Mensú, also known as mineros, were indentured laborers of the rural, jungle

yerba mate Yerba mate or yerba maté (), ''Ilex paraguariensis'', is a plant species of the holly genus native to South America. It was named by the French botanist Augustin Saint-Hilaire. The leaves of the plant can be steeped in hot water to make a bev ...

plantations in the

Alto Paraná Department The musical term alto, meaning "high" in Italian (Latin: '' altus''), historically refers to the contrapuntal part higher than the tenor and its associated vocal range. In four-part voice leading alto is the second-highest part, sung in chor ...

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

and

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

from 1880 to 1950. Their inhospitable work conditions were the subject of social critics Rafael Barrett and

Leopoldo Ramos Giménez Leopoldo Ramos Giménez was a libertarian anarchist and poet from Paraguay. He was a prominent critic of mensú yerba mate Yerba mate or yerba maté (), ''Ilex paraguariensis'', is a plant species of the holly genus native to South Ameri ...

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

References

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