Thousands took to the streets of the Argentinian capital, Buenos Aires on Friday to protest against Monsanto and its activities in the rural town of Malvinas Argentinas.
The agro-industrial corporation has been planning to build the world’s biggest maize seed treatment plant in the location..
RT reports:
Protests were also held in other cities across Argentina. Protesters marched in support of an activists’ camp, which is blocking the Monsanto-owned property in Malvinas Argentinas in the Cordoba region. The camp recently received an eviction notice from the authorities.
Continuamos resistiendo la instalación de Monsanto en Malvinas Argentinas. #FueraMonsantopic.twitter.com/84anNBtGgu
— Luciana Echevarría (@Luciechevarria) January 8, 2016
A labor appeals court in north-central Argentina ruled two years ago that the construction of a Monsanto plant was unconstitutional. Work on the site was halted.
“Monsanto has for a long time been attempting to install itself in areas illegally, where court decisions have previously blocked the development plan, and has failed with all its political pressure to win a legal method to install its project,” environmental lawyer Enrique Viale told RT.
The protesters also spoke out about the harm Monsanto’s activities inflict on the territory.
“In Argentina there are 23 million fields with transgenic soy, and hundreds of millions of liters of agrochemicals are used per year,” Enrique Viale said.
Luis Zamora, a former candidate for Buenos Aires Mayor, who attended the rally, echoed Viale’s concerns.
“Biodiversity is affected negatively when 15 million inhabitants of the country use hundreds of millions of liters of glyphosate, which is the pesticide Monsanto manufactures to protect soybeans,” Zamora said.
Niamh Harris