An estimated 10,000 people took part in a demonstration in the city of Fray Bentos in Uruguay in favour of the construction of a pulp mill by the Finnish company Metsä Botnia.
The demonstration was organised by local construction and metalworkers’ trade unions, along with local entrepreneurs, and the administration of the Department of Rio Negro.
Banners carried by the demonstrators declared support for jobs that the workers had acquired legally.
The construction of pulp mills by Botnia and the Spanish company Ence has come up against strong opposition across the river in Argentina, where demonstrators have set up roadblocks to hinder cross-border traffic.
Thursday’s demonstration was led by the Intendant of Rio Negro, Omar Lafluf. In a statement to the newspaper El Pais, Lafluf emphasised the importance of the jobs provided by the pulp mills to Fray Bentos and its 23,000 inhabitants. About 2,000 people are working on the construction of the installations.
