In the very first minutes of the New Year, the border that separates Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua and El Paso, Texas will become a scene of protest. Tired of the 700% increase on the price of tortillas and other corn-based products — as well as increases on other staple such as beans, chicken and meat — as a result of increased importation from the U.S. into Mexico, under NAFTA, farmers and consumers are fighting back.

As part of the National Campaign in Defense of Food Sovereignty and the revitalization of Mexican farmland project Sin Maíz no hay País ["Without Corn There is No Country"], 300 farmer, environmental and human rights organizations participating in said campaigns will create a human wall on the first day of January on the 5 border bridges of Ciudad Juárez, where truckloads of grain enter from the United States…

…this protest is part of the campaign, which started on July 25th with the goal of ending the free entry into the market of [U.S.] corn, beans, powdered milk and sugar cane, and to urge Congress and the [Mexican] federal government to begin a renegotiation process of the farming section of the NAFTA documents.

Organizers say they intend to keep the human wall up until January 2, but admit that it might be tough, given that the border is such a highly policed area. Joining the Mexican organizations will also be groups from the U.S. and Canada.

Via / La Jornada

Image via ElPais.com