This march was truly mega. It began at the Angel de Independencia, came up the Reforma, then down Juárez (where we watched it for about an hour and a half) and ended in the Zócalo. Tractors, loaded with campesinos and covered with posters, led the way, followed by thousands and thosands of people, organized by state, marching, carrying banners and chanting: "sin maíz no hay país" (without corn there is no country) and "el pueblo, unido, jamás será vencido" (the people, united, will never be defeated). People along the sidewalks shouted back, "No están solos." (You are not alone). Everyone recognizes the vital importance of agriculture to Mexico, the land that domesticated corn eons ago, a feat of astounding ingenuity.
Now Mexico imports corn from the United States, and campesinos fear that the Free Trade Agreement (el Tratado de Libre Comercio - TLC) will have disastrous effects. A particularly chilling poster that we saw often was of a vertical ear of corn in the shape of a nuclear bomb bearing the letters E.U. (Estados Unidos, USA) and aiming directly for Mexico. The campesinos are strongly against genetically modified products and they feel threatened by subsidized U.S. agriculture. Specifically, they want the government of President Felipe Calderon to renegotiate a section of NAFTA that opened the door to the importation of corn, beans, sugar and powdered milk. Someone handed us a flyer stating that with the massive introduction of U.S. products, Mexican agriculture will literally be broken, leaving millions of campesinos without work and increasing migration from the country to the city and abroad. The U. S. ambassador issued a statement that Mexican exports have quintupled since NAFTA.
Driving across Mexico, we've seen small farms like this one in Ancangueo and huge, modern agrobusiness. The climate allows for year-round farming. We bought strawberries at roadside stands near Guanajuato the first of November and yesterday Feb. 1, saw them again. The various climactic zones allow for the production of a huge variety of vegetables and fruits, some I've never seen before.
The Mexican people, accustomed to disagreeing with their own government, do not show anti-Americanism to individual Americans, even as they protest against policies that involve the U.S. Although police lined the sidewalks by the Sheraton, near our apartment, we did not feel threatened.
If you're interested in this topic, you can find an interesting read at http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/11/opinion/11mon4.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin
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