General Discussion

eridani

(51,907 posts) Thu Jul 26, 2012, 06:09 AM Jul 2012

Monsanto linked to Lugo ouster in Paraguay

http://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/318-66/12596-monsanto-linked-to-coup-that-ousted-paraguayan-president

But with the election of Lugo in 2008, things were beginning to change in many ways, according to reports, which triggered serious upset amongst Paraguay's status quo class. Unwilling to capitulate to every demand made by the likes of Monsanto, Lugo was clearly a problem for these movers and shakers, who had long controlled national policy to their liking at the expense of the underclasses who have had to endure extreme poverty as a result.

"Monsanto planned to introduce a genetically modified seed for commercial use in the country ... (But) under Lugo's administration, Paraguay's National Service for Plants and Seeds Quality and Health (SENAVE) refused to approve the seed's use," writes Berta Joubert-Ceci of Workers World concerning Monsanto's involvement in the coup.

"The right-wing oligarchs favor dissemination of Monsanto seeds, while the peasantry has been demonstrating against it. The Union of Associations of Producers, a landowners group tied to Monsanto, was preparing a demonstration for June 25 against Lugo to benefit the giant transnational and the 'liberalization' of its genetically modified seeds."

Though not perfect by any means, Lugo had at least tried to fight back in some ways against Monsanto's gradual takeover of Paraguay's agricultural land, the vast majority of which is now owned by less than three percent of the entire population. Many of Paraguay's family farms have been eliminated over the years and forcibly replaced with large mono-crop plantations that now grow Monsanto's GM soy and other cash crops.