Mexico

Mexico is one of the largest exporters of corn. Nevertheless, it also imports almost half of what it consumes. In a world of skyrocketing food prices, this dependency is becoming a national security problem.

In order to reduce pressure over rising food prices, President Felipe Calderón has launched an initiative that promises to improve the situation of farmers and consumers. The initiative is composed of three elements. The first element will facilitate access to basic foods produced in the international markets. The second component attempts to enhance production and productivity in the agricultural sector. Finally, the initiative will try to protect the income of poor families against inflation. In May 26th the Mexican government cut food import tariffs. This measure will immediately reduce the costs of importing corn, wheat, and rice. Additionally, the government agreed to provide a monthly cash payment to some of its poorest citizens.

These measures will reduce some of the pressure over food prices in Mexico, but only temporarily. The program launched by the Presidency does not seem to address structural problems in the Mexican country side such as migration to urban areas—or to the US for that case. The structural problems are so severe that the Minister of Agriculture has stated that Mexico will not be able to produce enough basic foods for the country’s population. Thus the importance of reducing food import tariffs.

These problems fill the Mexican headlines almost 15 years after the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) entered into force. In the early 1990s, several groups and organizations warned that Mexico would not be able to compete with its partners and that agriculture would be the economic sector most affected by trade. It seems that the Mexican country side—and with it the Mexican population—has been not only affected by trade in North America, but also by the powerful trends of a global economy. Hopefully, Mexico will also learn how to benefit from it.

Fourteen years after its passage, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is still widely debated, with concerns over issues such as job movement, workers’ rights, and environmental protection. Laura Carlsen, Director of the Americas Policy Program in Mexico City, testified before the U.S. Congress on December 6th that NAFTA has been disastrous for small farmers in Mexico. A detailed report with the findings and analysis she presented to Congress can be found here.

The full text of NAFTA is available here on the website of the Organization of American States (OAS).

 Contributed by Rich Basas of FPA’s Migration Blog:

The Mexican regions of Tabasco and Chiapas this past weekend suffered from yet another global environmental shock with severe flooding causing major evacuations of nearly 28,000 people from Villahermosa and surrounding cities in the Southern regions of Mexico leaving 800,000 homeless. Local and national police and military assisted in the evacuation and provided medical support during the weekend tragedy. While well-coordinated with their best efforts, people were still stranded on rooftops as a common scene from New Orleans now taking place in Southern Mexico. Despite the horrific nature of the natural events, the coordination of Mexican services in aiding their citizenry was commendable and despite the massive evacuations in the region, only one victim was noted in Tabasco and many others in the poorer region of Chiapas.

This past year has seen more than flooding in Mexico. The newly elected President Felipe Calderon has met many environmental challenges since taking office in 2007. The Mexican petroleum sector, one of Mexico’s main sources of revenue, took many environmental hits with two hurricanes passing through the area of the Gulf of Mexico this past summer where much of Mexico’s oil and gas reserves reside. During the first hurricane nearly eight oil workers were killed, and learning from that incident, preparations were made well in advance of hurricanes that followed in the summer of 2007. Fires in Southern California also threatened Mexico two weeks ago where affluent neighborhoods in Los Angeles and San Diego were set ablaze.

With the traditional role for the new Presidents of Mexico since the 80’s being the stabilization of the economy, curbing corruption, reducing the drug trade and exporting Mexico’s manufactured goods, the environment has become an unwelcome problem which is dominating much of the attention of the media this year in Mexico and abroad. While pollution and the environment has always plagued Mexico and its cities, it never swallowed up whole municipalities or destroyed Mexico’s oil production and tourist resources. Not since the earthquake in 1985 has a Mexican city seen so much destruction. The only saving grace is that the authorities seem fairly well prepared to deal with such a disaster, or at least better prepared than the Bush Administration during Hurricane Katrina in the U.S.

Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard is gaining international attention for his efforts to improve the quality of life in the city. The Mayor has constructed “urban beaches” and recently removed 15,000 vendors from 87 streets in the city center. He has held outdoor movie screenings and closed major roads to traffic on Sundays in order to make room for cyclists and roller skaters. Ebrard is also planning to toughen anti-smoking laws and bring wireless Internet access to the public.

For details, see Mexico City Borrows Ideas from Paris (Christian Science Monitor).

Le Figaro published an interview with President Felipe Calderon, in which he discusses relations with the U.S., Cuba, and Venezuela.  On Cuba, he said, “It is inconceivable that the Cubans would opt for a market economy if the outside world continues to block opportunities for trade and investment.” 

Calderon also addresses climate change, saying that although developed countries have the greatest responsibility, developing states should also act.

See:  Calderon: “Mexico must have an active foreign policy” (Le Figaro)

As highlighted recently in the newspapers El Financiero and Milenio.com, new studies show that community forest management in Mexico has reduced poverty and social inequity while conserving natural resources.  Over 2,300 forest communities in Mexico have been given “forest use permission,” resulting not only in effective conservation, but also in economic growth within the communities. 

The following articles (in Spanish) provide details:
Informa BM, manejo comunitario de bosques contribuye a reducir pobreza en Mexico (Milenio.com); Reduce la pobreza el manejo comunitario de los bosques (El Financiero)

The U.S.-proposed border fence along the Mexican border is facing opposition not only from immigrant rights groups, but also from some environmental organizations. Claiming that hundreds of miles of border fences will keep many animals from the Rio Grande River, their only source of water, wildlife experts fear that some land animals will be killed as a result of the fence.

There are several wildlife refuges along the border, forming a “wildlife corridor” that environmental and government officials have preserved over many years. Although officials at the Department of Homeland Security say that environmental considerations will be taken into account in the location of the fence, the Department may waive compliance with environmental regulations for security reasons, as it has done in some previous cases.

President Bush has proposed building 700 miles of fence along the border. The Department of Homeland Security is aiming to complete 370 miles of it by the end of 2008.

See: Border Fence Could Imperil Wildlife, Environmentalists Say (AP, New York Times) and River enthusiast spends 9 months navigating the Rio Grande (Fort Worth Star Telegram)

President Felipe Calderon participated in Earth Day ceremonies on an ecological reserve, calling for greater environmental education in the country’s schools. Arguing that educational programs will improve the environment and combat global warming, Calderon also signed a decree aimed at protecting the endangered “El Hundido” aquifer in Coahuila state.

Calderon has developed an environmental initiative called PROARBOL, which seeks to plant 250 million trees, slow or prevent deforestation, and give protected status to 3 million additional hectares of land.

Source: Calderon urges more education (The Herald - El Universal)

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in California ruled to allow the U.S. to continue its plan to fortify irrigation canals on the U.S. side of its border with Mexico to prevent seepage that has been used by farmers across the border in Mexicali Valley. In 2005, two U.S. environmental groups and a Mexican community group sued to stop the concrete lining plan, but the federal court’s decision will allow the planned fortification to proceed by lifting the injunction that had previously blocked work on the canal.

The lining project is designed to provide 67,000 acre-feet of water to San Diego County, enough for the home use of 500,000 people.

To read the Court’s decision, see Consejo de Desarrollo v. U.S.A.

Coverage of the Decision:
Court backs canal expansion in U.S.-Mexico dispute (San Diego Tribune - Reuters)
Court OKs Water Work Opposed by Mexicans (Guardian - AP)

Expedia and the United Nations Foundation have teamed up as part of the World Heritage Alliance to promote sustainable travel to Mexico among its tours of UNESCO World Heritage sites.  As part of the collaborative effort, Expedia announced that its employees are joining forces with local community-based tourism companies to create cultural and natural tours in Mexico.  Expedia has sent employees to the Yucatan Peninsula town of Senor, a small Mayan community, to partner with a local tourism cooperative, Xyaat, to develop two ecological and cultural tours that conserve and celebrate local cultures and ecosystems while providing economic benefit to the community.

In March, Mexico’s Secretary of Tourism and the Mexican Tourism Board signed a letter of intent with the World Heritage Alliance, Expedia, and the UN Foundation to jointly preserve and promote World Heritage sites throughout Mexico.  Sustainable tourism, like eco-tourism, attempts to have a low impact on the environment and local culture while helping to generate income, employment, and the conservation of local ecosystems.  It seeks to be ecologically and culturally sensitive by supporting the integrity of place, benefitting residents, and respecting local culture and traditions.  Mexico’s Secretary of Tourism is the first such official worldwide to sign a letter of intent with the World Heritage Alliance.

Links for more information:
Sustainable travel to World Heritage Sites through Expedia.com
Friends of World Heritage