Vanina Barboza Vaca from the Malvinas Assembly said that the town is a city “besieged” by fumigation, which has seen repeated spontaneous abortions, birth defects, cancer and respiratory diseases. “We know the evils of the model representing Monsanto. We also know that their promises are lies and so we refuse to allow them to install in our neighborhood 200 silos of transgenic seeds treated with agrotoxins,” warned Barboza Vaca.
A dozen cities in Argentina mobilized in May to protest the multinational Monsanto. In Cordoba, where Monsanto plans to install its largest plant in Latin America, the march was massive and a survey reveals that the population rejects the company.
Monsanto, the leading agribusiness corporation, had its day in the world: in 300 cities in 36 countries there were marches in May to denounce the company and its agro-industrial model based on pesticides and genetically modified seeds. In Argentina, one of the epicenters was Cordoba, where the multinational is building its largest plant in Latin America (in the town of Malvinas Argentinas) and an experimental station in Rio Cuarto. A recent survey in Malvinas Argentinas says that nine out of ten residents requests a vote to determine whether Monsanto should be able to install in the community. The numbers indicate that 58 percent of the population does not want the company in their area.
Monsanto has been operating for 112 years; it has its headquarters in the United States, and it rakes in $7.3 billion dollars annually, dominating 27 percent of the seed market (GM and conventional) worldwide. “Monsanto has 86 percent of genetically modified seeds in the world market. It is one of the two largest industrial monopolies on the planet and in the history of agriculture and even industrialism. Only Bill Gates (with Microsoft) has a similar monopoly, of about 90 percent of the market,” said Silvia Ribeiro, ETC Group researcher who has been studying the concentration of the world agricultural market for 25 years.
“Millions Against Monsanto” is the name of the international campaign born in 2011 that mobilized activists in 298 cities in 36 countries on all continents. “We raise our voice against biotech giant Monsanto, raise our voices against its excesses against nature, farmers and against consumers. Organic and small scale farmers suffer losses while Monsanto continues its monopoly on the world’s food supply, even with its exclusive patents on seeds,” says the call.
The main day was on May 25, but each city adapted the activity to their particular juncture. In Rio Cuarto it was on May 23. “Monsanto controls the market for GM seeds, encourages the application of millions of liters of agrotoxins, drives out farmers and communities, destroys the environment and food sovereignty and harms the health of thousands of people,” denounced the Assembly for a Rio Cuarto Without Agrotoxins.
In the Cordoba capital the action was held in the Bicentennial Civic Center. “Monsanto Leave Malvinas Argentinas, Cordoba and Latin America!” was the main slogan. Also the demand was made to stop rural and urban evictions, spraying agrochemicals, and for the rejection of an extractive model, emphasizing the need for an agricultural model based on food sovereignty.
Vanina Barboza Vaca from the Malvinas Assembly said that the town is a city “besieged” by fumigation, which has seen repeated spontaneous abortions, birth defects, cancer and respiratory diseases. “We know the evils of the model representing Monsanto. We also know that their promises are lies and so we refuse to allow them to install in our neighborhood 200 silos of transgenic seeds treated with agrotoxins,” warned Barboza Vaca.
In June 2012, the Argentine government announced the arrival of Monsanto to Cordoba. In August, the Ministry of Agriculture introduced the new soybean (“RR2 Intact”) together with Monsanto executives.
The Neighborhood Assembly Malvinas Struggles for Life was born in Cordoba a decade ago along with other organizations to articulate and denounce the environmental, health and social effects of the agro-industrial and mega-mining model.
Last April, seven researchers from the National University of Córdoba, the Catholic University of Córdoba and CONICET (with the collaboration of researchers from Queen Mary University, London) released a survey conducted in Malvinas Argentinas: nine out of ten (87 percent) want to carry out a referendum and 58 percent specified that they reject the installation of the multinational.
Conducted between March and April, 352 households of people over 18 years were surveyed with a margin of “maximum error” of 5.15 percent. These numbers stress that 73 percent are afraid to give an opinion against Monsanto for fear of reprisal and 65 percent have no confidence in the environmental impact study (to be conducted by the company under the supervision of the provincial government).
As for the different actors in the conflict, 55.3 percent disagreed with the municipal government (Mayor Daniel Arzani, radical), 13.3 somewhat agree and 14.1 strongly agree. 48.4 percent are against the actions of provincial government (14.1 somewhat agree and 7.5 strongly agree). 50.2 percent expressed disagreement with the actions of the national government (13.3 somewhat agree and 8.6 strongly agree).
Monsanto was rejected by 49.3 percent of the respondents (10.1 somewhat agree and 8.6 strongly agree). 29.4 percent expressed disagreement with the actions of the judiciary in the province (21.6 somewhat agree and 14.4 strongly agree).
The actors who counted the highest approval ratings were the media (27.1 percent strongly agree, 34.9 somewhat agree and 15.6 disagree) and the Neighborhood Assembly of the Malvinas Struggle for Life: 33.7 strongly agreement, 21.6 somewhat agree and 14.1 disagree.
In the Córdoba march, with the participation of numerous organizations (including residents of the Malvinas Argentinas, the Mothers of Ituzaingó and assemblies that reject mega-mining) the demand for the Malvinas Argentinas neighbors to be able to vote on the installation of Monsanto stood out. The main tagline was: “Progress that pollutes, poisons, dispossess and kills, is not progress.”
Monsanto has had a plant in the town of Zarate since 1956. In 1978 it installed a site in Pergamino and in 1994 a plant in Rojas (all in the province of Buenos Aires). Last year it announced the construction of a genetically modified corn plant in Malvinas Argentinas and experimental stations in Rio Cuarto (Cordoba province) and one in the province of Tucumán.
In 1996, the Argentine government approved the use of genetically modified soybean with glyphosate. The government did not conduct its own studies (studies were conducted by the company). In 1996, soybeans in Argentina occupied 6.6 million hectares. In 2011 it reached 19.8 million hectares, 56 percent of the country’s cultivated land.
Besides Cordoba, there were marches in Bahía Blanca, Rojas, Tucumán, Rawson, Godoy Cruz (Mendoza), Rosario, Calafate, Villa Gobernador Galvez (Santa Fe), San Pedro (Misiones) and Resistencia. In the City of Buenos Aires the march was on May 25, at 2pm, in front of the company’s headquarters and then later marchers went to the historic Plaza de Mayo. Chile, Brazil, Uruguay, Venezuela, Peru were among the countries that also mobilized. The calls to march in all the cities were directed specifically at Monsanto, but they were also not limited to just one company. Barboza Vaca, assembly member of Malvinas Argentinas, warns:
“We say no to Monsanto, but also to similar companies that participate in the extractive system that enriches them at the expense of the health and life of the people. And we say yes to food sovereignty, yes to taking care of the environment, and yes to healthy foods for the people.”
See Also: Battle Over Seeds Heats Up in Argentina