This brochure—produced by FOTIA (Federación Obrera Tucumana de la Industria Azucarera [Federation of Sugar Industry Workers of Tucumán]), the sugar workers’ guild and union, and one of the most aggressive organizations in Tucumán—was among the material gathered by artists on their trip to the Province of Tucumán, during which they forged close bonds with union leaders. The brochure provides revealing facts and figures that expose the Operativo Tucumán [Tucumán Operation] triggered by the authorities of the military regime as well as its relationship to the deepening crisis that was devastating the provincial economy.

Tucumán Arde [Tucumán Is Burning], the best-known group event ever produced by the avant-garde of both Buenos Aires and Rosario, took place in 1968, when radical political and artistic unrest came to a head in various parts of the world. The proposal of the event involved a complex combination of research, counter-information, and a massive public awareness campaign. As part of the research process, a large number of artists (mainly from Rosario) traveled to the Province of Tucumán where—with the help of union members, journalists, and other supporters—they worked secretly to document social conditions at the (shuttered) sugar mills, schools, hospitals, and so on. The objective was to expose the truth about the official campaign triggered by the military government headed by Lieutenant General Juan Carlos Onganía (1966-70) and concerning the so-called Operativo Tucumán [Tucumán Operation], one of ten points of the emergency program launched by the CGT (Confederación General del Trabajo/ de los Argentinos). The artists involved resorted to a variety of tactics, such as making recordings, taking photographs, and shooting films. To avoid any chance of the documentation falling into the hands of the security forces in the region, it was usually sent every day to the city of Rosario for processing by supporters.