In all cases, the workers found were from Santiago del Estero province. Real World Radio interviewed leader Angel Strapazzon, from the Santiago del Estero Peasant Movement (MOCASE), to know how the movement is analyzing these slave fields in Buenos Aires. And the interview started this way: “the people found exploited in the fields are not peasants.”

“I would like to make clear that peasants are autonomous and independent, we don’t have bosses, we don’t work for a salary. We have the direct means of production and we work the land”, said Strappazón. He explained that salary workers and migrant rural workers as the people recently rescued are another thing.

According to the MOCASE leader, peasants live working the land, to feed their families and the community. “We don’t produce or work for transgenic companies, with agrotoxics”, he said and highlighted the indigenous and environmental traditions of peasant work.

Strapazzón said that the MOCASE has submitted projects to give unused lands to rural workers, so that they can become producers. “To become peasants means, above all, to break with the relationship with bosses, with landowners, with agricultural businessmen”, he said.

The member of MOCASE said that the cases of enslaved workers from Santiago del Estero are not isolated events, and are part of the reality of extreme poverty in the province. “This is why our struggle is so difficult, because we know that we will end up being slaves if we don’t fight to death. We will end up as our brothers and sisters, working for multinational companies.”

Strapazzón said that the exploiters of rural workers “deserve us taking the land”. The leader highlighted the proposals by MOCASE so that rural workers can become peasants that depend on their work and not on bosses or transnational companies. He said that three things are necessary: access to land, credit and money for production projects. He also said that it is important that the State buys peasants the food for schools.

The leader said that “in order for 500,000 families living in the countryside (around 2.5 million people) to stop living in poverty, nearly 156 million pesos are necessary (40 million dollars).” “Currently, to keep the bullies of the Mesa de Enlace quiet (made up by the main national associations of agricultural businessmen in the country”, President Cristina Fernandez will give them 2.2 billion pesos (for 20,000 producers)”, he said.

He also said that the MOCASE has submitted a Food Sovereignty project with proposals to take these 500,000 families out of poverty in five years.

Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/juantoxico/