For the second day, sesame farmers blocked Highway 200, the coastal road between Salina Cruz and Huatulco, near the town of Morro Mazatán. They are demanding that authorities negotiate better prices with middlemen.
The road closure left hundreds of people stranded on the highway over the weekend, especially since on Thursday, the farmers blocked traffic in both directions, frustrated that no authorities had approached them to discuss the matter.
Standing beside Highway 200, Eulalia Romero accused the agricultural authorities of having no interest in supporting Oaxaca’s farmers. “This makes it impossible to even think about achieving the much-touted food sovereignty,” she stated.
The farmers explained that they had already informed Oaxaca officials that producing one kilogram of sesame costs upwards of 20 pesos, but the middlemen insist on buying their harvests for 18 pesos.
In the sesame-growing communities, located in municipalities along the coast and in the Isthmus region, such as Santiago Astata, San Pedro Huamelula, Mixtequilla, and Tehuantepec, there are more than 200,000 tons of sesame ready for sale.
The farmers warned that if the government maintains its complicit attitude toward the middlemen, they will continue their protests. “We will not tolerate any more mockery,” they said, hoping to secure better prices.
Source: eluniversal
