At midnight Jan. 1, thousands of Mexican farmers formed a human chain at the Ciudad Juárez border crossing into the United States, under an enormous banner with the slogan Sin maiz no hay pais ("Without corn there is no country"). It was the 14th anniversary of the North American Free Trade Agreement linking Canada, Mexico and the U.S.
The farmers were protesting the introduction of complete trade liberalization at the beginning of this year, which means that corn, beans, sugar and powdered milk -- the basic foods of Mexico -- are no longer subject to import duty.
In some towns, there have been calls for NAFTA to be renegotiated. Farmers' organizations insist that the consequences of the agreement are beyond dispute.
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