Argentina's Congress approved on Apr. 19 a new law on biofuels to promote the production and use of plant-origin alternatives to petroleum, through tax incentives and market quotas. The law establishes that four years after its enactment, gasoline will be sold with five percent ethanol from sugarcane, maize or beets. Gasoil will have to contain the same proportion of fuel based on plant oils, such as those from soybeans or sunflower seeds.

But Jorge Rulli, of the environmentalist Rural Reflection Group, told Tierramérica that the law “will strengthen the monculture” of soybeans, which he says is harmful to the environment and the agrarian social structure.

As a major producer of soy and plant oils for the world, Argentina has a good base for producing biodiesel. There are already about 50 production plants for domestic consumption, and some exports.