Crisis hits Mexico’s poor

The opposition calls it a “national security issue”.  It involves investigations into price manipulations, international politics, American oil production, business monopolies, and Mexico’s struggling poor.  What has caused the anger and power struggles so early in Mexican President Calderón’s term?  It’s the battle over the tortilla.

This really is serious business, serious enough to make news around the world.   Tortillas have been a staple in Mexico for a thousand years.  But over a year, the price has increased by 14%, in some areas people are paying three times what they were a year ago.  Would you be upset if your grocery bill doubled and your income stayed the same?  I should say.  Especially if you were already struggling to survive a year ago.

Increased worldwide demand has contributed to the rise in prices.  Not only are people eating more corn (maize), it’s being used for other things as well.  In a search for alternatives to oil, the United States is making more ethanol from corn.  And are there people manipulating the prices for their own advantage?  So political corruption, globalization, and everyone’s favourite – the USA – are all being blamed for the current crisis.

While the government debates how to get the prices down, the country suffers, and especially the poor.  Read more about the tortilla price spike here.