Some 2,000 campesinos blocked streets in the city of Celaya, in the central Mexican state of Guanajuato [6], demanding that state and federal authorities take measures in response to the plunging price of maiz and sorghum. The protesters used scores of tractors and other farm equipment to shut down the area around the offices of the Agricultural Development Secretariat (SAGARPA [7]). Francisco Escobar Osornio, director of the Democratic Campesino Union (UCD [8]) said the state government had created a 120 million-peso fund to support prices, but a pledged matching fund from the federal government has not been forthcoming. "For this reason, it has been agreed to realize mobilizations to see that this problem is addressed," he said. The protesters have threatened to block federal highways across the state if their demands are not met. (Reforma [9], La Prensa [10], Sept. 29)
