Artigas' Union of Sugar Workers, Uruguay

UTAA - Unión de Trabajadores Azucareros de Artigas

Last modified: 2005-07-23 by francisco gregoric
Keywords: utaa | unión de trabajadores azucareros de artigas | artigas | artigas union of sugar workers | peludos | sendic (raúl) |
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The UTAA or Unión de Trabajadores Azucareros de Artigas (Artigas' Union of Sugar Workers) is a labor union of rural sugar workers of the north of Uruguay. It was founded in 1961, and they were legally advised by Raúl Sendic, who would be the leader of the Tupamaros guerrilla some time after that.

In 1962 the UTAA made its first strike in Bella Unión (Artigas Department). The members of the group were called the "Peludos" (in Uruguay the sugar-cane cutters are nicknamed this way for the South American armadillo known as "peludo"). The members of the UTAA have asked for land to work in agriculture also.

In the 1960s some members of the UTAA became members of the MLN-Tupamaros.

The UTAA continues today as an agrarian union group, and their members have gone several times from the north of Uruguay to Montevideo to make demonstrations.
Francisco Gregoric, 21 Jul 2005

The flag of the UTAA is a horizontal tricolor of blue, white and red with the acronym of the group in black bold letters. It is the same basic design used in the late 1810s by Artiguist forces, and later re-used in 1825 as the 33 Orientales flag. A flag of the UTAA group used during a demonstration in Montevideo had the white stripe wider than the blue stripe or the red one.
Francisco Gregoric, 21 Jul 2005

• Picture of an UTAA flag during a demonstration in Montevideo at the website of Indymedia.
• Another picture of an UTAA flag during the same demonstration in Montevideo at the website of Indymedia.
  reported by Francisco Gregoric, 21 Jul 2005