The economic impact generated by wine cooperatives in the provinces could be compromised in Mendoza by the serious judicial and financial situation of Fecovita, where the Justice is investigating the obtaining of resources and profits built on irregular accounting maneuvers. A new economic impact report by ACOVI (Argentine Association of Wine Cooperatives) concludes, with concrete figures, on the structural role it attributes to the wine cooperative sector in Mendoza: $184.430 million in Value Added, more than 10,000 direct jobs, 5,000 producers, 25,000 hectares worked, and 30% of the wine consumed in Argentina, according to the Argentine News Agency. It is a system that supports production, employment, suppliers, and value-added even in times of economic contraction. But this strength today faces a risk that does not come from the cooperative model, but from the lack of transparency and controls in the management of its most important federation: Fecovita. When profit is built on false foundations. Mendoza Justice confirmed the validity of the accounting audit that detected serious irregularities in Fecovita's 2021 and 2022 balance sheets. According to an analysis by the Mendoza Post medium, these alterations also compromise the 2023 and 2024 exercises. The audit revealed: overvaluation of assets, omission of real liabilities, non-existent capital contributions, absence of essential documentation, such as the agreement with Iberte and Evisa, and accounting alterations of around USD 100 million. If confirmed in court, these practices would have allowed Fecovita to show a solidity it did not have and generate profits with resources whose obtaining is under investigation for fraud. In other words: part of what is presented as an economic contribution to the system would have been built with illicitly obtained money. This reasoning follows the same logic as various judicial rulings of great national importance: an activity can be economically relevant, but if it is based on funds obtained through illegal maneuvers, that contribution cannot be presented as legitimate. The problem is not cooperativism: it is the lack of honest leaders who protect the capital of the associates, warn wine specialists. The Mendoza cooperativists were not part of these decisions. However, they will be the ones who must assume the consequences, because in a cooperative, the associates are jointly and severally liable for the entity's obligations. This means that if the managers make decisions that cause economic harm, it is the cooperativists who must respond. This is the point that the Fecovita case exposes. The inability, incompetence, or worse, the crimes committed by the administrators in the cooperative system represent a systemic threat. Unlike other business models where responsibilities can be diluted, the cooperative system, based on self-management and joint ownership, transfers the harm directly to the producers and partners, who sooner or later suffer the consequences of poor management. This dynamic not only compromises the financial viability of the cooperative entity, generating liquidity crises and massive losses, but also erodes trust in a model that is a pillar of local and regional development. The lack of due diligence and transparency not only impacts the individual finances of the cooperativists, but also undermines the stability of an entire sector, with social and economic implications that transcend the cooperative's borders and affect society as a whole. The breach of duty by administrators demands rigorous scrutiny, as their irregular action or omission can have devastating consequences. It is also a wake-up call for control bodies. The immediate risk: debts that no cooperative can face alone. If Fecovita loses the lawsuit against Iberte, it will have to face a restitution that exceeds USD 50 million. There, the responsibility of the accused managers, the final validity of the audit, and the precise amount that Fecovita and each cooperative will have to face will be defined. Carlos Aguinaga, lawyer for the companies Iberte and Evisa, warned that “the audit demonstrates that the financial statements were built on false data. According to the statutes, that amount is distributed among the cooperatives according to their contribution percentage. The table published by Mendoza Post shows an alarming scenario: cooperatives with potential obligations of USD 6 to 10 million, others between USD 2 and 4 million, the smallest between USD 300,000 and 800,000. These figures, in many cases, far exceed their operational capacity. In this way, decisions made by a reduced management can lead to: insolvency, loss of social capital, productive paralysis, breakdown of payment chains, a real risk of bankruptcy. What's next: a trial that will define responsibilities and the future of the system. In the coming weeks, Justice will set the date for the oral trial. The progress of the trial will expose how these irregularities project into the following exercises and the economic obligations of the entity.
