Sinaloa Farmers Protest Delayed Government Subsidy Payments

Hundreds of corn producers in Sinaloa gathered at the Asociación de Agricultores del Río Culiacán after the Secretaría de Agricultura y Desarrollo Rural (SADER) announced a last‑minute change to the delivery of the federal support of 800 pesos per ton. The subsidy will now be deposited only through accounts at the Banco del Bienestar, with cards handed out on the morning of August 4. Officials said the new method would speed up distribution, but many farmers complained they had already provided personal bank details for earlier programs and were not warned about the switch.

The director of Banco del Bienestar, Víctor Lamoyi Bocanegra, defended the change, arguing it would avoid rejections from other banks. The protest follows earlier demonstrations on July 27, after months of delay in the summer support program. Political commentator Sergio “Pío” Esquer, state coordinator of Movimiento Ciudadano, criticized the event as a publicity stunt, noting that only 550 of the 27,000 announced beneficiaries had received the first payment. He called for long‑term, clear agricultural policies that provide certainty and profitability to keep producers on the land.