SOCIEDAD COOPERATIVA TRABAJADORES
DEL INGENIO PURUARAN S.C. DE R.L.
In 1992, the
sugar mill at Puruarán, Michoacán, Mexico was permanently closed, a victim of
neoliberal economic policies. The closing of the Puruarán mill condemned 3,774
cane growers and mill workers to unemployment and indirectly affected 36,000
inhabitants of the region. Since then, the community--with a 300 year cultural
tradition of cane production--suffered the disruptive effects of out-migration,
the failure of local businesses, hunger, and malnutrition. The community
refused to die (click
here). Cane growers, mill workers, and community residents organized and
took over the mill (click
for photo) in 1993 to preserve their source of livelihood. Without
engineers and administrators, they repaired the mill and processed 36,000 tons
of cane, producing 3,300 tons of sugar. Their efforts were repressed by the
police who jailed leaders of the social movement and barred their access to the
mill for three years. In 1998, the community once again organized and operated
the mill, but with poor results, since the factory had been shut down for five
years. As testimony to the willingness and strength of the people to succeed,
they continued struggling and now in their third harvest season, they have
significantly increased the production of sugar.
Nonetheless,
several problems confront mill workers and cane growers. Without an investor,
cane growers lack the necessary credit for cane production. The mill requires
resources for needed mill repairs. Market opening, especially under NAFTA,
presents competition with imported, high fructose corn syrup. This less
expensive sweetener creates an oversupply of sugar and lowers the price of
sugar produced in Mexico. But the Puruarán sugar mill presents a unique investment
opportunity. First, workers and cane growers organized into a cooperative,
providing an alternative form of organization, one which avoids the excessive
charges that deprive growers of profits in other mills in the country. Ingenio
Puruarán is the only sugar mill in Mexico operating as a cooperative. Second,
the Sociedad Cooperativa Trabajadores Pascual S.C.L. (click to learn more about Pascual), manufacturer of natural
fruit drinks, purchases 100% of the mill's production, offering a guaranteed
market. Pascual must use cane sugar, rather than fructose in its natural fruit
drinks, eliminating market competition faced by other mills. The Pascual
cooperative also shows solidarity with the Puruarán mill by providing advances
to cover operating costs. But the future of this mill depends on outside
investment. With the investment of resources by a socially conscious investor
who has an interest in cooperatives, this mill can be productive and
profitable. Currently, an investment of $3,000,000 pesos (approximately
$316,000 U.S. dollars) is required to ensure repairs for the next harvest
season.