MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentina: confusing versions tilt farmers' conflict to the edge

In spite of conflicting versions over the latest round of talks between Argentine farmers and government representatives both sides agreed on a recess until tomorrow Wednesday when they will retake discussions on the sliding export levies which triggered a three weeks conflict in March and promises of more if no agreement is reached.

Contrary to statements from farmers' leaders who said, following the meeting, the government was prepared to review the export tax system and admitted some "errors in the levies" which needed to be corrected, cabinet chief Alberto Fernandez later flatly denied any intention of such changes by President Kirchners administration. "Export taxes are a government decision; we never mentioned in the meeting that the export taxes were a problem", said Fernandez, adding "I don't know to what meeting he went". However farmers' representatives insisted on their earlier statements and were surprised by the government reaction. "We should ask government why they don't want to admit what we talked about" said officials from the Argentine Rural Society. Guillermo Giannassi from the Agrarian Federation said the government's attitude only leads to confusion, "they talk one way, they act another way", which "only complicates tomorrow's meeting". Giannassi insisted that "it'll be the government's responsibility if farmers take to the highways and streets again, not us, if no understanding is reached". Mr. Fernandez in a television interview said that the government's proposal was to consider how the export tax sliding system impacts on future markets, and claimed farmers were not playing clean since they are "threatening with new strikes if they don't get their way". On leaving the six hours meeting Eduardo Buzzi head of the Agrarian Federation said that the cabinet chief had admitted mistakes in the export taxes system which "would be corrected". What was needed was to define "how much and how to instrument the system". Apparently Bussi came up with a compensation system for farmers with a range of production beginning at 600 tons of soy and increasing to 3.000 tons. But Luciano Miguens from the Argentine Rural Society said time had "run up" adding that "there are issues that can't wait longer" pointing out that farmers are fed up with the delays. "The month long truce and these four days have been insufficient". Argentine farmers are camping on highways sides waiting for some announcement in "full alert and ready to mobilize" threatening to return to the strike situation of March which left Argentina with sever shortages of food. Farmers' representatives had told their organizations that the deadline had been extended to Tuesday and possibly Wednesday meetings, "depending on advances achieved".