On 25 January 2014, trade union leader Felipe Román Rodríguez Moreno, who had just been elected Minutes and Records Secretary, was called into the office of Manuel Razzeto Chauca, the human resources manager at Talsa, a company based in the Libertad region that belongs to the Rocío Group and exports asparagus, artichokes and berries.
The reason for summoning him was simple and direct: coercion. Rodríguez Moreno was presented with a choice: he either had to resign from his position in the union and withdraw his membership or lose his job. According to a report by the Federación Nacional de la Agroindustria y Afines (FENTAGRO), the HR manager told the trade unionist that he was «setting the workers a bad example» by belonging to the union.
The following Monday, 27 January, Rodríguez Moreno was not allowed into the factory. Razzeto Chauca informed him that he had been dismissed and that he would receive notice of the decision through a notary.
