Buenos Aires - The Argentine government insisted Tuesday
that farmers end their protests and get back to work amidst a climate
of tension and shortages of food and fuel.
Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner was set to
address the nation later Tuesday.
Interior Minister Florencio Randazzo said a pro-government rally
scheduled to take place Wednesday in the historic Plaza de Mayo in
central Buenos Aires would not be cancelled despite criticism.
'The country is much more worried about whether they lift the
farmers' strike, which has held the Argentine people hostage for 100
days,' Randazzo said.
He added that the government remains 'ready for dialogue and talks
to find a future path, but without conditions.'
Argentine farmers launched a new strike Sunday, suspending till
Wednesday the sale of grain for export. This is the fourth such
strike in recent months.
The crisis has been brewing since March, when an increase in
export tariffs for soybeans and sunflower went into effect, tying
tariffs to international market prices.
The average tariff on soy was increased from 35 to over 43 per
cent, at the current prices. The move levy was initially intended
apply to almost all of the surplus if the price for soybeans were to
rise above 600 dollars a tonne, but the government has since modified
this to set a tax ceiling.
Late Monday many people in Argentine urban areas engaged in so-
called 'cacerolazos' - banging pots and pans - and
hooting horns to demand that the government settle the crisis. The
farmers' protest has come coupled with shortages, since trucks cannot
move freely through the country's roads.
The latest strike measure was launched after the central
government on Saturday called in police to clear protestors from the
nation's roads, where they have been blocking the trarnsport of goods
and fuel.
One of the farmers' leaders, Alfredo de Angeli, was detained
for several hours.
Several provincial governors called for dialogue Tuesday, and
rifts became apparent within the pro-government camp.
Argentina is the third-largest producer of soybeans in the world,
after the United States and Brazil. More than 95 per cent of its
production is exported.
In March, a complete blockade of agricultural production caused
severe food shortages in large urban areas and provoked traffic
problems. In April, farmers opted to block the export of cereal and
other key products, like soybeans.
In their third protest, farmers again took to the roads in late
May. Although their leaders asked that they not disturb traffic, the
passage of trucks carrying agricultural produce was blocked in some
areas.
Cereal transport trucks in turn have blockaded roads in the
central provinces of Buenos Aires, Santa Fe, Cordoba and Entre Rios -
in the so-called Wet Pampa - to protest over the lack of work in
recent months.
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