At the stroke of midnight this past January 1st, a hundred or so farmers
and day laborers from both sides of the border converged on the hump of
the Cordoba Las Americas bridge that connects up El Paso and Ciudad
Juarez, to mark the demise of Mexican agriculture*. In accordance with
the timetables set by the North American Free Trade Agreement signed by
Mexico, the U.S. and Canada 14 years ago, as of January 1st 2008, all
tariffs on corn, beans, powdered milk, sugar and 200 agricultural
products [from the US] were reduced to zero, setting in motion a
doomsday scenario that farmers organizations here say will inevitably
lead to crisis in the Mexican "campo" or countryside, mass abandonment
of unsustainable plots, increased hunger, and even armed rebellion by
the nation's beleaguered small farmers.
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*Read the rest...
<NAFTA%20and%20Mexico%27s%20Agrarian%20Apocalypse,Zero%20Hour,,John%20Ross,Counterpunch.org,January%2015,%202008,,At%20the%20stroke%20of%20midnight%20this%20past%20January%201st,%20a%20hundred%20or%20so%20farmers%20and%20day%20laborers%20from%20both%20sides%20of%20the%20border%20converged%20on%20the%20hump%20of%20the%20Cordoba%20Las%20Americas%20bridge%20that%20connects%20up%20El%20Paso%20and%20Ciudad%20Juarez,%20to%20mark%20the%20demise%20of%20Mexican%20agriculture.%20In%20accordance%20with%20the%20timetables%20set%20by%20the%20North%20American%20Free%20Trade%20Agreement%20signed%20by%20Mexico,%20the%20U.S.%20and%20Canada%2014%20years%20ago,%20as%20of%20January%201st%202008,%20all%20tariffs%20on%20corn,%20beans,%20powdered%20milk,%20sugar%20and%20200%20agricultural%20products%20were%20reduced%20to%20zero,%20setting%20in%20motion%20a%20doomsday%20scenario%20that%20farmers%20organizations%20here%20say%20will%20inevitably%20lead%20to%20crisis%20in%20the%20Mexican%20%22campo%22%20or%20countryside,%20mass%20abandonment%20of%20unsustainable%20plots,%20increased%20hunger,%20and%20even%20armed%20rebellion%20by%20the%20nation%27s%20beleaguered%20small%20farmers.>
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