Argentine farmers’ organisations, under the umbrella Liaison Board, announced a national strike on Tuesday, cancelling trade in certain products to protest against national government policies.

The suspension began at midnight on Tuesday and will end a week later on June 12^th. The action is in protest against the land reform bill and tax hike in Buenos Aires province, amongst other issues.

On May 31^st Buenos Aires governor Daniel Scioli signed a decree that promised to revaluate rural land in the province.

Eduardo Buzzi, head of Agrarian Federation of Argentina, explained that “costs, particularly taxes, have increased non-stop for farmers and thus our incomes have been diminished.”  He added, “something is going very wrong in Argentina’s farms, which is why we are sending this wake-up call … We are in bad shape and getting worse.”

Other difficulties identified by the farming organisations include trade restrictions, limits to exports, destruction of markets and a lack of profit in dairy farming.

The national strike is an extension of the ban on commercial activities in the province of Buenos Aires, a direct response to the decree signed by local parliament.

Pickets have surfaced on several of Argentina’s main highways in farming territories and shipments of livestock are very low.

Governor Scioli told the farmers of the province of Buenos Aires he is prepared to review the legislation but has demanded that the organisations cease their protests.

Buenos Aires governor Daniel Scioli signed a decree today that aims at a revaluation of rural land in the province, paving the way for the provincial legislature to pass a bill increasing taxes paid for land, cars, stamp duty, and others.

The decree and the tax reform bill seek to collect some $2 billion this year, around half of which would be sent to the national government.

After much discussion over the issue between the government and the opposition, the decree was signed by Scioli’s cabinet in full. The opposition parties Unión Cívica Radical and Frente Amplio Progresista had indicated that once the decree was signed, they would make their way to the legislature to vote on the tax reform bill which they had been blocking. The tax reform bill was amended to remove references to land revaluations and sent to the lower house.

Naming the move a “landmark” and an “instance of responsibility and commitment,” Scioli claimed the tax hike will strengthen the equity of the provincial tax system.

However, the move has already been rejected by farmers. Many have already promised strikes and industrial action in the event that it is passed. Various organisations are looking into and evaluating the possibility of using roadblocks.

Indigenous workers and African descendants in Honduras have launched an initiative with Vía Campesina to secure women’s access to land and strengthen their rights in the country.

With International Women’s Day as their platform, at least 100 indigenous workers and peasants of African descent marched in the capital of Tegucigalpa last Thursday.

The primary demands of the new campaign are access to land tenancy among rural workers and a new legal framework regarding gender.

“We, women, need land,” said Leoncia Solórzano, spokesperson for Thursday’s protest. “We don’t have access to it because the Honduran legislation has always tried to make us invisible, as if women didn’t exist in Honduras.”

In front of the building of the National Agrarian Institute (INA), protesters denounced evictions faced by rural communities and called for a new, comprehensive agrarian reform law, with 15% of the national budget allocated to a trust.

Participating women also held a special event at the doors of the INA, demanding the cessation of violence against women and punishment for their attackers.

Continuing their push for further rights, the women of Vía Campesina Central America plan to expand their campaign throughout the region.