Argentina's yerba mate plantations accused of using child labor.
| Autor | Gaudin, Andres |
A recent news report on working and living conditions on yerba mate plantations in northeastern Argentina and a bill introduced before PARLASUR, the legislative body of the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR), have turned new attention to labor law violations in Argentina and to the persistence of child labor in almost slave-like conditions, especially in rural areas.
The expose, published July 12 by BBC Mundo, the British network's Spanish language branch, seems to be resonating with the public in a way that past evidence of labor irregularities did not, perhaps because it centers around mate, Argentina's national beverage. Mate is prepared by adding hot water (at no more than 80 degrees Celsius or 176 Fahrenheit) to the dried leaves and stems of yerba mate, a shrub in the holly family. The state-run Instituto Nacional de la Yerba Mate (National Institute of Yerba Mate, INYM) estimates that on average, Argentines consume 6.7 kilograms of yerba mate (which translates into 100 liters of mate) annually.
The BBC report focuses specifically on the northeastern province of Misiones, which produces 90% of the country's yerba mate and exports to 47 countries, including places like Syria, Lebanon, and Israel. The story is accompanied by a series of photographs showing children harvesting yerba mate leaves and sleeping in small caves dug into the earth. The report also contains testimony from adults explaining how children as young as 5 are taken out of school to work the plantations. Interestingly, La Nacion--a leading Argentine daily that has a standing agreement to republish BBC material--chose not to in this case.
The work in question is carried out between April and September, during the most inclement period of the year, involves 12-hour days, and pays barely enough for the child laborers to contribute to their families' food budgets. La tarefa (a Brazilian Portuguese term meaning "harvest" in this case) is carried out manually and involves a process known as quebranza (another Brazilian Portuguese word), whereby the child workers yank off the sharp-edged leaves of the shrub, often bloodying their hands in the process.
"Countries need to make more of an effort to eradicate child labor, especially when it comes to breaking certain cultural barriers," said Gustavo Ponce, an expert with the International Labor Organization (ILO). "It's no coincidence that agriculture is the sector that most exposes minors to work. It's the most informal [sector] in...
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