It was the year 2017, when Nicolás Dujovne beat up the farmers in the middle of the government of Mauricio Macri, who in the campaign was full of praise and promises.

The government of the PRO alliance was barely able to discipline the agricultural unions, since when someone “angered” them, they brought out the whip under the name “withholdings” And the exporters who saw their profits in danger joined forces to calm the waters and for everyone to return to the corral.

As always after the effect of 2008, the Liaison Table did not agree and those who were with one foot outside put it back inside and so on.

With an Agrarian Federation sailing in waters that were never under its jurisdiction and that has remained undaunted by the disappearance of thousands of small producers who were left out of the agricultural game, at that time it was accompanied by the CRA headed by Dardo Chiesa who was rehearsing some “anger” with the super minister of Economy Dujovne.

Carlos Ianizotto, from Coninagro, who from the beginning of his presidency was distributing everywhere proposals for the agricultural and cooperative sector, which were never taken into account; he met with María Eugenia Vidal and was critical but comfortable.

In the meantime, Rural Argentina, walked ordained with its ex-president Luis Etchevehere, former secretary of agriculture.

MEAT PAPER

This introduction serves to show that the agrarian leadership continues to suffer the deepest inaction and its task not only obtains no achievements, but ends up being the object of worrying disloyalties.

What happened in the middle of the “Meat Table” to unblock the conflict with the government regarding the export of beef cuts, is one more example of what we affirm.

Precisely, the analysts of “Bichos de Campo” explained in detail and surprise, the chain of mischief carried out by the four organizations of the Agricultural Liaison Table.

It was the Argentine Rural Confederations (CRA), the agricultural entity that brings together the most cattle farmers in the country, which formally confirmed its departure from the Meat Table, an area that should discuss livestock policy.

The story of “Bichos”, points out that “the general coordinator (read president) of that Meat Table is a man from CRA, Dardo Chiesa, from Pampas, who He will remain in office despite the fact that his organization announced that it was leaving the block made up of more than thirty entities in that productive chain. Chiesa was president of the CRA until 2017 and had previously been president of the Institute for the Promotion of Beef (IPCVA) as the representative of the CRA there.”

“But the one who will be replaced will be one of the two technical coordinators of the Meat Table, who was a technician who also came from CRA. This is Matías Lestani, who a few days ago surprised him by leaving his position in the entity and going on to occupy the position of Secretary of Agriculture of the Nation, seconding Julián Domínguez ".

The Board left by the CRA and which will continue to be chaired by a man from the CRA will now seek a replacement for the CRA technician. The other technical coordinator of the Roundtable is David Miazzo, from the FADA Foundation.

“Bichos de Campo” had anticipated this story: since last week, the rural leaders that make up the CRA have decided to abandon all the spaces that they consider functional to the government's strategy of wearing them down and dividing the agricultural front, to establish from hence policies that are ultimately detrimental to producers.

According to the specialized agricultural media outlet “the Meat Table is also about to explode: It was born in 2015 to confront Kirchner's intervention in the business and now it could end up endorsing the export stocks.”

That is why he announced his withdrawal from the Argentine Agroindustrial Council (CAA), almost simultaneously with the Rural Argentina and the Agrarian Federation. The fourth leg of the Liaison Table, which is Coninagro, clarified that it remained because it was going to prioritize the possibility of dialogue. Its president, Carlos Iannizzotto from Mendoza, today clarified that they would use the same conciliatory criteria to stay at the Mesa de las Carnes.

In this mess of tables and councils, what is clear is that ruralism is being closed because a new stage of confrontation with the Kirchner government is coming, which was embodied not only with the consolidation of the stocks for the export of meat until the end of 2023, the formalization of locks on the export of wheat and corn, and the threat of a trust that would transfer resources from grain producers to flour mills and poultry companies.

In the CRA they are convinced that continuing in the CAA was like being “sleeping with the enemy”. That's why they planted the withdrawal. In the case of the Meat Table, a space that was created in 2015 precisely to face the obstacles to the export of beef, this morning they stated that they could only remain there if this Table also left the CAA. As many were distracted, in the afternoon the president of CRA, Jorge Chemes, ordered this second divorce to be made official.

The question they are asking is “why didn't the CRA also order Chiesa to resign from the position of general coordinator of the Meat Table, which he has held since Alberto Fernández took office. The answer is simple: the Pampas, who come from Macachín, have long since stopped responding to the leadership of the entity that gave them impetus. Much more evident now is the case of Lestani, who will directly join supposed enemy ranks”.

Among these dialogue-oriented sectors are almost all the entities of the refrigeration industry - which last week were negotiating with the new chief of staff of Julián Domínguez, Jorge Ruiz, about confusing “details” of the new export stocks that debuted in January-, poultry farmers, pig producers and feedlotters. All of them favored keeping their feet inside the plate and seeing how things evolve. It was within this framework that Chiesa called a new face-to-face meeting for February and it was even decided to launch a call to find a replacement for the former coordinator Lestani.

As we have pointed out from SEMANARIO on several occasions, the nickname "Field" that the four entities that make up the Agricultural Link table tend to assume, is too much for them when it comes to making decisions, since there are many more interested in the foreign currency generated by agricultural activity.

Of course, it is the small and medium-sized producer who pays the consequences of the interests of the corporations and has no choice but to be tied to a situation that does not favor them, nor does it represent them. Precisely because of the lack of a leadership committed to the grassroots, as it should be in “that” country they say they want to reach.