Farmers’ protests will not only take place on highways in the state of Guanajuato, as some producers from states such as Zacatecas, Querétaro, and Michoacán have also joined the effort to demand payment of corn subsidies, address water and security issues, and obtain guarantees to make Mexican agriculture sustainable.
Some of the locations being added to those on highways in Guanajuato are: in Zacatecas, near the toll booth toward Aguascalientes; in Querétaro, near the Palmillas toll-road checkpoint and other locations yet to be determined in Jalisco and along the borders of Guanajuato and Michoacán.
Producers from Guanajuato, Zacatecas, Querétaro, Jalisco, and Michoacán are maintaining their call for highway mobilizations to demand payment of corn subsidies, fair prices, security, water, and greater budgetary support for agriculture.
It should be recalled that, in the case of Guanajuato, the locations where protesters will be present are Irapuato, at the Cuerámaro-Abasolo-Irapuato intersections, and in Pénjamo, in the area known as La Herradura.
Mauricio Pérez Cabrera, leader of the Confederation of Agriculture of Mexico, emphasized that they have received more support than expected, as many people still have grievances or pending payments related to subsidies agreed upon by the Federal Government. Although they remain in communication with the agencies responsible for expediting payment of the corn subsidy, they will not stop the protest, since many other issues remain unresolved and cannot be postponed any longer.
“We are not going to back down; at 8:00 in the morning we will be at the designated locations.”
It should be recalled that the section with the greatest number of partial or total blockades will be the Irapuato-Abasolo highway, where producers will gather even before 8:00 in the morning to first make a peaceful presence along the roadside in order to make their demands visible to the public.
In this case, diversion points have been identified, including routes toward toll roads, such as the one near Gillette. Therefore, this is expected to be the section most affected in terms of mobility, with alternative routes potentially extending to state roads such as the one leading to Pueblo Nuevo, particularly for those traveling toward municipalities such as Huanímaro.
The main purpose of the protest is to demand payment of the pending federal corn subsidy. However, there are also other demands, including budgetary issues for the next agricultural cycle regarding support for the sector, details concerning the implementation and gradual changes needed for agriculture to adapt to the General Water Law, marketing agreements with industry to obtain fair prices for grain production, and security issues affecting producers in the state of Guanajuato.
The producer leader said they will seek additional meetings and working groups to establish the next steps and begin implementing other changes and policies necessary for producers to continue working.
Consucc could join the protest at various locations
Producers from the National Council of Societies and Units with Farmers and Settlers (Consucc) in Guanajuato are considering joining the highway closures.
Erasto Patiño Soto, the state leader, said his organization remains in communication with other producer groups and will evaluate whether to participate in the mobilizations.
He said that on Tuesday afternoon they even toured some of the locations where protesters could potentially set up, although the decision will depend on the strength of the mobilization and the conditions that develop on Wednesday.
“Different organizations have been calling us, and we have not denied them our support. We are watching how the movement develops and, depending on what happens, we will decide on our participation,” he explained.
The state leader of Consucc reiterated that one of the main problems currently facing the sector is the failure to fulfill payments committed for corn production.
He explained that within his organization there are 80 producers with pending payments corresponding to approximately 10,000 tons of corn.
Given this situation, representatives held meetings with the Guanajuato State Secretariat of Agriculture and federal authorities to request compliance with the guaranteed-price scheme announced for producers.
Erasto Patiño Soto explained that they have requested the intervention of the Secretariat of Agriculture to establish dialogue with the owners of warehouses that still have outstanding payments.
The problem, he said, is not limited to Consucc members, as producers from other agricultural organizations are also waiting to receive payment for their harvests.
According to the agricultural leader, the federal and state governments had proposed a price of 7,200 pesos per ton, but in practice some producers have received offers of around 4,000 pesos per ton.
He maintained that this difference represents a problem for farmers because the price they receive does not allow them to recover the costs involved in production.
“We are talking about producers who made an investment to bring their crops to harvest, and now they are not recovering what they spent. What we are asking is that the price that had been promised be fulfilled,” he said.
He added that, regardless of the mobilization called for this Wednesday, CONSUCC already has a protest planned for the end of September, after the spring-summer agricultural cycle concludes and the final stage of the harvest progresses.
The main location would be Irapuato, where producers are considering demonstrating and taking action in front of companies and agencies related to the agricultural sector.
Among the locations mentioned by the leader are Cargill facilities, as well as the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE), Bachoco, and offices of state and federal governments related to agriculture.
Patiño Soto said that Cargill is one of the companies being considered as part of the protest because of its participation in the marketing and importation of grains.
The intention, he explained, is for the mobilizations to put pressure on authorities and the parties involved in corn marketing so that the commitments established with producers are fulfilled.
“We are going to demonstrate in Irapuato at the end of September, when the spring-summer agricultural cycle concludes, during the final stage of the harvest, if we do not have the guaranteed price as promised,” he said.
The state leader of Consucc warned that if meetings with the Secretariat of Agriculture do not produce favorable results, the mobilization could escalate.
In that scenario, producers are considering taking over offices of state and federal agencies related to agriculture, in addition to actions targeting companies.
Patiño Soto said that before reaching that point, they will seek to maintain dialogue with the authorities, but insisted that producers need a concrete response regarding payment for their harvests and the price that was promised.
Source: oem
