Colombia govt to blame for coffee strike: FARC
Colombia's largest rebel group, the FARC,
on Wednesday expressed solidarity with the thousands of coffee growers
currently on strike while criticizing the government's neoliberal
economic model for exasperating the problem.
"Although the Santos government says that its
economic policy is not up for discussion at the [negotiation] table in
Havana, the reality is that the Colombian people are contesting [the
policy] with the demonstrations, strikes and protests throughout the country," read a statement signed by the FARC's high command.
Thousands of Colombian coffee growers on Monday took to the streets in departments
all across the country to protest what they perceive is a lack of
financial support from the government during this tough time for the
industry. President Juan Manuel Santos, himself a former coffee federation official, called the strikes unjust and unnecessary saying his administration
had given more financial assistance to the industry than any other
previous administration. Nevertheless, protestors insist the current
subsidies are inadequate.
"The government says it will not negotiate with troublemakers and the
Ministry of Agriculture justifies the brutal repression with the false
[claim] that the FARC are involved, they are stirring up trouble, they
are [involved with the strike] and are exacerbating the situation," the
message continued.
The government on Monday did allege that the FARC may have
infiltrated the protests and were stoking the flames. This protest has
indeed made strange bedfellows. Not only are guerrillas criticizing
Santos, but the former hardline conservative president Alvaro Uribe lambasted the president as well. The ex-president on Monday tweeted that Santos was treating the protestors "like terrorists."
Though the protests erupted Monday, the problem has been years in the
making. Poor weather conditions that led to leaf rust beset several
coffee growing countries in Latin America. Falling international prices
coupled with massive amounts of foreign investment
due to mining and oil booms led to a "dangerously" high peso. The three
formed an almost perfect storm of adverse conditions for Colombian
coffee farmers. Though the FARC acknowledged the merit of some of these
arguments, they claimed they were just the symptoms of a systematic
illness.
"The coffee crisis is explained by
the lack of protection due to neoliberal policies which are imposed on
farmers...unfavorable international prices and an...overvaluation of the
peso [have led] to obvious consequences: a sharp drop in domestic
production, increased imports from Peru and Ecuador to meet domestic
demand and [reach] export quotas and, above all, a progressive
deterioration of income and work of farmers [who are] mostly small and
medium scale producers.
Juan Manuel Santos promised to turn each Colombian peasant into a
prosperous and smiling Juan Valdez, with his donkey and coffee sack,
like the one in the publication stamp of the powerful National
Federation of Coffee Growers...but where is this Juan Valdez?...He is
being persecuted by the bullets and tear gas of the repressive squadrons
of the [riot police] in the country's villages and roads where
thousands of coffee growers protest against the [government's]
abandonment of their sector. From Havana, [we express] our solidarity
with the struggle of the peasants, [with] their dead, [and the] dozens
of wounded and imprisoned."
While the protestors believe the government is not doing enough, the
insurgents claim they themselves have put forth concrete proposals on
farmers' behalf.
"At the [negotiation] table in Havana
we have proposed that small and medium coffee [farms] should receive
immediate protection measures, like subsidies, compensations, and
extraordinary safeguard measures aimed at overcoming the sectors'
structural crisis. Today, we reiterate this demand. It is urgent to
strengthen the national coffee production," the statement concluded.
In addition to criticizing the government's handling of the coffee
protests, the FARC said that the ongoing strike at the Cerrejon coal
mine in northern Colombia and the possible truckers union strike
reinforced the problems of neoliberal economics.
On his trip to the western port city of Buenaventura to announce that
the government was donating over 500 free homes Wednesday, President
Santos met with trucker union officials to try and head off a possible strike.
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