MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Governors creep into the Argentine farmers' conflict

Argentine provincial governors, from different angles have called on the striking farmers and the government to resume dialogue as the only way out to the two months stand off over a sliding grain and oilseeds export tax system which is “harming” the Argentine people and institutions.

Farmers launched their second strike period on May 8 after weeks of talks with the government failed to resolve demands for a change in the tax scheme. On Thursday, frustrated farmers decided to keep up the protest that has seen them halt grains sales and disrupt shipments. But they also sent a letter to President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner requesting an interview. The previous day (Wednesday) Mrs. Kirchner, in a conciliatory speech, had called on all Argentines to unite and participate of a great "national social dialogue", although not specifically mentioning the camp strike. On Friday and with the stand-off unchanged, the governors of the two most important provinces said it was time to end the strike and sit down to talk, and also a review of the irritating tax system. Cordoba's governor Juan Schiaretti, the first to receive a delegation of farmers and support their demand for changes said it was a "mistake" to continue with the strike and there must be "no road blocks" he emphasized. "To find a solution, resumption of dialogue must be immediate and both sides must yield", said Schiaretti. Farmers must lift the strike but government must also be willing to put on the "negotiating table" the sliding taxes which are at the heart of the controversy and "they must be rolled back". Buenos Aires province governor Daniel Scioli, (closely allied to the Kirchners) renewed calls for farmers to end the strike and warned that if the situation continues, "the Argentine people will suffer". "It's incomprehensible that farmers opted to continue with the strike particularly when President Cristina called on to the unity of all Argentines to continue advancing and growing", he said. "Let us not forget that every time the country has not solved problems through dialogue we ended up in a mess. Let us look after Argentina" A third governor from the Patagonian province of Chubut, Mario Das Neves and a close ally of the Kirchner administration, adopted a more neutral position. He talked about "shared" responsibilities and mistakes and criticized "decision making from both sides". "There are concurring mistakes that impede a quick way out from the conflict", he underlined. "It's incomprehensible" that farmers' leaders should say "we're back on strike and we are asking to have a meeting" with President Cristina Kirchner. Das Neves appealed to "common sense and rationality" to find a way out for a conflict that is "exhausting" the country and these conflicts when they extend on time "they become very dangerous". "The decision making process on both sides is not good" and insisted on the existence of "concurring mistakes" in the confrontation between the government and camp "which now is ongoing for over two months". "I have the feeling we are looking to see who wins and who looses and really, we are all loosing", said Das Neves. "This kind of conflict only ends harming the whole country". Argentine farmers first went on strike in March after the government introduced the sliding scale of export taxes that substantially raised levies on oilseed products. The March strike caused food shortages in Argentina's supermarkets and landed President Fernandez with her biggest challenge since taking office in December. She has refused to scrap the sliding-scale tax system and defends high export taxes on farm goods as a way to redistribute wealth and combat inflation in a country where a quarter of the population lives in poverty. Increased revenue from export taxes has helped the government maintain healthy budget surpluses, keep the peso currency weak to stimulate exports and a fat purse of resources to distribute.