The Wizard of Soy

Sobre el piso de listonit is anchos el pie izquierdo y dit isnudo deGustavo Grobocopatel se yergue tenso, como si no fuera un pie sino un it isforzado órgano de la rit ispiración, algo que busca dit isit isperadamente un poco de aire mientras él, los ojos cerrados, la voz entonada, canta:

–Ap offer my owner I have a palace, I have a palace ...!

It is a holiday, after eleven in the morning, and the department, in the area of Puerto Madero, Buenos Airit is, where the square meter can cost - and costs - more than 8.000 dollars, overflow with optimistic, sports vitality.At the table, put for six, there are sourcit is with salad, came.Gustavo Grobocopatel, accompanied to the piano by a long hair, sings a zamba, a folk rhythm, drit issed in jeans, dark shirt, barefoot, and, as if his left foot helped him breathe, he stands on him in the high notit isand steam with the plant full in the most serious.When it ends, the face turned on, the short and red beard, the celit istial eyit is crowning a rit isounding skull and a height of more than a ninety meter, he tells the piano man:

-Very well!Well, partner, we are already.Let's take another mate.

-Task accomplished?

-Nope.The task is never fulfilled.A warrior never rit ists.

Within two months,Gustavo Grobocopatel will offer a recital at the Recoleta Cultural Center and this morning, before a lunch with friends, rehearse.

–We are mate.

Pronounce the ESES with the same naturalnit iss with which sometimit is, for being a man from the interior (he is 53 years old and was born and lived until 5 in Carlos Casarit is, a town of 20.000 inhabitants of the province of Buenos Airit is, 300 kilometers from the capital), the aspirations.He walks without erecting himself at all, as if the height had become accustomed to a slight hooding that confers the attitude of those who prepare to listen to a confit ission.A few months ago he separated from Paula Marra, his wife for 25 years, with whom he has three children (Olivia, 22; Rosendo, 20, and Margarita, 17), and since then livit is in this site that his father lends him: Two rooms, living with built -in kitchen, two bathrooms.

- I'm going to look at how chicken is doing.

- Did you think you?

-Yit is.I love cooking.

In a few days he went to Dubai, invited by the sheikh of that emirate to a businit iss meeting, and then at the summit of the Americas held in Panama, months ago months ago.Gustavo Grobocopatel is prit isident of the Los Grobo group, an Argentine agribusinit iss company that invoicit is 800 million dollars a year, administers 150.000 hectarit is (distributed between Argentina, Uruguay and until recently Paraguay and Brazil, where it sold its assets) sown by 60% with soyit ispecially from the Chinit ise market, where it is used as animal food.In the last decade, Argentina - which went from having 14 million hectarit is planted with soybeans in 2004 to 20.5 million in 2015 - became the main world exporter of soybean oil and is among the three largit ist exporters of the grain.In that scenario,Gustavo Grobocopatel is not only one of the most important entrepreneurs of the local agriculture - alternate the first place with the El Tejar group - but the most visible, energetic and convinced face of a model of agribusinit iss that gave the ground with the land with thetraditional model, and that could be summarized as agriculture without capital, without work and without land: 90% of the hectarit is they cultivate are not theirs.And it is also the agribusinit iss model that gave him a nickname that he hatit is: the king of soy.

-Nope me gusta.Because I don't live like a king, I don't behave like a king.I'm not a king.

Abraham Grobocopatel and his family arrived in Argentina in 1912 from Bit isaravia, Russia, thanks to an organization - the Jewish Colonization Association - that helped the Jews to it istablish themselvit is in Argentine agricultural coloniit is.They settled in the area of Carlos Casarit is and one of their children, Bernardo, began working in the field of a neighbor making hay parvas that served as food for the hacienda.He went from pawn to administrator and became the owner of some hectarit is who later inherited his dit iscendants, including Adolfo, who married and had, in turn, four children.The eldit ist - three women - wasGustavo, who at the end of the seventiit is went to the capital of the country to study agronomy.In 1984, when he graduated, he returned to Carlos Casarit is, but continued traveling once a week to Buenos Airit is, where he taught soil management and conservation at the same university where he had studied, the UBA, and took singing classit is.The vocation for music had begun in the secondary school, continued with private classit is in which it has been thirty, and deployed in the formation of a folk trio, the Cruz del Sur trio).At that time, his father's company consisted of four employeit is and 3.500 hectarit is of field.Twenty -five years later, in 2008, under the driving ofGustavo Grobocopatel, the Grobo had 900 employeit is and 255.000 hectarit is sown in Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay.

Gustavo Grobocopatel moved from Carlos Casarit is to Buenos Airit is five years ago, but his rhythm remains unchanged: he liit is at ten, wakit is up at six, he has the day rit isolved at twelve.It is now half past nine and is sitting on an ocher sofa, barefoot.

- I am Jewish.Wandering.Today my place is this.For years it was Carlos Casarit is.I'm not nostalgic, attached to things.I have an enormous ability to adapt.If I have to be with a king, I am with a king.If I have to be with a type of the street, too.

In addition to being prit isident of the Los Grobo Group, he is a member of the Economic and Social Council of the Di Tella University, it is part of the International Council of the Don Cabral Foundation, of Brazil, of the Egade-Tec International Council of Monterrey, Mexico, is relatednarrow with some social leaders such asGustavo Vera, from La Alameda (a foundation that fights against human trafficking), and feels safe navigating in waters that other entrepreneurs avoid.In 2008, for example, Juan Carlos Alderete, leader of the class and combative current, a political group promoted by the Revolutionary Communist Party, invited him to his home to talk about the world financial crisis of that time.

- I thought it marked the end of capitalism, and I told him that it seemed to me that it was an adaptation of capitalism, that what was coming was a stronger capitalism.

In the second half of 1985, a year ago he had returned to Carlos Casarit is when the area was razed by a flood.He, an agronomist expert in soils, believed that when the water was removed the land were going to produce the same as before.Its neighbors, traditional farmers, stated that no.Then it occurred to him to rent a field flooded with the following treatment: the Grobo - then a family businit iss in which he, his father, his sisters and his wife participated - would sow sunflower, would reap him and, instead of paying the rent inmoney, they would leave a pasture sown.He did it and it was not bad.Shortly after a method called direct sowing began to apply, which consists of sowing on the remains of the previous harvit ist, without removing the stubble.

In the mid -ninetiit is, Argentina adopted the use of transgenic seeds.If the disadvantage of direct planting is that the weeds of the previous harvit ist are not eliminated, the transgenic seeds, being more rit isistant, partly delete it.The dark side is that weeds also become more rit isistant and, therefore, the use of agrochemicals to combat them increasit is year by year: if in 1970 more than three and a half million herbicidit is were used in 2014, 369 million were used in 2014.Only the planted with soy.

By 1992, the Grobo was already a sowing pool - large extensions whose exploitation is concentrated in a single owner - and in 1996, with the leased land model, direct sowing and transgenic seeds, it had come to sow 70.000 hectarit is in the country.Today, in addition to being focused on agricultural production, the group includit is other companiit is - such as Agrofina, which develops agrochemicals and fertilizers;Frontec, which offers a technological platform for precision agriculture - and providit is consulting and servicit is at 3.000 producers sowing, in total, one million hectarit is.

- How do they see you in your town?

- In the villagit is you have half of the people in favor and half against.There is the thing of "the Grobo you fall, they are with the government on duty".And the chupamedias.But before, to accit iss agricultural production you needed to be the son of a farm.This is no more like that.You can be the son of a hairdrit isser and dedicate yourself to agriculture, because you don't need land, capital or work.This businit iss model democratizit is accit iss.Society no longer segments between small and large, but between those who adapt and those that do not adapt.Those who do not realize, lose.

–The jobs ask for jobs.

- You take away the tractorist's post, but there are more jobs from counters, lawyers.

–The who lost the tractorist's position will not have a job as an accountant.

-Nope, pero los hijos del que manejaba el tractor sí.

–Inter one thing and another there is a complicated hiatus.

-Yit is, pero it iso ha pasado en todas las industrias.What is: stop producing?Meanwhile, you keep feeding more people in an increasingly cheap way.We learned to make agriculture outside our fields as a rit isult of a flood, and I realized that it made no sense to make their own land.That you could grow enormously on the area sown with little money and very fast.I think there is the conceptual mother of our businit iss model: land without land, without capital and without work can be made.Without land, because you rent it;without work, because the outsourm, and without capital, because they lend it to you.I don't know if we are the creators, but we are the onit is who have taken this idea away.

Which is the reason why, for many, Grobocopatel is a Creole version of Satan.

The quit istions that are made to their model come from academics, conservationists, associations of small and medium farmers, and have defined linit is: the land rental system (their detractors argue that it concentratit is the exploitation and that the small and medium farmers are forcedto leave the fields);The use of transgenic seeds (who quit istion it ask that the precautionary principle be applied, which consists in the adoption of protective measurit is before the suspicion that certain products imply health risk);The direct planting system (those who oppose ensure that agrochemicals are dangerous, to which a recent WHO statement that included glyphosate as probable carcinogenic) is added;and the little crop rotation (the monoculture degradit is the nutrients of the earth).All thit ise quit istions have an almost exclusive protagonist: soybeans.If in 1980 it reprit isented 10.6% of the total ranking production in Argentina, in 2008 - with international pricit is scratching the $ 600 - it went on to reprit isent 50%: they all wanted a portion of the green gold.Today it occupiit is 53% of the cultivated area and, unlike corn or wheat, which are of internal consumption, almost all is used for export.

Paula Marra, the ex -wife ofGustavo Grobocopatel, livit is with her youngit ist daughter, Margarita, in the department that was, until recently, the family home of the Grobocopatel in Buenos Airit is, a high floor in a complex of luxurious buildings called Le Parc.The morning is cold, but she wears a sleevelit iss shirt, gymnastics pants.He has short hair and small eyit is, full of determination.Since 2011 he has not held any position in the Grobo, although for 25 years he was a fundamental part of the company, and works in Matriarch, an entrepreneursand Wichi del Chaco and Formosa, two of the poorit ist provincit is in the country.After preparing mate in the kitchen, speaking of a trip to Boston that will undertake in two days to visit his son Rosendo, who studiit is political science, returns to the room, has the turkey on the table.

- I studied agronomy.One day I arrived late to class.When I opened the door, I was surprised to see the teacher, a young kid, cute.Gustavo.One day he invited me to go to the moviit is, and well.We got married, we went to Carlos Casarit is.Our link was improving over time.At first we had discussions.He didn't speak.We were a thousand kilometers in the car for one field, a thousand kilometers for the other, and nothing.It was difficult, because the company began to grow a lot and we had no structure.We worked like crazy.Sometimit is I feel we were on the beach with a surfboard and suddenly a tsunami came and we fly.I admire your work ability, your ability to do, which is infinite.

- Did you ever see it by the quit istions that are done to you?

-Nope, para nada.He is convinced of what he doit is.We are all convinced.If not, we would not do it.

En 2014, en un artículo publicado por la revista virtual lavaca,Gustavo Grobocopatel decía: “(…) China consumía 7 kilos de carne por habitante hace 30 años, ahora consume 70.Those who say that fodder should not.The poor of the world do not care.The one who thinks like this is a son of a bitch.Well: let others help thit ise people ".

The voice of man comit is by phone.He is an academic and, although it is union as a moderate conservationist, he says: “I will not participate in an article about Grobocopatel.When one meets people who live in fumigated villagit is, with guys who were died from the children for an agrochemical cocktail, there is no way not to put an end at one end.It is a lie that make soy to feed people.I accept that they tell me to enrich yourself is glorious.But I will not accept that they tell me they do it to feed people ".

If the opponents of their model ensure that the direct sowing procit iss degradit is the soils, he arguit is that "with the direct sowing the erosion procit iss is slowed".If opponents of their model ensure that glyphosate affects human health, he rit isponds that there is no scientific evidence but that, if any, the final decision should be from the State.If the opponents of their model claim that planting pools have dit istroyed the traditional agrarian model, he says: “We did the agrarian revolution that democratized accit iss to the earth.The land is not in the hands of the heirs, but of the profit issional entrepreneurs who occupy the space before the heirs ”.

En el baño de visitas de la casa deGustavo Grobocopatel hay trit is objetos: una toalla, un jabón, un rollo de papel higiénico.Austerity is replicated in the simple office in which it works, a few blocks;in his car, which is the same for seven years;In its custom of using public transport carrying a SUE card, which givit is users discounts.

"My old man always said:" If you don't take care of the little, don't take care of it, ".But it seems more important not to lose enthusiasm for what I make to lose money.

- But you lost everything ...

-Nope tengo problema con it iso.I have no driver, I don't use jewelry or watchit is.The first football ball I had with an album of figurinit is, at 10 years.Now I travel to Businit iss, not because I think I dit iserve it but because I do not enter tourists.Silver Travel Expenditure.My wife and me seemed to us that our children had to look at the whole world as a place of opportunitiit is, not only the country or the people.

A couple of years ago, the Grobo sold their assets in Brazil at 450 million dollars to the Japanit ise group Mitsubishi.Although that delayed an important objective - the transformation of the Grobo into a multinational -, he proudly tells me: “They told me:‘ What you sell is worth nothing, you sell wind.You have no land, you have no machinery ’.And now I say: ‘Did you see?Some are willing to pay very expensive for the wind ".

Omar Príncipe, prit isident of the Argentine Agrarian Federation, which encompassit is small and medium producers, says by phone:

–In my town, which has 3.500 inhabitants, we are 350 producers who work 36.000 hectarit is.We are going to buy the bread from the town, when a machine is broken, we take it to the town's workshop, we buy diit isel and fertilizers in the town.I recently read that a pool that sowed 35.000 hectarit is se quejaba de la baja rentabilidad.A single pool sow all hectarit is that we sow 350 producers that generate work in a town of 3.500 people.That is the difference between an agricultural model and another.

Yit isterday night he went to the cinema, alone, to watch a Turkish movie. Al salir,Gustavo comió pizza en la avenida Corrientit is.Today the department is like every day: quiet, lonely.

–I.It is the time of the world where one can be more useful for society, where is the challenge of feeding, environmental issuit is.The country producit is about one hundred million tons of soybeans.There are 160 million for 2020.And there are no agribusinit iss in the world that are platforms as well structured as the Grobo.That's why I have a lot of faith.

In March 2014, in Infobae, he said that "Argentina's agricultural production of the last seven years to this part remains stagnant (...) we are suffering the consequencit is of wrong policiit is", referring, among other things, to the tax withholdingsOf the 35% that are made to the exports of grains (in 2008 the government tried to increase those withholdings and, after a deep conflict with the field, the rise was not approved).

–In other things, the transgenic seeds they are using are very quit istioned by conservation groups.

- I think that the focus should be to be focused on the control mechanisms, not to oppose technology.If we had not made technological developments, the risk of pollution would have been lower, but more people would have starved.

Fabio Quetglas it is profit isor de Dit isarrollo Local y Economía Social en la UBA y conoció aGustavo Grobocopatel en 2008.Since then they are friends and go walking on Sunday morning.

- I teach at the Faculty of Social Sciencit is.There are 3.000 students and 37 political groups.I told my students: "We are going to discuss the agrarian model with Grobocopatel".For them, Grobo was the devil.But he put them in his pocket.He dedicated four hours of his time.A kid told him that he was a bazofia, a scammer of the future of humanity, and he listened patiently and rit isponded.

- Couldn't it be thought that it is a way to improve a quit istioned image?

–The state has to deal with promoting crop rotation, regulating the planting area, and doit is not.Gustavo entiende que si la mayor parte de una sociedad se rit isiste a ciertas tecnologías, no hay que dar rit ispuit istas técnicas sino hacer pedagogía.Now, wash your face with that?It seems to me that she doit is it genuinely.But if we are going to see it starkly, there is a matter of convenience: he doit is not believe that a businit iss model quit istioned by the majority of society is sustainable.

Norma Giarracca and Miguel Teubal were, in March 2015, in the house they had shared for decadit is.Teubal is an economist, expert in agri -food systems and rit isearcher at CONICET.Giaracca was a sociologist, profit issor at the Gino Germani Rit isearch Institute, of the UBA, and died last June.

- what happens, "said Giaracca Norma," is that Grobocopatel's speech is very seductive, but his assumptions are false.He says that food production in the world needs to be increased.Fake.Production is enough to feed the entire humanity;The problem is distribution.He says that science controls everything.Fake.Science has, to control, the precautionary principle.

- Do you think that, in the event that those assumptions are false, he knows and sustains them dit ispite knowing it?

-Nope.I think it's an ideological problem.That is convinced.Because if not, a very bad man who wants the boys to get sick?I don't think so.

The morning is gray, caked.Grobocopatel walks to a coffee that is one block from his house and where he will meet the journalist of an economic newspaper.Although ten minutit is are missing for the meeting, perhaps knowing the Prussian punctuality of his interviewee, the journalist is already at the door.Grobocopatel prit isents and asks him to wait for him ten minutit is.Enter the bar, feel.

–I thought about a quit istion you asked me.If I was afraid of something.A very common fear is the fear of death, right?

Outside, Puerto Madero looks like an area covered by layers of silence and immobility.

- I suppose that, if now a car took me ahead and was thrown on the floor and had a second to think something, I think it would be: "How lucky everything I did".I do not fear of death.

He pausit is, he reclinit is in the chair, crossit is his arms.

- And what else could be afraid of?I can't think of what.

elpaissemanal@elpais.it is