Campesino murdered in Argentina
(photo: The man holding the gun was identified as Javier Juarez, employee of the Ciccioli agrobusiness firm)
Argentina’s genetically modified soy production model has spurred the nation’s economic recovery, but it has resulted in violent land disputes. A campesino was murdered during an eviction attempt this week. FSRN’s Marie Trigona reports from Buenos Aires.
Cristian Ferreyra, a 25-year-old farmer and campesino activist, was shot and killed while resisting a land eviction in the Northern Province of Santiago del Estero. MOCASE, the largest peasant organization in Argentina, says it has identified the armed men as working for an agribusiness firm called Ciccioli.
MOCASE says organizers received direct threats from Ciccioli, and that representatives from the firm said they would “kill” any peasant who resisted eviction from communal lands. Congressman Claudio Lozano spoke at a press conference Thursday.
“The expansion of GMO soy has caused the displacement of small farmers. When communities resist, they are victims of violent repression and even assassinations as in
this case.” In two years, at least four peasants and indigenous have been killed in land disputes in Argentina. Marie Trigona FSRN, Buenos Aires.
