Bauen Hotel Cooperative To Be Evicted: A judge ordered the eviction of the Bauen Hotel, run by a workers’ cooperative, in order to give it back to its original owners. Judge Paula Maria Hualde gave the members of the Buenos Aires Work Cooperative until 18th April to vacate the premises of the hotel, which they re-opened and ran after the original owners abandoned it in 2001. “Legally, we don’t have a choice,” said Federico Tonarelli, ex president of the cooperative and current head of the Argentine Federation of Work Cooperatives. “The sentence is final: as far as the court is concerned, the hotel belongs to Mercoteles and the judge should vacate a company with 130 guys that works really well: it’s crazy. The solution is political, but we can’t see a political will in Congress.” The members of the Bauen cooperative have repeatedly requested an expropriation bill to be passed by Congress: “What we’re saying is that, if the state executes the debts that [original owner] Iurcovich took up to build Bauen, the hotel belongs to the state. And we don’t want the state to just give it to us: let’s look for a solution, be it a lease, a loan, a 20-year mortgage to buy the building.” Following the ruling, Bauen workers are planning a series of protests and events in the coming days.
Monsanto Appeals Rejected: The government of Córdoba rejected two appeals lodged by multinational company Monsanto in order to secure an authorisation to build a seed plant in the town of Malvinas Argentinas. After Monsanto’s environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the proposed plant was rejected by the provincial government, the company appealed first to the Environment Secretariat and then to the Ministry of Water, Environment and Energy, however both instances were rejected. The next step for Monsanto is to carry out a new EIA, however under a new law, they will also need to go through a public hearing or local referendum in order to obtain approval for the plant. Also in Córdoba, the mayor of Río Cuarto issued a decree ratifying the ban on a proposed Monsanto seed experimentation centre in the town, after the company also lodged an appeal asking the local government to re-consider the ban established in November 2013. Mayor Juan Jure’s arguments for the ban are that the EIA presented by the company does not meet the minimum standards required, and that he wants to “preserve harmony in the town and the possibility to keep living peacefully.”
Teachers Protest In Front Of Education Ministry: Thousands of teachers marched to the Education Ministry today, ahead of tomorrow’s meeting with the national government. The protest was organised by national teachers’ union CTERA, but consisted mainly of teachers from the province of Buenos Aires, who are now on their 15th day of strike. CTERA representative Eduardo López highlighted the presence of delegations from Jujuy, La Rioja, Entre Ríos, Río Negro, Corrientes, Chaco, and Tierra del Fuego. Teachers are asking for wage increases higher than those offered by the government so far, which consist of a 22% increase followed by an extra 9% in June and a $3,000 extra payment based on attendance. The unions will meet national government representatives tomorrow at 10am at the Labour Ministry in order to continue with the wage negotiations.
The post Argentina News Roundup: 26th March 2014 appeared first on The Argentina Independent.