The field can’t take it anymore: patience has run out and the tractors take to the streets
Imagine the scene: while you and I are having coffee wondering if the Instagram algorithm hates us, the corn farmers of this country decided enough was enough and flipped the script. After leaving the dialogue table with the federal government because, according to them, “a fair price” for a ton of corn was not reached, President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo came out with the classic “there is a proposal.” Sounds like that “let’s talk” message your ex sends, right?
In her now traditional morning conference from National Palace, our federal president, with a calm that we would like to have on a Monday morning, mentioned that the secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development, Julio Berdegué, will attend on Thursday to talk about the issue and others “related to the countryside.” Basically, the classic follow-up meeting that everyone in the office knows can end in nothing or everything, there is no middle ground.
“Yes, there is a proposal that was made to them, the working table is open. The dialogue table will continue, there is a proposal and the windows are open,” declared the President. Meanwhile, the farmers, with the determination of someone who sees their favorite series being canceled by the streaming platform, threaten to raise their mobilizations. The message is clear: either there is a solution, or the road chaos will be worse than rush hour traffic.
The negotiation that went south and the offer that no one asked for
The trigger for this national drama was that the producers left the negotiation table at the Secretary of the Interior (Segob) this Monday. The reason? The desired price of 7,200 pesos per ton of corn was not reached. The farmers, with patience more exhausted than your cell phone battery at a concert, warned that “the fight will intensify.” In other words, they went from airplane mode to maximum protest mode.
After meeting with Berdegué and trying, without success, to enter Segob, the farmers demanded the reinstatement of a “real, open and decisive” negotiation table. Basically, they asked for a conversation that doesn’t seem like just another episode of an endless soap opera where no one understands each other.
And so that there were no doubts left, the Peasant Agricultural Movement released a statement that, in summary, says: “The government’s proposal was an offense.” They described the offer of $6,050 pesos not as a negotiation, but as “a mockery that condemns our families to hunger.” A level of drama worthy of a Twitter thread, but with very real consequences.
“The struggle is transformed. The demand is undeniable. Yesterday, October 27, the Mexican countryside demonstrated its strength, its unity and its dignity. We left peacefully, but with the iron determination of those who feed this nation,” they declared. And they finished off with the battle cry that we were all waiting for: “Enough of the simulations! Patience is over!” It sounds like when you get tired of being delayed in customer service, but multiplied by a thousand.
Lawsuits are not Tiktoks: they are conditions for survival
The field workers were clearer than a YouTube tutorial. They sent a direct message to the Government of Mexico and the President: “The time for false promises is over. The peace of this country depends on the dignity of its farmers.” Basically, it’s the ultimatum you give your roommate to finally wash the dishes.
And, be careful, because their requests are not negotiable. They made it clearer than the Spotify algorithm on a day of nostalgia: they are “the absolute minimum for the dignity and survival of the Mexican countryside.” The magic numbers? $7 thousand 200 per ton of corn and $6 thousand per ton of sorghum. It’s not a birthday wish list, it’s your red line. And they warned, with the seriousness of someone who is not up to joking: “Either there are fair prices now, or the fight will intensify.” The message is on the table, along with the ball in the executive’s court.
What’s next? Well, this Thursday we will have the round of dialogue with Secretary Berdegué. We all hope that it is not another meeting where there is a lot of talk and little is resolved, because the tractors are already in position and the patience of the field, literally, has already been harvested.
Are you left wanting more context about the situation in the Mexican countryside? Share this article on your social networks and explore more analysis about the national economy and the social movements that are defining the course of the country. Your feed will appreciate the substance and meme content.
