May in Misiones

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to visit the secadero cooperative in Guarani, where my friend, Luis, stands as president. This visit was a distinct, Argentine experience because the secadero is the machinery involved in the first step of the processing of the yerba mate. In this step, the yerba goes through various rounds of heat, where the yerba is dried out. At the end of the drying process, three kilos of yerba will yield one kilo.
Not only does yesterday stand out in the yerba mate history books for me, but for all of Misiones. Yesterday was the first day of striking on Route 14. The yerba mate producers on Route 14 are getting paid less than the producers on Route 12. Not only are the producers asking for equal wages to the producers on Route 12, but they are asking that all producers be paid for half of the real price that is paid by the consumer. But, I did not see many farmers in Route 14 when I passed by with Luis, because apparently, there is division among the producers as to how to get the increase in wage. Here’s some background as to why….
In 2001, when Argentina had its major economic crisis, the Instituto Nacional Yerba Mate (National Institute of Yerba Mate), or INYM, was created. The purpose of INYM was to create a table for dialogue and agreements between the different stages of production of yerba mate. The tareferos (day laborers), producers, secadores, molinos (the grinding and packaging of the yerba), the state government, and the national government are all included with various representatives of each group at the table. INYM created a national law that attempted to control and regulate the price and quality of the yerba mate. However, the table is not sitting level on four legs. Some of the legs are larger than some of the others. Even though INYM claims to have a table for dialogue, it seems that some of the voices are not being heard, or that some of the groups are not well represented at this table. On Saturday, May 24th, the producers had a meeting in the secadero and decided to begin a strike and stop all production at the secadero level until they are heard from the molinos and the government. So when I visited the secadero, I was not able to see the yerba mate in production.
Please pray for all of the producers and consumers in Argentina, that the country can see some justice in all produce prices.