Third Oil Crisis

Thousands of Argentine farmers protesting grain export tax increases returned to road blockades nationwide on Sunday, angry over a police crackdown at a barricade the day before.

Farmers lined up tractors across rural roads nationwide in the latest salvo in a bitter three-month standoff with President Cristina Fernandez that has at times emptied supermarket shelves and raised the specter of recession in one of the world’s top soy and corn exporters.

Protest leaders said in a statement that, at least through Wednesday, striking farmers will suspend grain exports and prevent trucks carrying most agricultural products from passing on national highways. Some perishable goods, such as milk, are to be allowed.

News footage showed rows of tractors blocking roads and farmers huddling around fires, bracing against the South American winter winds blowing across the open pampas. The farmers have suspended their protests then returned to the blockades several times as talks have stumbled … read this article

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