Mensú, also known as mineros, were indentured laborers of the rural, jungle yerba mate plantations in the Alto Paraná Department of Paraguay and Argentina from 1880 to 1950. Their inhospitable work conditions were the subject of social critics

Rafael Barrett Rafael Ángel Jorge Julián Barrett y Álvarez de Toledo (1876–1910) was a Spanish writer, narrator, essayist and journalist, and a major figure in 20th century Paraguayan literature. Bibliography Rafael Barrett, "The Woman in Love" (englis ...

and

Leopoldo Ramos Giménez Leopoldo Ramos Giménez was a libertarian anarchist and poet from Paraguay. He was a prominent critic of mensú yerba mate plantation worker treatment, and was wounded in an assassination attempt in 1916. Selected works * ''Piras sagradas'' ...

. The term ''mensú'' comes from ''mensualero'', meaning "paid monthly".

References

{{reflist Indentured servitude in the Americas Yerba mate Labor in Paraguay Labor in Argentina