Tamaulipas maize growers demand federal subsidies amid price slump

Around three thousand maize producers from the municipality of Abasolo in Tamaulipas gathered peacefully outside the state government palace in Ciudad Victoria, seeking an audience with Governor Américo Villarreal Anaya. The farmers demanded that Tamaulipas be added to the federal corn support program that currently provides up to 1,100 pesos per ton to producers in Sinaloa, Jalisco and Michoacán.

Represented by Juan Ortiz, the growers explained that the current agricultural cycle saw roughly 12,000 hectares of white corn planted, but soaring input costs—about 35,000 pesos per hectare for seeds, fertilizer and fuel—combined with sharply falling market prices have eliminated profitability. They emphasized that the crisis is not due to drought or weather, but to the collapse in corn prices and rising production expenses. While rejecting roadblocks or highway closures, they pledged to maintain a peaceful protest and to press the state government for concrete assistance.