La Forestal massacre was the mass killing, torture, rape and burning of houses of workers aligned with the anarcho-syndicalist union FORA by private police forces and the paramilitary

nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

organization '' Argentine Patriotic League'' in 1921 in several towns of the north of the

Santa Fe province The Invincible Province of Santa Fe (, , lit. "Holy Faith") is a Provinces of Argentina, province of Argentina, located in the center-east of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the north clockwise Chaco Province, Chaco (divided by the 2 ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. The number of victims of the massacre was about 600 people, striking workers (and their families) of the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

tanning company '' La Forestal'' (''The Forestal Land, Timber and Railways Company Limited'').

Background

Before the arrival of ''La Forestal'', quebracho woods occupied the south of the

Chaco province Chaco (; Wichi languages, Wichi: ''To-kós-wet''), officially the Province of Chaco ( ) is one of the 23 provinces of Argentina, provinces of Argentina. Its capital and largest city is Resistencia, Chaco, Resistencia. It is located in the north- ...

and the north of the Santa Fe province. In 1906, with very limited state regulation, ''La Forestal'' took control of more than 5 million acres of land, obtaining one of the largest tannin reserves in the world and started production operations. It founded about 40 towns, built 400 kilometers of railways, around 30 factories and its own ports. The extraction of tannin by the company caused environmental problems in the local habitat including floods due to deforestation and the extinction or endangerment of wildlife species. The living and labor conditions of the workers were not good: 12-hour workdays and bad health conditions. Payments were made in vouchers which could only be used to buy food and other goods from the company's own stores. Trading of goods besides through the company stores was prohibited. As a result of the poor working and living conditions, the workers organized through the

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...

and revolutionary socialist '' Federación Obrera Regional Argentina'' (FORA) to improve their working conditions. The company created a repressive body named ''Gendarmería Volante'' with the permission of the local authorities and in December 1920 closed some factories and fired workers.

The events

On 29 January, 1921, a workers revolt took place in which 300-400 workers tried to capture two factories. The company responded by sending the ''Gendarmería Volante'' which along with the paramilitary nationalist ''Argentine Patriotic League'' attacked the workers and their families killing about 600 of them. Besides the killings, many people were tortured and women raped and workers' houses were burned to the ground.

References

{{Reflist Labour disputes in Argentina 1921 in labor relations Massacres in Argentina Massacres in 1921 History of Santa Fe Province 1921 in Argentina Anarchism in Argentina Anti-anarchism 20th-century mass murder in Argentina Massacres of protesters in South America Torture in Argentina Violence against women in Argentina Rape in South America January 1921 Terrorist incidents in Argentina Terrorist incidents in 1921 Attacks on buildings and structures in Argentina Attacks on buildings and structures in the 1920s Arson in Argentina Arson in the 1920s 1921 fires 20th-century fires in South America Nationalist terrorism

Background

The events

See also

References