[progchat_action] Colombia: Agrifuels and death squads
 
Date: Thu, 5 Jul 2007 00:04:25 -0500 (CDT)

Colombia: Agrifuels and death squads

Edgar Mojica
Socialist Worker - UK
July 7, 2007

In Colombia biofuel projects are expanding in different parts of the
country - though now we tend to use the term "agrifuels" rather than
"biofuels", since the processes used to make them are no more biological
than many other energy sources.

On the surface the biofuels policy looks progressive. The Colombian
government passed laws in 2001 and 2004 to stimulate production and
marketing of biofuels.

Official policy claims that this accelerated programme will diminish vehicle
emissions of hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide into the atmosphere, enhance
environmental sustainability, maintain and develop agro-industrial
employment and contribute to energy self-sufficiency.

Yet Colombian trade unions and communities in resistance are opposed to the
agrifuels programme, for several reasons. It is by no means certain that
agrifuels will solve the problem of energy self-sufficiency.

Columbia's state oil corporation, Ecopetrol, has not explored new oil
reserves, and existing fields are being handed over to multinationals.

The agrifuels component of the new mixed fuels is set at an upper limit of
just 10 percent in the mix with petrol. So the multinationals will control
the new product - even when both elements of the mix come from our
resources.

The expansion of monocrops that are used as the base for agrifuels is being
carried out by paramilitary groups. They assassinate "campesino" small
farmers or drive them off their land to allow the corporations to take them
over.

This has happened at towns such as Puerto Wilches and San Alberto, and all
along the valleys of the Jiguamiando and Curvarado rivers.

Environmental studies demonstrate that burning agrifuels gives either little
improvement in the emission of contaminant gases, or even brings a
deterioration.

One study demonstrated that the Colombian agrifuels project has serious
deficiencies. Motors using the mix increased fuel consumption by 2 percent
and nitrous oxide emissions by 17 percent.

The other element to take into account is the grave risk that the country is
running in terms of its food security and sovereignty. The massive tracts of
land being seized for agrifuel monocrops mean that the country will have to
import its food.

The lands earmarked for agrifuel production are already three times greater
than the land employed in food production. These are the reasons there is
such debate on the agrifuels programme in Colombia and such fierce
grassroots and trade union resistance to the government's plans.

*********

Edgar Mojica is national leader of the USO oil workers' union in Colombia.
He writes on the impact of biofuels on Colombian oil workers

Translated by Colombia Solidarity Campaign. To contact USO and for more
information email info@colombiasolidarity.org.uk ;
www.colombiasolidarity.org.uk

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