Tucumán commemorates 60 years since sugar mill closures

The Municipality of San Miguel de Tucumán held a commemorative event at the Museo de la Industria Azucarera to mark the 60th anniversary of the closure of 11 sugar mills in the province. The measure, implemented in 1966 during the de facto government of Juan Carlos Onganía, resulted in the loss of over 50,000 jobs and triggered a massive demographic exodus.

The commemoration included the exhibition ‘El azúcar menos dulce’ and various cultural performances. Local officials noted that the event serves to reflect on the profound economic, social, and human impact the crisis had on entire communities.

Historian Daniela Wieder of the Universidad Nacional de Tucumán noted that while the military government framed the closures as a way to rationalize an inefficient industry, the policy actually facilitated a concentration of production and wealth among specific business sectors. This period of industrial contraction led to significant social mobilization and political radicalization in Tucumán, which researchers suggest influenced the political landscape leading up to the 1976 military dictatorship.