The eternal border wait: Mexican cattle in search of their American visa
It seems that the relationship between Mexico and the United States has a new point of friction, and no, it is not the wall. This time, the protagonist is a tiny and unpleasant screwworm that has achieved what years of political tensions failed to achieve: completely close the border to Mexican livestock. A feat worthy of study, without a doubt.
In what appears to be the most recent episode of this bureaucratic soap opera, the Secretary of Agriculture, Julio Berdegué Sacristán, has come on stage to offer an announcement that, in essence, is not announcing anything. After her comings and goings (and video calls, which modernity does not forgive) with her American counterpart, Brooke Rollins, the conclusion is as clear as puddle water: there is no date for the reopening. But hey! There are “significant advances.” What progress? That is a state mystery, a secret better kept than the recipe for Coca-Cola. “They are very intense dialogues,” he tells us, as if we were witnessing a Netflix series and not the future of an economic sector.
An army of sterile insects to the rescue
While the ranchers chew their frustration, the proposed solution is absurd science fiction: build a factory of sterile flies. Yes, you read that right. It’s not a joke, although it sounds like one. The master strategy for combating this devastating pest is to breed millions of these insects, deprive them of all fun, and release them so that… well, so that they don’t procreate. The plant in Chiapas is at an exciting 30% completion. Is it a lot or is it a little? It depends on whether you are a politician giving a press release or a rancher watching your income disappear.
To add more fuel to this surrealism, Secretary Berdegué proudly revealed that they are going to test some mobile modular plants that “have never been used in the world.” Sounds great right? Like a luxury fly trailer. The idea is that they produce 20 million additional sterile flies each week. Because, clearly, what this problem needed was a solution that seems straight out of a Silicon Valley startup obsessed with disruption. One wonders if these modular plants will include a minibar and Wi-Fi for the bugs.
The most comforting thing, according to authorities, is that 99.9% of the plague cases have been contained in the south and southeast of the country. That remaining 0.1% must feel terribly alone and excluded, but it is a minor detail in this epic tale of control and containment. The plan is to eradicate the worm when they have the additional 100 million flies. Meanwhile, the border remains closed, and the Mexican cows, with their suitcases packed, look wistfully north.
The moral of this story? Sometimes the biggest problems have solutions that sound ridiculous. And that, in modern geopolitics, a worm can be a tougher negotiator than any diplomat.
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