“You heard it on No Te Duermas
On the radio program, Daniel Yofre, the General Secretary of the National Oilseed Federation, discussed the particular situation of the union and the rest of the industries in the country.
Tomás Modini
@ModiniTomas
At the beginning of the interview, Daniel Yofre shared the current situation: “The sector has always done well under different governments in our country. Obviously, there are policies that affect agro-export companies like Danica, for example, and other companies that have closed, leaving many families on the street. But in general, the industry isn’t doing poorly; the low consumption affects it, but it’s not enough to cause closures.”
“The businessman never loses. Sometimes, they’re not interested in continuing the business, but in general, the profits are always good. I don’t know any capitalist who starts a business to lose money.
They don’t lose, they maintain it, in fact, there are companies that have been operating for many years and are still standing. It’s not about whether they win or lose, but about political issues,” he elaborated.
Regarding the present situation, he emphasized that “the decisions of this government have impacted many factories, like the petrochemical plant in Río Tercero that closed, and they made a material that no one else produces in South America,” adding that “today, it’s cheaper to import than to manufacture.”
“They make society believe that importing lowers prices, and they close the plants because they can buy the material abroad and lay off workers,” he explained.
The role of the state in protecting jobs
On the other hand, the union’s General Secretary pointed out: “They make business deals, but the issue is that if the state doesn’t function to guarantee the continuity of employment for workers, it’s very difficult to fight against a company that leaves. In January 2019, COFCO closed in Valentín Alsina, not for economic reasons, but because they weren’t interested in the business. And no national or provincial government reopened it. It was a company that was the third-largest in the country, so policies are useful, but sometimes people have to stay at home because there’s no work.”
“All the tools that legislators voted against workers will be used as best as they can. Obviously, companies have always wanted to get rid of the employees with the most seniority; this has happened historically because voluntary retirements have not just started now,” he said.
He also added that “the issue is that there are government policies that do provide support, even though they don’t save your life, negotiate your salary, or give you any demands, but they can prevent these companies from closing,” because “there will always be someone interested in domestic trade.”
The fear of many workers
At the end of the interview, Yofre described the current labor difficulties in companies: “It’s not easy for a worker in a company or a factory where they’ve spent their whole life to rebuild themselves. And when they only have ten years left to retire. It’s sad, frustrating, and infuriating how useless the leaders are at generating job opportunities. We promote the idea of industrializing the country’s raw materials to create more jobs, but clearly, all they care about is money, not people.”
“Anyone who thinks they have a peaceful life because they have a good salary or because they have insurance will eventually face hard times because of these regressive policies. This government boasts about zero deficit and lowering inflation, but if you’re at home and you can’t feed your child, buy them shoes, send them to school, or take them on vacation, maybe the money is enough,” he lamented.
He concluded by saying, “But your child will starve to death, and that’s what capitalist policies generate—policies that don’t understand that the state must be present.”
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