Argentina's UATRE protests yerba mate deregulation plan

Union leader Carmelo Rojas, sub‑delegate of the Unión Argentina de Trabajadores Rurales y Estibadores (UATRE), said the government’s decision to maintain the deregulation of yerba mate production deepens the crisis facing small producers and rural workers. He criticized Minister Federico Sturzenegger’s confirmation that the National Institute of Yerba Mate (INYM) will lose its regulatory powers, describing the move as “a cruel and ruthless attack on regional economies, producers and workers.”

Rojas warned that the loss of price controls and profitability margins forces many laborers into indigence, with earnings falling to about 40‑45 thousand pesos per ton of leaf. He linked the policy to declining wages, rising inflation, and social hardship, alleging it will separate families and undermine social peace.

UATRE pledged to continue supporting producers’ demands and to oppose any measures that jeopardize workers’ interests.