Privatization of Aztra

Martin Zerda
Level 6
March 1, 2008

Privatization of Aztra

The creation of a wonderful factory called Aztra was the spark for the creation
of my hometown, La Troncal. Aztra was the biggest sugar factory in my country Ecuador, and it was managed by the government; therefore, it was an excellent source of job opportunities for many people from all over the country. People came to the small town of La Troncal with dreams of improving their quality of life. However, happiness was not staying forever, and the government considered selling this company to a private firm. Nobody understood it, but we could not do anything to prevent it from happening. Corruption was all over it, and everyone could perceive it. Aztra had meant a lot to me. Since I was born and raised in this town, I remember clearly my town as the best place in the world, and Aztra as the best place in my town. Aztra was more than a factory; it was my childhood and my dreams. Therefore, when I think about it the first thing that comes to my mind is my town growing along with Aztra, followed by the nightmare of the company’s transformation, and finally, how hard it was for us to recover and rethink our projects and dreams.

Certainly, my people considered this factory as the best thing in town, it was a source of income for the families, and they did care about employees and their children. I gladly remember a huge park created by the company thinking of employees’ children, and I used to meet my friends there and play for hours on the weekends. My dad used to get from this company his uniform, all his tools for work and some sugar tickets. No doubt, my father was proud to be part of the company. Meanwhile, this small happy town started to grow, and later it became a city, City of La Troncal. It was incredible how fast it happened, and the city’s name became well known in the country. Although it was not the capital of the state, it was soon called the economic capital. The city was a good place to open a business, so inside of this small city, it was easy to find a variety of small stores visibly showing its growing potential.

In the same way it started to grow, I felt that the entire town was beginning to fall down. Unquestionably, the government sold the company to a private firm, and we could not find a logical reason for that. It was basically a negotiation between the government and a private firm. However, the entire town qualified this act as corruption, but nobody could prevent it from happening. Unfortunately, the employees had only one choice, so they accepted the financial compensation for the years they had worked there and then they were fired. The company took a new name, which is the name of the town La Troncal. After a couple of months, the company rehired its workers and reopened the production, but it was not the same as it was before. The employees’ income decreased around 70%. It was incredible, and there were no benefits at all. It was unacceptable and painful, but we had to realize that “Aztra” had disappeared.

Undoubtedly, my town, my family and I felt the impact of this transformation, and it was easy to read the dissatisfaction on our faces. Since it was the main source of employment in town, people had to accept the cheap price for their labor. It was hard to see how the things had changed, and I could see on the face of my father all his worries about the future of our family. He did not say anything, but I knew he was hurt for not being able to achieve his goals. This event forced me to leave my dreams and goals on the side and do something to help my family. Consequently, I arranged to immigrate to the US, and look after my family. Unfortunately, many people experienced what I had, and probably reacted in the same as I did, but the cause was the same, privatization of Aztra.

As I have said, the privatization of Aztra was painful for me because I considered it the best place in town. My town grew along with this factory and my people were happy, but then it suddenly disappeared. Nowadays, this factory is even bigger with new machines, and it is good looking, but the employees are unfulfilled and wondering about their old Aztra, which has disappeared together with their hopes and dreams. This event changed my direction, my goals and erased many of my dreams, but I still remember that huge old factory with its big letters in the front saying: “AZTRA”. I will keep that beautiful memory inside my heart even though I may never see it again.