Mexico's Neolithic surplus under NAFTA

Image Source: tequilamitierra.com.mx

Like the Fertile Crescent, Mesoamerica was one of the seats of the Neolithic revolution, a 10,000-year-old cultural event that saw prehistoric peoples settle down into households and subsist through agriculture. Maize (the ancient ancestor of corn as we know it) was one of those subsistence crops whose surplus boosted the development of commercial agriculture as we know it in modern times.


Once the birthplace of corn as a crop, Mexico is now, ironically, a net importer of the grain. Last year, it bought as much as 1.516 million tonnes of U.S. corn in August, auguring panic in the industry.

Image Source: nytimes.com

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which stipulates the removal of tariffs on exports changing hands among the United States, Mexico, and Canada, oversaw this large scale purchase. Nearly a third of U.S.’s exports have a sure market in Mexico.


News of severe drought in the U.S. changes the course of commodities. Mexico is starting to look elsewhere for its corn imports. Argentina, the world’s second biggest corn exporter, is shaping up to be a trading partner.

Image Source: pri.org

The idea is for Mexico to find self-reliant trading measures that will not have it clinging to the skirts of the US. Corn has a special role in Mexican cuisine that cannot be substituted for other grains, and it’s almost sacrilegious to think that the native country of the maize could be running short of it.


Discover more on Mexico’s trade relationships with other countries, especially during the current mandate of President Enrique Pena Nieto. This Facebook page provides links that might be of interest.