“They put a price on everything”: organized crime hits the pockets of Mexicans

Two abandoned plots stand out among gigantic crops of lemon and banana in ApatzingánMexico. Its owners were preparing the land to plant, but they preferred to leave when the organized crime He came to extort them.

In this agricultural municipality in the state of Michoacán (west), as in many others in Mexico, criminals act as true market forces by imposing quotas on producers and intermediaries that hit the pockets of millions of consumers.

The threat is such that lemon shipments leave escorted by the police to different places in the country, AFP observed during a tour of the area. The situation has skyrocketed prices.

Despite the increase in national production as inflation slowed to 4.44% In September, the price of fruit rose 58.5% in the last year, according to the Agricultural Market Consulting Group (GCMA).

“It’s through the roof, I only buy the amount I’m going to use in the week, four or five pieces and no more,” says Gabriela Jacobo, a 53-year-old housewife, in Morelia, the capital of Michoacán, just two hours by road from Apatzingán.

The sacrifice is huge in a country where lemon reigns in its gastronomy.

The escalation is felt in Mexico City, which usually sees drug violence far away and receives production from various regions. The price doubled to almost $4.5 per kilo in August.

“It is not because of an offer issue”but because of extortion, explains Juan Carlos Anaya, an analyst at the consulting firm GCMA, which monitors the sector.

Shortage

As extensive as Costa Rica, Michoacán is ravaged by the Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel (CJNG) – the main Mexican mafia – and groups such as Los Viagras and La Familia Michoacana, which in addition to drug trafficking routes fight for “collection of the floor” or extortion .

Producers must give the equivalent of 11 cents for each kilo they sell to packers. It would seem ridiculous, but the region can produce about 900 tons of the fruit daily.

“They (the criminals) had their fights and they let you work. Now it’s ‘I won’t even let you work’”comments a producer from Apatzingán under anonymity for fear of reprisals.

The scourge extends to tomato, banana and mango growers, as well as transporters and distributors. “They put a price on everything,” adds this businessman hidden between lemon trees and under a scorching sun.

Extortion and theft cost the country’s companies about 120,000 million pesos (US$6.8 billion) a year, equivalent to 0.67% of Mexico’s GDP, according to official figures.

In Chiapas (south), where last weekend an unprecedented parade of members of the Sinaloa Cartel was seen, amid applause from residents, extortion and violence have caused food shortages in communities bordering Guatemala.

“There is no electricity, there is no (internet) signal, there is no food, there is no water, there is no gas,” declared a resident to AFP.

The region is experiencing a war between the Sinaloa cartel and the CJNG, which led to the closure of dozens of businesses and forced locals to source supplies in Guatemala, at higher costs.

Even the ingredients for tortillas, the basis of Mexican nutrition, are being purchased in the neighboring country.

Cities such as Chilpancingo (capital of Guerrero, south) also faced massive closures of chicken shops in the past after the murder of farmers and merchants who allegedly refused to pay extortion.

“We are sunk”

A threat against a US health inspector in Michoacán last year forced a temporary suspension of avocado exports to the United States, where 100,000 tons were sent just for the guacamole consumed during the 2023 Super Bowl.

Avocado growers have also suffered extortion. To confront crime, lemon producers like Hipólito Mora founded self-defense groups in 2013 that ended up being accused of links to criminals.

Once his militia was dissolved, Mora continued to vehemently denounce drug traffickers, but last June he was gunned down in the community of La Ruana (Michoacán), where there were recent drone attacks.

“We are very sunk with the cartel that is there. He is charging us a fee for everything: the basic basket, soft drinks, beers, chicken. “Everything is very expensive because of them.”says Guadalupe Mora, Hipólito’s brother, guarded by several bodyguards.

In statements to AFP, prosecutor Rodrigo González, head of a unit that pursues this crime in Michoacán, asks the “citizenship that comes closer” To report. But many fear experiencing Hipólito’s fate.

With high-quality lemons that are also exported to the United States, residents of Michoacán must settle for a cheaper variety that sells out quickly.

“We are going to hold on until God wants and we can”says the producer hidden among his leafy lemon trees.

source: AFP