Sugar Depression and Agrarian Revolt: The Argentine Radical Party and the Tucuman Caneros' Strike of 1927
IN May 1927, the arrival of the Argentine autumn signaled the start of the sugar harvest in the northern province of Tucuman. As always, that event triggered a mass migratory movement from throughout the Northwest. From Catamarca, Santiago del Estero, La RioJa, and southern Salta trekked a ragged procession. A small army of humble mestizo families seeking employment in the zafra (sugar harvest) arrived on foot; others in oxen-drawn carts bearing all their possessions; a few by rail. Throughout the sugar belt, a crescentshaped swath stretching from Tucumain's south-central to northeast corners, the air grew thick with the acrid scent of cane juice boiling in the pressurized vats of nearby mills. On country roads grown muddy and rutted, a slow parade of ancient mule-drawn carts groaned under the weight of tightly lashed bundles of ripened cane. In scores of country towns, the rhythm of life was quickening. In Aguilares, Socompa, Bella Vista, and Monteros general stores bustled with farmers who carefully scrutinized tools, animal feed, food, and clothing. The zafra had awakened the province from its months of hibernation.'