Paraguay’s National Peasant Federation (FNC) announced yesterday that it would start to mobilise against the government’s recent decision to use genetically modified (GM) seeds for corn and cotton crops.

The measure was approved by presidential decree, after new president, Federico Franco, met with businessmen from the rural sector. Franco recently assumed power after democratically elected president Fernando Lugo was removed from power by parliament, in what many have called a ‘legislative coup’.

Their decision has been supported by other rural organisations, who have stated that the use of GM seeds will bring negative consequences for rural workers and their families, as well as the environment. As part of the mobilisation, the organisations are demanding that the multinationals and local businesses present their studies on food safety and the environmental impact of the grains.

President Franco has said that the import of the seeds would increase peasant families’ production of cotton.

The latest decision comes after the July decision to register a type of GM cotton produced by multinational Monsanto. The plant needs glyphosate to develop, a herbicide that has been banned in various places around the world for its high levels of toxins.

President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner visited a General Motors (GM) factory today in Alvear, in the outskirts of Rosario, Santa Fe province, where she was presented with the 200 thousandth unit of the ‘Agile’ car model produced by GM in Argentina. She was accompanied by the minister of industry, Débora Giorgi, and the secretary of interior commerce, Guillermo Moreno.

President Fernández talked about the importance of “not boycotting the country�, referring not only to the union leaders who encourage strikes but also to the businessmen that do not reinvest their fortunes in the country. “The call to not boycott the country goes out to all sectors,� she said.

The president explained that Argentina is the nation that “sells more new cars per inhabitant� in the internal market than any other in Latin America. In 2010, Argentina passed Brazil, Uruguay and China regarding the figures of new car sales per inhabitant.

The president complimented the GM factory, calling it “an emblematic role model for companies.�

Since the 2001 crisis, Argentina has found it difficult to attract the investment of multinational companies, who see such investment as a risk not worth taking.