Strike is the only recourse available to Colombia’s coffee farmers to ensure the government fulfills previous promises made to the sector, according to a strike organizer.
Labor leaders insist that, while President Juan Manuel Santos has attempted to portray a new bout of civil unrest as unjustified and damaging, it is the government’s own noncompliance with agreements made last year following protracted strikes in the coffee sector that make renewed work stoppages necessary.
“Santos kept only 1 of 7 promises”
“Last year we signed seven agreements with the national government in the various strikes that were taken […] Of those agreements only one has been met, so we are forced to carry out the strike because it is the only way to put pressure on the government,” said Victor Correa, spokesperson for Coffee Growers’ Dignity (Dignidad Cafetera — DC), in an interview with Colombia Reports.
MORE: Colombia coffee farmers to join new agricultural strike on April 28
If Colombia’s coffee farmers go ahead with plans to join the broader so-called Agrarian Strike, scheduled to begin April 28, it will be the third time they have abandoned their farms to protest in the past year. In 2013, strikes beginning in February and August led to seemingly successful negotiations between the farmers and the Santos administration.
Farmers are now claiming, however, that the government has failed to implement the agreed upon measures, contributing to the continued economic distress of small and medium scale producers throughout the country.
MORE: Why better prices doesn’t mean better conditions for Colombia’s coffee farmers
Subsidy system not as perfect as portrayed
“We expect the government to fulfill the agreements it has not yet fulfilled. The first point of the agreement was to give aid while improving internal coffee prices – this agreement was fulfilled by 80%, but there have been many people who have not received this grant,” said Correa.
Recent events illustrate some of the program’s further shortcomings, namely its inability to compensate for volatility in the international market. On February 25, the subsidy program was suspended due to a 60% rise in the global market since January 1. One month later, the program reinitiated, after prices fell 20% in a week.
MORE: Colombia reactivates subsidies after coffee prices fall 20% in week
Even when subsidies adjust according to the rise and fall of international prices, moreover, they fail to take into account the high costs of fertilizer and fuel. When prices hit their lowest levels since 2008 last August, for example, production costs ran at $343 per load, which sold for $319 at the time. Farmers were absorbing a consistent loss of $24 per load for the farmers.
MORE: Coffee price falls to lowest level in 5 years; Colombia growers to talk with govt
Such losses, a longstanding problem for farmers, lead many to take on large debts. A credit agreement signed at the end of the last strikes. which included “
Not too late to avert strike
The larger strike was unable to force concessions from the government, and organizers have since declared the new April 28 deadline.
- Interview with Victor Correa
- Cafeteros, a paro el 28 de abril si Gobierno no atiende sus reclamos (El Tiempo)
- Dignidad Cafetera anunció que entrará a paro el 28 de abril (El Colombiana)
- Ministerio de Agricultura define reglas de finalización del programa AIC-PIC (Ministry of Agriculture)
- Gobierno y cafeteros inician diálogo para zanjar huelga de 10 días (El Espectador)