Peru: the agrarian law came with the dead | New …

From Lima. The land law was amended to suppress protests against it, but the new law sparked more protests. He was released with two deaths. A 28-year-old worker, Reynaldo Reyes, and a 16-year-old teenager were gunned down Wednesday in clashes with police who were cracking down on protests. against the new agrarian standard approved the day before. On December 3, another worker died in clashes with police in the mobilizations and roadblocks to demand the repeal of the agrarian law inherited from the dictatorship of Alberto Fujimori (1990-2000), which created a cheap workforce and without labor rights in the agro-industry , while granting these companies great tax advantages. After this first death, the Fujimori land law was repealed, given in 2000 by a Minister of Agriculture, José Chlimper, owner of an agro-industrial company and directly benefited from its own law. Last Tuesday, after long debates, Congress approved a new land regulation, which was rejected by workers because they believe that the increase in wages received is insufficient and that their rights are not guaranteed. The employers also oppose the new legislation because they refuse to grant the planned wage increase.

President Francisco Sagasti, who served a little over a month ago at the head of a transitional government until July of this year and who took office by announcing changes in the police force to avoid a repeat of the brutal repression who killed two during massive protests against the parliamentary coup which resigned from the presidency Martin vizcarra and put the ultra-conservative in its place Manuel Merino fell before serving a week in power to give way to the current government, lamented the deaths and announced an investigation and sanctions. He noted that police violated the ban on the use of lethal weapons in protests. The government ordered a change of police chief in the northern region of La Libertad, where the deaths occurred. A policeman pictured in a photograph shooting at demonstrators was arrested.

The government called the new law “flawed” but decided to enact it and not comply with it. “As workers, we are disappointed (with the new land law). The proposals we made were not accepted, ”said Nelson Huamán, agrarian leader. The executive opened a dialogue with the workers, who unblocked the Pan-American highway. In this dialogue, the regulation of the new law is discussed.

The Minister of Agrarian Development, Federico tenorio, admitted that “there are social gaps to be resolved”. “The quality of life of these populations is not reflected in agro-industrial growth,” admitted the minister, one of the participants in the dialogue with the workers.

There are around 400,000 workers working in the agro-industry, concentrated along the coast. In 2019, agro-exporting companies had five billion dollars in sales. This is a sector that this year has not been affected by the pandemic. But companies they don’t want to increase the low wages they pay and they have lobbied to maintain the subsidies they receive from the state through tax exemptions. Agro-exports represent 10 percent of national agriculture, the remaining 90 percent are small owners, mostly impoverished Andean peasants, who, unlike agro-exporters, do not receive much state support .

Agro-exporters workers received a daily wage of 39 soles, or about $ 11. They demanded an increase to 70 soles ($ 19). The new agrarian law provides for the granting of a bonus which brings the daily income to 48 soles (13.5 dollars), far from what was requested. This bonus is not considered as part of the salary, therefore it is not counted towards the payment of bonuses and compensation. To this income is added a family allowance for workers with children, who will now receive about $ 15 per day. The workers demanded the distribution of 10% of corporate profits, they got 5%, a figure that will increase until it reaches 10% in 2027.

“The new agrarian law is a step forward, but insufficient. Given the context in which we live, with a fragmented civil society, with weak unions, almost non-existent in the agrarian sector, with left forces which in recent years have been diminished compared to the right, which has been achieved , a salary increase and placing the discussion of the issue of agricultural workers on the public agenda is important. A month ago, none of that. But what has been achieved is not all that the agro-export sector has been able to deliver. There was room for a greater increase in workers, companies had the economic capacity to do so.

Over the past decade, the productivity of agribusiness exporters has grown 48 percent more than wages, ”he said. Page 12 sociologist Enrique Fernandez-Maldonado, expert in labor issues and editor of the blog TrabajoDigno.pe. “Compared to other countries in the region, such as Argentina, Brazil or those of the Pacific Alliance (Colombia, Chile and Mexico, in addition to Peru), the Peruvian agricultural worker is the most unprotected” , explains Fernández-Maldonado.

The new law maintains until 2028 the generous tax advantages that the Fujimori rule granted to agro-exporting companies, which pay only 15% income tax, well below the 29.5% paid by other sectors. Agro-exporters pay an amount equivalent to 6% of their workers’ wages to social security, instead of 9% for other companies, a percentage that they will not pay until 2025. “The subsidies of the State to agro-exporters are rude. . It would be justified to maintain tax exemptions for small businesses, but not for medium and large businesses which concentrate the majority of exports and labor. This extension of tax exemptions could be accepted in the event that companies have accepted wage and salary improvements under conditions close to those requested by workers, in a system where everyone wins, but here what has been is to maintain the tax advantages for companies and to bargain for labor as much as possible”Says Fernández-Maldonado.

Agro-exporters, who talk about “A Peruvian miracle of agro-export” Due to the significant growth of the sector in recent years, they threatened a crisis in the sector and job losses due to the salary increases arranged. His position, supported by the business elite and the right wing, is that this “miracle” of business growth must be sustained indefinitely by cheap labor and public subsidies to businesses.