These past few days have been a wonderful mix of excitement; meeting amazing people, buying tons of products from Mexican artesians, and listening to great speakers. The Sin Maiz No Hay Pais campaign ends January 1, 2008, but is going out with a bang. On October 27, they entertained a huge crowd in the zocalo with a concert in support of the Mexican campesino and for the past few days they have turned their focus to education. This fair is quite different than others I’ve attended (two in Oaxaca) because of its size, diversity in events, and amount of vendors. The Oaxacan fairs were nearly entirely attended by corn farmers, with their voices at center stage, and key presentations by a professor from Chapingo University to discuss the problems of GM corn. Here, farmers are in attendance, but they primarily came as vendors or representatives of campesino organizations to sell their products or offer materials about their organization at tables in the vendor fair. I’m not saying that one certain fair is better than the other, their difference is just clear through the organizations that sponsor the fair. While the other fairs were locally sponsored and held in a small space, this fair is sponsored by a few international organizations along with 300 organizations as part of the campaign. Oxfam paid for most of this event, with major involved by ANEC and GEA.
The fair organizers claim that the importation of US corn, the introduction of GM corn (and other GM seeds), and neoliberal policies in general threaten the livelihood of Mexican farmers and the biodiversity of native seeds. The high rates of immigration and the loss of job opportunities are signs of changes already felt in rural parts of Mexico. This campaign, with its focus on corn, is really a method of bringing awareness to issues facing farmers in general, in addition to the negative consequences of genetically modified corn.
I promise to post photos soon to my photo page. You can also read about this event in yesterday’s La Jornada (in Spanish).
Recent Comments