Sweet Sunday Story: Mexico and Chocolate

I received this story from the first independent news organization in Mexico.  They describe themselves as the Mexico Solidarity Project with the aim to bring together individuals and organizations in the US and México that support Mexico’s social movements, its sovereignty, and its resistance to US domination.

Mexico is not a BRICS candidate and at this time, cannot be a BRICS candidate.  That will invite a US military invasion.  Mexico, though, on a low-key basis, visits the BRICS summits and, again on a low-key basis, implements initiatives that support the local people.  Trade must be diversified at a time of Tariffs.  China will, of course, buy, but China is also urging the smaller and developing nations to diversify, offering them more than just raw products.  “Do something with it!” says China.  “Develop a product”.  }

These ideas and progress are discussed openly in the daily morning briefing of President Claudia Sheinbaum.  This briefing was started by the previous president, known as AMLO, who was highly popular, and Sheinbaum retains her popularity.   Both Sheinbaum and AMLO grew up in the local resistance.

The chocolate and cacao story comes at the right time, as the Mexicans who are removed from the US must have work opportunities.  At the same time, the prices that Mexico receives for raw products, similar to those of other developing countries, are too low.  At the same time, Mexico must diversify its trade.  It has many local smaller producers.

Presidente Claudia and the thinker team behind her decided to buy more raw product from the smaller producers, specifically those using agroforestry methods.  A government program was established called the Sembrando Vida program, which is revitalizing small and collective agricultural production in the country.  Sembrando Vida means Seeding for Life.  This is what has been bought in so far, and in sequence, it is Corn, Beans, Coffee, Cacao, and Honey.

The cacao products are now developed, ready, and planned to be distributed to two local Mexican-owned supermarket chains.  The one is slated for development.  Tiendas Bienestar will roll out 27,000 public grocery stores operating throughout Mexico, primarily in rural areas and areas not served by other grocery chains.

Chocolate is a particularly good first product for Mexico’s new publicly produced and distributed food products because cacao originated in Mexico, it has a longer shelf life, and makes a good test for national distribution to remote, rural areas. When the first Mexico/Canada/US trade agreement was signed, NAFTA, many of the smaller corn producers were forced out of the market. These were specifically those who produced the cornucopia of local heirloom and landrace corn varieties. See how very beautiful:

This is not all new. It is not as if they are starting with no experience.  The Mexican state does have experience distributing publicy produced perishable goods: the state company Liconsa has operated for decades, delivering fortified milk products at deeply subsidized prices to lower income and vulnerable members of society, such as children under the age of 12, women between the ages of 13 and 15, pregnant or lactating mothers, women between the ages of 45 and 59, people with chronic diseases or physical impairments, and the elderly above the age of 60.

The products that are now ready are:

• Chocolate bar (14MXN): 20 grams, 50% cocoa (40% cocoa paste, 10% cocoa butter), 35% cane sugar, no additives.
• Powdered chocolate (38MXN): 30% cocoa, 8.8% vitamins and minerals.
• Table chocolate (96MXN): 35% cocoa, cinnamon from Sembrando Vida.

These are all made without artificial flavors, artificial colourings or refined sugars, using natural cane sugar, along with powdered milk, salt and vanilla.

The video is in Spanish but the story is clear:

Watching this roll-out on one of the X channels, the only people who griped badly were the Americans.

“Why don’t you first deal with the Fentanyl?  Chocolate is a luxury product; why don’t you choose something else?  How can the government run a program such as this?  Give attention to your Cartels and then Chocolate!.   You are communists with state-run enterprises!  The beaners can never do anything right. Just wait, this will fail.   We won’t eat that wetback chocolate.”

This all while US people are running scared and entering Mexico at an alarming rate, even buying up whole residential blocks, and the local landscape in areas is being gentrified.  Even Fox News reports U.S. State Department numbers that 1.6 million U.S. citizens live in Mexico, and the number of Americans moving to Mexico jumped 70% between 2019 and 2022.  One can be sure that this has increased again.

BRICS will buy if there is ever sufficient for export.  It is seldom that we see investment as inward flowing, rather than always outward flowing, and I wish Mexico all the best!  You are one of us, even if this is not written in the BRICS documents.