Argentina's President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner unveiled a package of social policies on June 10 meant to justify her decision to increase agricultural export taxes in March. Fernandez is also trying to win back popular support for her administration, as the tax hike sparked a dispute between the government and the nation's farmers, who have organized three strikes since March, creating nationwide food shortages and large protests. The farmers concluded their latest strike on June 8 without reaching an agreement with the administration, and the two remain in stalemate. Now, however, tensions are rising as Argentina's truckers have begun blockading major roads, demanding that the farmers and the government speedily resolve the dispute. The row began when Fernandez's government called for an increase on agricultural export duties to 40 percent on wheat and beef and 45 percent on soybeans to take advantage of surging global food prices and fight rampant inflation. The total value of the tax is estimated at $24 billion. This constituted the second major export duty increase in four months and brought the total tax burden on agricultural exporters (including income tax) to 75 percent. Farmers responded by going on strike. But Fernandez has not been swayed. She released the details of her Social Redistribution Program on June 10, explaining what the government intends to do with revenues gained from a portion of the new taxes aimed at soy products (estimated at $1.45 billion). The package includes welfare benefits for the poor, proposals to build 300 health-care centers and 30 hospitals, and massive upgrades to infrastructure, such as country roads and government housing. It is meant to justify her actions and further entrench the government's position on keeping the taxes in place. It is also intended to dishearten farmers and their allies, who want to see the taxes repealed. Fernandez also hopes the proposed program will shore up popular support for her administration by promising lavish social expenditures at a crucial moment in the tense standoff with the farmers. Her public approval rating since the quarrel with the farmers began has fallen from 51 percent to 21 percent. Though Fernandez's circle of power shows no sign of weakening, she needs a popularity boost so she can come out of the controversy looking good. After all, she was inaugurated as president recently — in December 2007 — and must prevent the current struggle from marring the rest of her term. Fernandez hopes her social package will win back some popular support while hardening the government's line against the opposition. The farmers have rejected Fernandez's social program as an inadequate excuse, three months late, for a tax increase that threatens to cut off their only remaining source of profit: exports. Since 2001 they have depended on exports increasingly, since domestic price controls prevent them from making good returns with their produce at home. Global demand for Argentina's agricultural products has been soaring, especially in Southeast Asia, where consumers look to Argentina for their soybeans and soy products. Farmers fear that the recent, gradual loss of these foreign markets will drive them out of business; the peso has fallen from 3.16 to 4.2 against the U.S. dollar in recent weeks as a result of foreign countries such as China buying fewer Argentine goods. Argentina's grain truckers, out of work since the farmers began striking, entered the dispute on June 4. On June 10-11, in a coordinated attempt to pressure the government and the farmers to resolve their differences, the truckers began using between 150,000 and 160,000 grain trucks to blockade highways to prevent export foods from reaching port. At present, roads are congested and only a few trucks are reaching port with their freight. In Buenos Aires Province, truckers cut off Route 3 and blocked the roundabout in Necochea that gives access to Quequen Port and the city. In Rosario, the major export point for grains, only 22 trucks arrived at Parana Port (the average at this time of year is 5,000 trucks). There is no telling yet whether or for how long the truckers will maintain their demonstration, but already the entrance of a third major party into the dispute has increased the heat. Violence broke out in Entre Rios Province last night when gunmen shot at six fuel trucks trying to avoid a highway blockade. The road blockades also could create another round of food shortages by stopping food transport within Argentina. In general the food supply has improved since March, but complaints about shortages in Entre Rios Province and Cordoba Province were reported again June 10, and many worry that more shortages — along with hoarding, rationing and unrest — lie ahead if the situation deteriorates. The likelihood of food shortages also increases as spring (October-December), the low supply point in the seasonal cycle, approaches. The truckers claim they will back down if farmers and the government renew negotiations. But one of the initial reasons the truckers entered the fray was that Fernandez failed to appear at several scheduled negotiations with the farmers, leading the farmers to continue striking. The Fernandez administration seems more firmly committed to its position with the announcement of its wealth redistribution program. But this does not mean its policies are guaranteed. As for the farmers, though they are unwilling to concede at present, they are still in a very tight spot. Time will tell if the truckers can force these groups to begin a new round of negotiations.