In the Fields

While most of the U.S. watches Iowa for other reasons today, The Mex Files has a provocative post about new NAFTA regulations regarding the import/export of agricultural products, enacted January 1, 2008. According to the site, as corporate corn producers in the U.S. and Canada flood a Mexican market that can't compete, the end result will be higher illegal immigration rates and increased production of crops "the U.S. does not grow competitively," such as marijuana.

The post also points out that previous fluctuations in corn prices in Mexico have had more to do with U.S. speculating, and not anything to do with ethanol production, which is made from a different corn entirely and was not the culprit behind rising tortilla prices in 2006 and 2007.

All that and the seemingly inevitable infiltration of GMO products across country lines. I am happy to declare my ignorance and admit that I don't know enough about any of these issues to make predictions, but if The Mex Files has it right then 2008 stands to be a pivotal year for further economic downturns in Mexico.