During the public meeting regarding the future of the refinery, Parliament unanimously approved a motion to conserve the history of the refinery in Aruba. With this, Parliament emphasizes an important lesson from the past: to not let Lago suffer the same fate as the Arend refinery, better known as the Eagle Refinery.
In the past, Aruba hosted two large refineries that marked its economic development: Lago Oil & Transport Company and Arend Petroleum Maatschappij (Eagle). While Lago has remained engraved in the collective memory of the people, few remember Eagle. Due to a lack of structural conservation, a large part of its history has become nearly invisible to new generations.
For this reason, Member of Parliament Xiomara Maduro took the initiative to present a motion on behalf of the MEP Faction to preserve the history of Aruba’s greatest economic pillar: the Lago refinery. The goal is to prevent it from disappearing from our national memory in the same way Eagle did.
Protection of Collective Memory The motion urges the Government to look beyond the economic or technical aspects of the refinery’s dismantling and consider the cultural and historical dimensions. The motion suggests that the Government:
- Preserve the visible parts of the Lago refinery.
- Protect structures with patrimonial value.
- Create a museum, monument, or other permanent memorial.
- Integrate the refinery’s history into education and cultural tourism.
The message is clear: Aruba cannot continue losing parts of its industrial history. Let the lack of preservation of Eagle serve as a warning and as the necessary impulse for us to better preserve the heritage of the Lago refinery.
With this motion, the MEP Faction confirms its commitment to keeping the refinery’s history alive, so that the younger generation can understand where Aruba came from and how the island developed.
