Mexican farmers took to the streets and highways in 22 of Mexico’s 31 states on Oct. 14, carrying out simultaneous protest actions of differing intensity, demanding that President Claudia Sheinbaum meet with them to discuss the measures required to protect national producers of the country’s basic foods from the multinational cartels and the financial speculators that run them. In some states, roads and highways were blocked by tractors and other heavy agricultural machinery; some marched in Mexico City. One media outlet projected in advance that as many as 100,000 farmers might participate. It is known that farmers were out in all the significant agriculture states in the country, and local media in the states were covering the demands of the National Front To Save the Mexican Countryside, which had called the strike.
In a blatant attempt to head off the strike, the government proposed to the farmers over the weekend that the Secretary of Agriculture would meet with them on Monday, Oct. 13, the day before the strike.
The farmers caucused, and then replied that they would be happy to meet with the Secretary of Agriculture a day or two after their action—if he were accompanied by the Secretaries of Treasury, Economy, and Government, also because the measures required to restore and revive national agriculture are bigger than just an “agriculture” question. Staple grains have to be pulled out of the USMCA free trade accord and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, parity prices guaranteed, and credit generated to finance the improvements needed to make Mexico food self-sufficient again!
EIR will have on-the-ground reports in coming days.
