Their basic claim is related to the vital need of regulating the use of agrochemical products, especially insecticides, which have decimated their hives and their livelihoods.

This is the case of Fipronil, a powerful insecticide, which although its use has been restricted, it is still sprayed in eucalyptus forests.

According to the organizers, the mobilization is calling the “State to control the import, sale, and use of agrotoxics”, in order to “prevent the loss of vegetal and animal biodiversity”, such as native forests.

The mobilization aims to expose the authorities’ leniency in terms of the lack of control over the expansion of crops, which has led to the indiscriminate, and often illegal use of insecticides and herbicides, which have killed and decimated thousands of bee colonies during the last two seasons, leaving tens of families out of jobs.

Real World Radio interviewed Ricardo Carrera, member of the Uruguayan Beekeepers Association. “Actually, there is no need for a complex and expensive study to know the toxic effects on the animal species which are not the target of the insecticide: any person living in a place where insecticides are sprayed can tell you the mortality rate of the animals in the region”, Carrera stated.

In another part of the interview, Carrera talked about the abuses suffered by apiculture amid the increasing agriculture (soy) and forest monoculture processes in Uruguay. In addition, the regulation that forces to install hives to favor crops which have state support or subsidies is not complied with.