The End to Food Self-Sufficiency in Mexico

Barkin, David

doi:10.1177/0094582x8701400302

Cited by 34 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…Fertile, irrigated land and other scarce resources are more likely to be used to produce livestock for the tables of the urban middle and upper classes, than to grow staples such as maize and beans for the majority of Mexicans -see, for example, Barkin [1987]. 10.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

DISCUSSION - Agricultural Policy Reform and Rural Livelihoods in Central Mexico

Wiggins¹,

Keilbach²,

Preibisch³

et al. 2002

Journal of Development Studies

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This contribution examines the impact of profound changes to agricultural policy implemented since 1988 on the livelihoods of Mexico's rural population. Detailed studies in four villages show that rural incomes are very unevenly distributed within communities leaving half of households in poverty. During the last decade key factors affecting village economies have been international and national, rather than specific changes to farm policy. Most changes have been to the detriment of the communities studied, but peasant households have adapted and survived, at a price. If the worst fears about the consequences of economic liberalisation have not been realised, neither have the hopes. Depressed markets for basic goods and services have limited the growth of the rural economy. Private investment and provision of services have not been stimulated.agricultural policy, central Mexico, economic liberalisation, private investment,

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

DISCUSSION - Agricultural Policy Reform and Rural Livelihoods in Central Mexico

Wiggins¹,

Keilbach²,

Preibisch³

et al. 2002

Journal of Development Studies

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show abstract

“…Mumme (1992 [this issue]) notes that 60 percent of the rivers are seriously contaminated. Barkin (1990a) cites the nonrenewable rate of use and the contamination of major aquifers that supply energy and irrigation facilities. Modes of irrigation leading to salinization have been estimated &dquo;to be reducing crop output by the equivalent of one million tons of grain per year, enough to feed ... roughly a quarter of Mexico City&dquo; (Postel, 1990: 44).…”

Section: The Abuse Of Natural Resourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The land once cleared by small farmers for corn and beans but now lying unused, currently about 40 percent, is subject to erosion, the loss of nutrients and texture, and thus deterioration (Barkin, 1990b). The destabilization of the traditional family-farm sector threatens the loss of accumulated peasant knowledge of sustainable agriculture (Wilken, 1987;Barkin, 1990a;Wright, 1990). Since the 1982 crisis, the condition of the rural poor has worsened: Under the politics of &dquo;adjustment,&dquo; government investment in agriculture fell by more than two-thirds ... with the hardest hit being the perennially creditpoor peasant farmer.…”

Section: The Border and The Maquiladoramentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the search for rural revitalization, Barkin offers the best-articulated policy framework to stimulate food self-sufficienty via smallholder production on rain-fed land (Barkin, 1990a). He argues that such a strategy would enhance Mexico's agroexport potential by freeing valuable irrigated lands, because two million hectares of irrigated farmland are now planted in crops that could be grown more efficiently in rain-fed areas (Barkin, 1987: 292).…”

Section: The Politics Of Implementationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Large landholders would shift their portion of basic-grains production to more profitable export and luxury crops, and small farmers would be left to produce the basic grains for national needs. Price supports would, of course, mean higher food prices for the urban poor, hence Barkin's call for an increase in urban wages and targeted subsidies for those in greatest need modeled on the highly acclaimed milk-distribution program (Barkin, 1990a: 126).…”

Section: The Politics Of Implementationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sustainable Development in Mexico?

Goldrich¹,

Carruthers²

1992

Latin American Perspectives

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Mexico holds the potential for a disastrous confrontation or a constructive breakthrough regarding sustainable development. The world's wealthy countries have been largely able to insulate themselves from the costs of the social and ecological deterioration that characterizes the world's poor countries.The Mexico-United States case is a critical one because the 2,000-mile border makes cost-sharing inescapable.Given its revolutionary nationalist history, the Mexican case is also a globally significant test of the capacity of a poor country to negotiate its integration into the world economy. In a now-familiar but still dramatic display of Mexico's commitment to its new international role as the &dquo;model debtor,&dquo; recent administrations have sharply renounced economic nationalism in favor of the lean, export-led economy promulgated by northern governments and financial institutions.' Mexico's deepening integration into the world economy is thus proceeding precisely along the lines dictated by the managers of neoliberalism, and Mexican officials have been willing to sacrifice autonomy in negotiating the terms and conditions of economic apertura. Structural adjustment, austerity, and, increasingly, repression are the prices Mexicans pay for their leaders' commitments to meeting international obligations, obtaining financial concessions, and attracting new investment capital. This is a path inimical to sustainable development. It heralds heightened exploitation not only of rural and urban labor but also of an already severely degraded natural-resource base. Precisely when environmental (and social) protection is needed most, neoliberal priorities demand a reduction of taxes, regulations, and labor organizations, sharp cuts in social expenditures, and a dismantling of strategic state institutions. In contrast, sustainable develop-Daniel Goldrich is a professor of political science at the University of Oregon working on the politics of sustainable development in the Americas. David Carruthers is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Political Science at the University of Oregon studying the political economy of environment and development. The authors thank Daniel Faber and David Barkin for their critical support and other reviewers for their commentary.

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South-South Collaborations in Agriculture: A Concluding Note

Modi

Venkatachalam

2021

India–Africa Partnerships for Food Security and Capacity Building

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The End to Food Self-Sufficiency in Mexico

Cited by 34 publications

References 4 publications

DISCUSSION - Agricultural Policy Reform and Rural Livelihoods in Central Mexico

DISCUSSION - Agricultural Policy Reform and Rural Livelihoods in Central Mexico

Sustainable Development in Mexico?

South-South Collaborations in Agriculture: A Concluding Note

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