The End to Food Self-Sufficiency in Mexico

Mexico has ceased to be self-sufficient in food.' Its tortillas are no longer made from locally grown raw materials; it cannot supply all of its demand for meat and dairy products, or even animal feed. This crisis had its origins in economic policies of the 1960s and was exacerbated by a great drought in 1979 and 1980. In 1981, the Aztec rain god Tlaloc cooperated; and the Sistema Alimentario Mexicano (Mexican Food System, or SAM), a presidential initiative to lead the country back to the road of food self-sufficiency, contributed to a temporary dramatic increase in agricultural production and nutritional standards by raising crop prices and subsidizing production costs. But money and rain were not enough to overcome the obstacles that provoked the crisis in agriculture, and the small landholders did not have the opportunity to rebuild their communities and productive organizations before government budgets were eroded by inflation and falling petroleum prices. Despite an unprecedented series of abundant rains since then (1982 and 1986 excepted), basic food production could not be sustained at its previous levels. The value of the country's food imports exceeded its agricultural exports from 1979 to 1985; even as the agricultural trade balance went into surplus in 1986, the volume of maize imports continued to be high (Figure 1). This dependence on imports can no longer be considered the result of an unfortunate conjuncture. Mexico has required substantial maize imports for more than a decade despite the availability of the natural