CPTnet
1 March 2008
COLOMBIA: Puerto Wilches neighborhoods declare general strike in support of African palm workers

by Tim Nafziger

"The benefits you are working for will benefit all of us," said the community leader in Puerto Wilches as he pledged his neighborhood to a general strike in support of local palm workers.

Since 30 January 2008, more than a thousand workers on the African palm plantations in Puerto Wilches have been striking for fair wages and better conditions (source: http://www.vanguardia.com/2008/2/4/bar6.htm). For more than two weeks, the company, Agropecuaria Monterrey, refused to negotiate with workers, so the striking workers asked for community support.

On 13 February, CPT, along with Human Rights Workers Forum (ESPACIO) of Barrancabermeja, accompanied a public meeting between the striking workers and Puerto Wilches' community representatives to see if the community would support the workers through a general strike. The representatives of all twelve neighborhoods each came forward to share the results of the meetings, surveys, and consultations they had done in their respective constituencies. All communities pledged their support for the general strike. The crowd of workers roared their approval with shouts of "Viva!" and "The people, united, will never be defeated." Norma, a nun from the Juanista order in Barrancabermeja, preached a rousing message, saying that despite the risk of reprisals it is Christian to stand up for justice, the way Jesus did.

Once the assembled made the decision to call a general strike, participants in the meeting began to assign to neighborhoods the tasks of blocking the various roads into Puerto Wilches.

The next morning at 4:00 a.m., the church bells rang, and the neighborhoods took their appointed positions at five key points around the city, blocking the roads with logs and stones. One reported attack by a police officer on an observer occurred, but discipline and nonviolence among the blockaders held. The morning of 15 February the regional newspaper Vanguardia Liberal reported the mayor saying that the general strike had paralyzed 90% of the economic activities of the city (http://www.vanguardia.com/2008/2/15/bar1.htm).

Will the general strike succeed in securing better conditions for the palm workers of Puerto Wilches? According to reports we heard from partners on the afternoon of 14 February, riot police had entered the community. But with so much of the population supporting the strike, is it politically dangerous for the mayor to take action against those blockading the entrances into town? The real danger is more likely to come from paramilitaries in the area that business people like the owners of the palm oil corporations often hire.

A successful strike in Puerto Wilches would set a positive precedent for underpaid and exploited palm workers across Colombia. African palm oil is used to manufacture bio-diesel, so as demand for alternative fuels increases, palm may replace more traditional food crops.

Update: on Monday, 18 February 2008, riot police used tear gas to break up the blockades and drive away protesters. They arrested three strike leaders, but the police pledged to release them on the condition that the community agrees to lift the road blockades.