Government hails agreement; some farmers not satisfied

MEXICO CITY (AP) --After months of angry protests, Mexican farm leaders signed a
pact Monday that the government hopes will bring Mexico's antiquated agriculture
industry up to date -- but won't include farmers' demands for an end to free trade.

The rural development accord does not go nearly far enough for many farmers,
who say their small farms are being put out of business by bigger, better-funded
U.S. competitors. It offers a bit more funding and subsidies, and vague pledges
to try to keep quota or tariff protection for two Mexican crops, white corn and
beans, under the North American Free Trade Agreement.

But for President Vicente Fox -- who faced protests in which farmers blocked
roads, herded farm animals into government offices and dumped produce in
downtown Mexico City -- the agreement marked a victory, one of the rare
times his administration has managed to find a consensus with political foes.

"This demonstrates that we are able to reach understandings based on free,
sincere and open dialogue," Interior Secretary Santiago Creel said during the
signing ceremony Monday.

Fox hoped the pact would help jump-start his stalled economic and legal
reforms. He has been unable to push many of his programs through Congress,
and has been hindered by erratic policy pronouncements and a slow economy.

"We are going to use this very same spirit to face the other big issues on the
national agenda," he said.

Money to address long-standing problems

Given the jeers, catcalls and angry words that marked the two months of
negotiations, arriving at any agreement at all was an achievement.

Like some corporate farmers in Mexico, Fox built a lucrative trade in winter
vegetables and fruit under the North American Free Trade Agreement. But he
faced demands from farmers to ban imports of basic grains.

In the end, Fox promised more money to address long-standing problems in the
countryside: high production costs, unemployment, feuds over unclear land
titles, and poor government infrastructure.

"The pact is a good thing, but now the important thing is to see it play out in
reality," corn and sorghum farmer Albino Franco, 43, said as he watched the
ceremony. "We have hope now, and we can't lose it because it's all we have
left."

'A document to start a process'

Several farm leaders said the accord was only the first step.

"For us, the document isn't a national farm accord, even though it is called that,"
said Carlos Ramos, a representative from the farm organization The
Countryside Can't Stand Any More. "It is a document to start a process."

The plan includes a rural housing project, an electricity subsidy, a temporary
job quota and a commission to oversee farm problems. Fox also agreed to ask
the United States and Canada to accept voluntary quota limits on the amount of
white corn and beans they ship to Mexico.

"This is a transitional measure, which defuses a potential outbreak of social
unrest in the countryside," columnist Jorge Fernandez Menendez wrote in the
newspaper Mileno. "But it is far from a complete solution."

Farmers in Mexico now import much of the grain they feed their animals and
the country's 9 million farmers own an average of less than 12 acres each.
Another problem, analysts say, is farmers' devotion to a few basic crops that
are no longer very profitable as global commodities.

"Other, more sensible measures should be the basis of these accords, like
convincing those who plant corn, beans and coffee to change to more profitable
crops," wrote analyst Sergio Sarmiento.

Copyright 2003 The Associated Press.