Argentina Banana Growers Stage 'Bananazo' Protest Against Macri

Independent banana growers in Argentina distributed over 661,000 pounds of bananas to working-class residents in Buenos Aires on Wednesday to protest an authorization by the government of President Mauricio Macri to import the fruit from other countries.

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Growers from the provinces of Salta, Jujuy and Formosa gathered at the city's historic Plaza de Mayo to deliver free boxes of bananas in an act dubbed the "Bananazo." They began parking their trucks loaded with bananas in front of government headquarters on Tuesday.

Agricultural workers from the three provinces gave away up to 6.6 pounds of bananas per person.

The growers' action exposed the brutal reality of rising hunger in Argentina, as thousands waited in line for hours to receive free fruit.

"Does it seem fair to you that an 88-year-old pensioner has to come here in this cold weather to get two kilos of bananas?" Carlos, a local resident who received free fruit, told Portal de Noticias.

Small producers in Argentina reached Buenos Aires to give bananas at Plaza de Mayo in protest of the economic situation.

Bananazo in Plaza de Mayo against imports.

NOW: Bananazo in Plaza de Mayo. They are asking people to consume national fruit and increase their income.

The Argentine Agrarian Federation, the group that organized the action, said that it has requested a hearing with Macri because they believe that the agricultural crisis affects all sectors of the country's economy, as 450,000 tons of bananas are imported into Argentina every year.

The 5,000 families that live from the production of the fruit receive up to 1.5 pesos per kilo (about eight cents per 2.2 pounds) when consumers pay between 15 and 25 pesos (about US$0.85 and US$1.40), the Federation said.

Challenges for banana growers apexed in 1990, when "the indiscriminate increase of imported bananas produced a decrease in the sale of Argentine fruit to the detriment of national plantations," the Federation added.

They demand that the state "take action on the issue of defense" of the regional economies in order to "stop the uprooting that injures so many families in the interior villages."