SocialDocumentary.net | Joseph Sorrentino | El Campo: The Crisis In Rural Mexico

Photographer: Joseph Sorrentino

Title: El Campo: The Crisis In Rural Mexico

Location: Mexico

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Exhibit Abstract

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Exhibit Abstract

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Exhibit Abstract

Pablo, San Miguel Tzinacapan, Puebla

Rural Mexico (el campo) is in crisis and that crisis is becoming a disaster. Over 80% of campesinos (rural workers) are considered “extremely poor,” which is defined as earning about $2 a day. While campesinos have always been poor, their situation has recently worsened. Coffee growers have been hit with depressed coffee prices, cacao growers are facing a fungal infection that has wiped out 80% of their harvest, vanilla growers can’t find markets and with the full implementation of NAFTA, campesinos are effectively competing with multinationals. As it becomes increasingly difficult to earn money in villages, more people—mostly young men—leave to seek work in larger Mexican cities and the US. In many villages, there are almost no young men left. Surprisingly, in spite of the closeness of Mexico and America and the long history between us, there is little in the media about this crisis. Instead, virtually all the coverage is about the drug wars, swine flu and immigration.

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This project was supported by the Justice and Journalism Fund established by USC Annenberg’s Institute for Justice and Journalism with Ford Foundation funding and the Puffin Foundation.

I have made six extended trips to Mexico, the last two focusing on the crisis in el campo. The poverty there is worsening and the only glimmer of hope I found were the groups working to promote fair trade, which guarantees farmers a better price for their goods. These groups also promote organic farming, sustainable agriculature and campesino rights. But these groups face repression from within Mexico (often severe) and a scarcity of markets outside.

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