VZCZCXYZ0002
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBU #1172/01 2322308
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 192308Z AUG 08
FM AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1845
INFO RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE WASHINGTON DC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/HQ USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL
RUCNMER/MERCOSUR COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 001172 
 
USDA FOR FAS/OA/OCRA/ONA/OGA/OFSO 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAGR ECON EINV PGOV ELAB PHUM AR
SUBJECT: ARGENTINE FARMERS RENEW PROTESTS AND THREATEN TO STRIKE 
 
(A) BUENOS AIRES 1012 (B) BUENOS AIRES 0991 (C) BUENOS AIRES 0980 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: On Monday, August 18, the farm sector staged 
roadside demonstrations against unresolved GOA agriculture policies 
for the first time since the rejection of variable export taxes 
(Resolution 125) by the Argentine Congress one month ago.  Farmers 
have threatened to go on strike by the end of the month if the GOA 
does not make advances to resolve their issues.  Farmers are 
particularly concerned about beef cattle production and dairy 
production issues, as well as lower export taxes for small farmers. 
End Summary. 
 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
FARMERS RENEW ROADSIDE PROTESTS AND THREATEN TO STRIKE 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  On Monday, August 18, the farm sector staged roadside 
demonstrations against unresolved GOA agriculture policies for the 
first time since the rejection of variable export taxes (Resolution 
125) by the Argentine Congress one month ago (refs B and C). 
Frustration and impatience with the Government of Argentina's (GOA) 
slowness to respond to the sector's chronic concerns resulted in 
"tractorazos" (protests led by farmers riding tractors) and farmer 
assemblies in numerous locations around the country, with farmers 
threatening to go on strike by the end of the month if the GOA does 
not make advances to resolve their issues. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) President of the Argentine Agrarian Federation (FAA) 
Eduardo Buzzi, who led one of the protests, indicated that producers 
are now worse off than they were on March 11, when the GOA created 
variable export taxes and that the agricultural crisis is "far from 
resolved."  Farmers are particularly concerned about beef cattle 
production and dairy production issues, as well as lower export 
taxes for small farmers.  Producers argue that cattle and dairy 
production have steadily declined in recent years due to government 
price and export controls -- issues which were not resolved by the 
Congressional decision against variable export taxes.  Also, 
increased input costs and lower world prices for commodities have 
eroded profitability for small farmers -- which, they argue, are 
unprofitable when required to pay a 35% export tax on soybeans. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Despite two meetings with Agriculture Secretary Carlos 
Cheppi, the agriculture sector is not convinced that the GOA is 
working sincerely to resolve farmers' concerns.  The agriculture 
sector argues that Cheppi's proposals have been largely "hollow" and 
that meetings have confirmed that the Government is asking for more 
time/stalling to establish favorable policies.  At the same time, 
there have been signals of confrontation, which were manifest by the 
Government's non-participation at the recent Palermo Livestock Show 
(Argentina's largest farm show, where government officials usually 
participate); and the government's recent closure of cheese exports 
(which allegedly resulted due to a personal argument between a 
cheese exporter and Secretary of Commerce Guillermo Moreno). 
 
¶5.  (SBU) A prominent political analyst told CDA August 19 that he 
does not think that the first couple intends to avoid another 
confrontation with the farmers.  As evidence, he cited the recent 
protest organized by the Madres de Plaza de Mayo, a 
government-allied activist group that coordinates closely with 
former president Nestor Kirchner.  On August 18, the Madres hung 
1,500 of their trademark hankerchiefs emblazoned with the slogan 
"Not One Step Backward" around the Casa Rosada presidential palace. 
Madres leader Hebe de Bonafini said that the protest was designed to 
warn the agricultural organizations that "they have no right to 
block the roads when they already won in Parliament." 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Noting that such a protest would take at least 48 hours to 
organize, the analyst interpreted this demonstration as evidence 
that Kirchner-aligned groups are already mobilizing for another 
confrontation.  He speculated that the first couple is welcoming 
another confrontation with the farmers in the mistaken belief that 
their ability to defeat the ag sector will enable them to regain 
political momentum.  He claimed that they are embarking on this 
course because of the Argentine public's opposition to further road 
blockages and other protests by the farmers in the wake of their 
victory in the Parliament on the export tax dispute; growing 
divisions within the farm organizations; and more sympathetic 
coverage from the Clarin media conglomerate because of a purported 
truce agreed by Nestor Kirchner and the conglomerate's boss.  The 
analyst predicted that this confrontational strategy would 
ultimately fail. 
 
------------ 
WHAT'S NEXT? 
------------ 
¶7.  (SBU) For next Saturday, cattle farmers are planning a large 
producer assembly in Olavarria, Buenos Aires province, to analyze 
GOA export and price controls on beef cattle production and 
establish a strategic plan for changing the sector's course.  In 
addition, farmers are planning a major National Assembly on August 
30 in Entre Rios, as well as a large protest on September 8 
(Argentina's "Farmer's Day"), in front of the Argentine Congress. 
The most critical remarks made at yesterday's protest were by FAA 
Vice-Director in Entre Rios, Juan Echeverria, who said that for the 
National Assembly on August 30, producers will gather at the tunnel 
connecting Parana and Santa Fe (two large cities on opposite sides 
of the Parana River); and from that day on, they will intensify the 
fight by "blocking roads, by striking, or whatever it takes." 
 
 
------- 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) The farmers' actions show a growing frustration and 
impatience with the Kirchner administration's handling of the 
sector's other unresolved issues in the wake of Resolution 125's 
defeat.  Clearly, the variable export taxes were only one part of 
the sector's concerns, and the August 18 demonstrations were 
intended to be a wake-up call to the Kirchner administration and the 
public at large that the GOA's conflict with the agricultural sector 
is far from being resolved.  It would appear that these protests 
mark the beginning of a new chapter in the saga of Argentina's 
agricultural conflict.  Producer assemblies and GOA 
actions/reactions in the weeks to come will determine the severity 
of farmers' protest strategy.  End Comment. 
 
KELLY