Who is Nicolás Pino, the Rural Society official who was the target of an attack?

Nicolás Pino, president of the Argentine Rural Society (SRA) was the target of an attack through a parcel

The president of the Sociedad Rural Argentina (SRA), Nicolás Pino, received two packages this morning, one of which contained explosive material and the second a decoder, police sources told Infobae. When the one addressed to Pino was opened, a small explosion occurred: the material did not contain shrapnel and no serious injuries were reported.

Nicolás Pino is 58 years old, he is an agricultural producer and meat marketer. He was born in Buenos Aires and comes from a family with a long history in agricultural production. He studied Agricultural Production at the Catholic University of Argentina (UCA). His family had a farm in Olavarría. He has been the head of the SRA since June 2021.

He is a fervent defender of Javier Milei’s government and even has a very close relationship with the President and his sister, Karina. So much so that during the event for “Industry Day” at the UIA, after the head of State said that “in order to protect the industry, the countryside was robbed” and that the only thing that had been generated was “a sector addicted to the State,” Milei finished giving his speech, looked at Pino and said, winking at him: “Did you hear me, right?” The president of the SRA was sitting in the front row.

After this presentation, Pino shared his view on the president’s words on social media X. “On Industry Day, President Javier Milei presented some theories on the relationship between agriculture and industry, reminding us that both sectors can and should grow together.” He also said: “During his speech, he highlighted how the countryside was punished with discriminatory policies, slowing down its development while other competing countries gained global markets. In the last 20 years, for example, they took almost USD 200 billion from us just in tax withholdings.”

From a very young age, he held various positions in the Rural Society as a delegate and director. He also joined and directed technical areas of work, such as the Meat Committee and the Exhibition Committee, participated in the Board of Directors as secretary and vice-president, was secretary of the General Commission and General Commissioner of the Rural Exhibition and Vice-president of La Rural Sociedad Anónima.

Another of his most remembered stages in relation to the institutional life of the entity was his participation in the Argentine Rural Society Foundation as the productive manager of the Agricultural College of Realicó (La Pampa).

With more than 30 years of professional and institutional experience, he has held all kinds of positions within the entity. He also played a fundamental role in the formation of the Liaison Board of Agricultural Entities and in recent years, he has been the architect of relations between business associations.

The presidents of the Group of 6 (G6), including Nicolás Pino, together with President Javier Milei, at a Cicyp lunch

As president of the SRA, he is also a member of the Group of Six (G6), which brings together other important business entities such as the UIA, the Argentine Chamber of Commerce (CAC), the Chamber of Construction (Camarco), the Association of Argentine Banks (Adeba) and the Argentine Stock Exchange. The heads of all these institutions meet regularly to discuss the state of the economy and define joint positions on certain issues.

Pino became president of the SRA in May 2021 after a historic election. It was the second time in 31 years that there were two lists competing for the leadership. In this case, Pino beat Daniel Pelegrina, who was seeking to renew his mandate at the head of the entity. The electoral process took place in a period of strong tension between the countryside and the national government due to the suspension of meat exports, a measure taken by the Government of Alberto Fernández to seek to lower the price in the local market due to soaring inflation.

Pelegrina, who had been the president since 2018, represented a more traditional line of the Rural, while Pino promoted a more “federal, participatory and modern management” entity.

Following the attack, various business and trade union entities expressed solidarity with Pino.

The Group of Six, which includes the SRA and also the Association of Argentine Banks (Adeba), the Buenos Aires Stock Exchange (BCBA), the Argentine Chamber of Commerce and Services (CAC), the Argentine Chamber of Construction (Camarco) and the Argentine Industrial Union (UIA), expressed its “deepest rejection of the violent episode.”

“An Argentina of growth, development and production is only possible within a framework of peace, dialogue and respect,” they said.

“It is unacceptable, in our democratic society supported by the values ​​of the Republic, that attacks of this nature take place. We express our solidarity, in particular, with the SRA collaborators who suffered the explosion, which fortunately did not cause serious injuries,” said Camarco individually.

The Argentine Chamber of Commerce and Services (CAC), for its part, expressed its “full solidarity with the SRA and the leaders who received the shipments, as well as with the collaborators who suffered the explosion, which fortunately did not cause serious injuries.”

Mario Grinman, head of the CAC

“It is extremely worrying and unacceptable that episodes of this nature occur, which recall disastrous times in our country’s past that we must not repeat at all. The CAC urges the competent authorities to act with professionalism and speed, in order to promptly clarify what happened and bring the full weight of the law to bear on the perpetrators of this criminal act,” said the entity headed by Mario Grinman.

The powerful Argentine Business Association (AEA) also condemned the attack and demanded that actions such as these “must be condemned in the strongest terms and those responsible for this action must be severely punished.”

The Argentine Confederation of Medium-sized Enterprises (CAME) also joined the list, expressing its “absolute repudiation of the intimidation suffered today by the Argentine Rural Society (SRA).”

“It is unacceptable and worrying that in times of democracy an attempt is being made to create a climate of tension of this kind. We condemn the attack on the business association and send our solidarity to its president Nicolás Pino and vice president Marcos Pereda,” said the head of CAME, Alfredo González.

The Institute for Business Development of Argentina (IDEA) expressed its support and solidarity to the directors and collaborators of the Sociedad Rural Argentina. “For more than 40 years, Argentine citizens have chosen to live together in democracy and peace and we cannot allow this type of violent demonstrations to take place again. To advance in economic growth that allows us to solve the needs of Argentines, not only a stable economic framework is required but also a society that can develop its life in a peaceful manner,” they explained.

The Buenos Aires Stock Exchange also “strongly condemned the attack carried out today” and made a “public call to preserve democratic coexistence in peace and within the framework of institutions.”

The Argentine Union of Rural Workers and Stevedores, UATRE, called on the authorities to thoroughly investigate what happened, identify those responsible and prosecute them to the full extent of the law, and reaffirmed their “commitment to democracy, dialogue and the peaceful and civilized resolution of conflicts, convinced that violence can never be the way to resolve any type of differences.”

Finally, the Federation of Commerce and Industry of the City of Buenos Aires (Fecoba) expressed its solidarity with the authorities and staff of the SRA. “From Fecoba we express our support to the president of the SRA, Nicolas Pino, and to the vice president Marcos Pereda in the face of this reprehensible situation,” said the head of the Buenos Aires entity, Fabián Castillo, while demanding “an urgent clarification of the incident.”