are central values. “It is very difficult to understand these proposals.” He stressed the need for financing and the importance of social sciences in energy matters.
Y-Tecnología (Y-TEC) is the technological arm of YPF and It was created in conjunction with the National Council for Scientific and Technical Research (Conicet). The candidate of the La Libertad Avanza Party, Javier Milei, announced on several occasions that both YPF and Conicet should remain in private hands.
«Today, economic power and real power is the domain of technology. Those who generate the most wealth are those who add value and Technology and Science and Technology systems are central here, because they are the ones who do that task.“Salvarezza remarked in a one-on-one with Power On.
The presidential candidate’s proposals aim to achieve the development of countries like the United States or Germany. These are countries that They make large investments in science and train numerous scientists. «It seems that they propose a very special indigenous neoliberalism that is not theirs. They do the opposite. Defund science and question universities. “They are going against the direction,” he said.
In the country, There are three scientists for every 1,000 inhabitants of the economically active population. Korea has 14 and the United States has 10. “We have too few researchers compared to what we should have. We are the best in Latin America, but compared to the developed world, we are in the third“, frame. The same happens with investment in science, which in comparison, the country’s is low.
We have too few researchers compared to what we should have. We are third compared to developed countries.
President of the board of directors of Y-TEC and YPF Litio, Roberto Salvarezza.
The proposals put forward by the candidate to reduce state intervention are not new, as Salvarezza explained. These are projects that emerged in the 90s, when the World Bank suggested to the government to privatize Conicet and the Atomic Energy Commission. At that time, by privatizing Conicet alone, 5,600 positions were going to be eliminated. Those proposals ultimately did not come to fruition.
Y-TEC: the importance of social sciences for energy sector projects
The privatization of Conicet comes hand in hand with a critique of research in social sciences, which plays a key role in energy matters. «Any technology project today that you want to do requires a look from environmental care and social license. If you don’t have them, you will not be able to develop initiatives«, and conflicts will constantly be generated, he stressed.
Social sciences allow us to know the different impacts of energy industries in societies. «They are the ones who allow us to approach the communities and talk about this. Plan a human development program to accompany and balance respecting cultures. Numerous social scientists such as anthropologists and economists participate,” she stressed.
He exemplified through the growing presence of YPF in Vaca Muerta. In the region there are several Mapuche communities with which «it has been possible to dialogue and coexist with technologies«he highlighted. In energy matters, “if there are no social scientists, We can hardly sustain technology in the face of the environment and society.“, frame.
The presence of Y-TEC in the Neuquén Basin
The technology company has been present in Neuquén for several years. Their arrival was formalized through a team called loop which was delivered in Plaza Huinculto the National Technological University (UTN) for study the transportation of oil in pipelines. Here “all the conditions that an oil pipeline may have are simulated through different parameters. There you study how that oil behaves,” he explained.
At the same time, in the province They advanced the work of a research network applied to the hydrocarbon industry along with 17 public universities in Patagonia. This is the PICTOS program, which is carried out by the YPF Foundation together with the R&D&i Agency and reaches more than 100 researchers who are working on research projects in the Neuquén basin, the Golfo San Jorge and Austral.
«We are looking at how to take all that knowledge that is generated in PICTOS towards an application in industry«he stressed. On the other hand, he confirmed that they will be present at the Technological Pole that is taking place in Neuquén Capital. «We are happy to have this technology here and this workshop to have more presence in Neuquén and in Patagonia,” he highlighted.
Science and technology “They should be a cornerstone so that the country reaches the standards of economic development and social inclusion that it could have with its resources. Argentina has energy, it has food. It has a solid science system, which We need to strengthen this system with financing to guarantee its future.“, hill.
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