San Vicente Cooperative Votes to Admit Twelve New Member-Farms

The Cooperative Council in San Vicente approved twelve new smallholder farms for membership on Thursday evening, after a three-hour debate that exposed fault lines within the federation over dues structure and access to federal fair-price export schemes. The vote passed 47 to 31, with three abstentions, marking the largest single cohort admitted in three years and the first expansion since a registry backlog forced a freeze in applications last spring.

The twelve farms—ranging from four to eighteen hectares, located in the rural municipalities of Itapúa and Alto Paraná—had been waiting since early 2025 for processing by the Federal Office for Cooperative Affairs in Meridian. Their admission comes as Tierra Verde's coffee and yerba mate exports face renewed pressure from port tariffs set by Oriente Moderno's shipping authority, a circumstance that has sharpened debate over who gets access to the cooperative's collective bargaining power at the federal exchange.

The tension within the Council reflects a deeper question about the cooperative's growth: whether rapid admission of new members strengthens the federation's leverage with distant federal authorities, or whether it dilutes the voting power and dues contributions of established smallholders. The outcome may signal how Tierra Verde's agricultural sector will navigate the coming year's federal pricing negotiations.