Overview
- A federal panel in Rosario delivered the verdict on June 25, acquitting seven producers, an agronomist and an applicator for lack of criminal proof while convicting two former Pergamino municipal inspectors for failing to perform oversight duties.
- The two ex‑inspectors, Mario Tocalini and Guillermo Naranjo, received two‑year suspended prison terms and four‑year bans from public office for incumplimiento de los deberes de funcionario público.
- Judges explicitly said scientific evidence links agrochemical exposure to local health and environmental harm but ruled that the prosecution did not prove specific illegal acts by the producers beyond reasonable doubt.
- The court kept precautionary distance limits in force — 1,095 meters for ground spraying and 3,000 meters for aerial applications — and ordered that files be sent to the San Nicolás public prosecutor to investigate higher municipal officials.
- Plaintiffs have announced appeals, full written reasons for the sentence will be published on August 10, and the ruling is likely to drive political and regulatory pressure for clearer periurban spraying rules.