MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentine farmers plan more protests; governors' support

Tired of waiting for signals from President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner's administration, Argentine farmers' leaders are ready to extend the current lock out which expires next Thursday, according to warning speeches over the weekend.

Meantime provincial governors and members of Congress from the interior of Argentina, particularly provinces highly dependent on agriculture, pressed by farmers have back stepped from unconditional support to the Kirchner administration and have asked for a resumption of dialogue even offering to mediate. Argentine farmers are protesting the latest increase in export duties on grains and oilseed from early March which triggered a three weeks strike, followed by a month and few days of truce, supposedly to dialogue and find a way out, but which farmers claim was frustrated by the Kirchners' administration attitude, so last Wednesday they decided on another eight days protest. Following a weekend of open assemblies, marches with tractors and farm equipment, partial road blocks and protests in several cities and locations in hard core farming territory, leaders from the four organizations involved in the protest, Argentine Rural Society, Coninagro, Rural Confederations and the Agrarian Federation apparently have already decided to extend the ban on grains and oil seeds exports and transport, if by next Thursday "there's no signal from the government". Government sources quoted in the Buenos Aires press indicate that dialogue resumption depends on the end to the strike and protests. "No positive measures, then we'll continue with the protests", warned Hugo Biolcati, vicepresident of the Argentine Rural Society, However "we have to decide if protest actions are to be tougher or of another nature; we'll see on Thursday". Eduardo Buzzi from the Agrarian Federation said that the decision "will be taken by the liaison committee" of the four organizations. But Buzzi gave a more political tone to his speech by calling for a "federal government", where decisions and tax sharing are not centralized in Buenos Aires. "That is why we have so much support among the urban population; we all want an end to authoritarian decisions". Farmers still have hopes that the government will be prepared to sit and talk about the export levies plus implement the agreements reached during the month long truce on beef and wheat. Mrs. Kirchner's husband and former president Nestor Kirchner who has masterminded and is directing the strategy against farmers, "which he wants to see on their knees" since they have questioned the presidential authority, seems to be in no hurry to return to the dialogue round betting on a division in the still solid front of the protesting farmers. Before addressing the export taxes issue, which the Kirchners' administration refuses to review because it understands that windfall earnings from commodities must "be shared with the people", the government wants to talk about beef, wheat and dairy products to ensure "accessible prices for Argentine consumers". But former president Kirchner's strategy won't have an easy ride since several loyal provincial governors have begun to criticize Mrs. Kitchener' stubborn stance. Governors from Cordoba and Entre Rios issued releases critical of the handling of the conflict and called for an immediate resumption of dialogue. Entre Rios former governor Jorge Busti even joined a picket and said he fully supported farmers.