Mexico Upholds Suspension on Planting of GM Corn Angelica Enciso L. - La Jornada
go to original November 4, 2015

Mexico's 'People of Corn' (Al Jazeera)

Because it could cause irreversible damage to corn's center of origin, located [orginally by domesticating the teosinte plant along the Balsas River] in Mexico, the federal government may not issue permits for planting genetically modified [GM] corn to the transnational corporations seeking to introduce their products into the country, while legal proceedings presented by citizens are settled.

An [appellate] court ruled in favor of the appeal filed by the Corn Collective against the August 19 judicial decision — which had lifted the moratorium on cultivation of GM corn that has been in effect since 2013. With this ruling, the suspension of issuance of planting permits has been upheld, reported attorney René Sánchez Galindo.

Sánchez Galindo explained that Federal Magistrate Benjamin Soto Sánchez, head of the Second Unitary [Appellate] Court for Civil and Administrative Matters of the First Circuit, confirmed the provisional suspension such that the Secretariats of Environment and Agriculture may not authorize experimental, pilot or commercial planting to the transnationals Monsanto, Pioneer and Dow, among others.

The suspension against issuance of planting permits has been in effect since September 2013, when dozens of researchers and citizens filed a class action lawsuit in defense of native maize [corn] and against the cultivation of genetically modified organisms [GMOs] in the country. The lawsuit was accepted by a court which decided, as a precautionary measure, to suspend the process of issuing planting permits. At that time, the planting of GM corn was entering its commercial phase.

Read the rest at Mexico Voices

Related: Mexico Court Blocks Monsanto's Genetically Modified Soy Until Indigenous Groups Consulted (teleSUR)

Related: Monsanto Confronts Yucatán Beekeepers at Supreme Court (Aristegui Noticias)

Related: Mexico: Honey and GM Soybeans Cannot Co-Exist (La Jornada)

Mexico Voices is a blogging endeavor aimed at raising the awareness of U.S. citizens regarding the destructive impact of the U.S. economic policy and the War on Drugs on Mexico — on its people, their economic and physical security and their human rights, on the nation’s dysfunctional justice system, and on the rule of law and Mexico’s fragile democracy. Visit the website at MexicoVoices.blogspot.mx

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