The election of Claudia Sheinbaum as Mexico's new president ushers in a new cabinet with a commitment to uphold a six-year ban on imports of genetically engineered corn for food use.
Julio Berdegue Sacristán will take on the role of Mexico’s new secretary of agriculture and rural development, succeeding Víctor Manuel Villalobos Arámbula on Oct. 1.
In an interview, Berdegue said that "the policy of not allowing the cultivation of transgenic corn in Mexico will be maintained. We also do not agree with the import of transgenic corn for human consumption," as reported by El Universal.
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In a separate interview with Reuters, Berdegue indicated that the new government would abandon a goal of reducing imports of yellow corn but would still try to make the country self-sufficient in white corn, which is used for tortillas.
On June 26, a dispute panel under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement met in Mexico City to consider the U.S. objection to a ban on imports of genetically modified corn for flour production. Mexico currently prohibits GM corn for human consumption, which the U.S. argues lacks scientific evidence. A final report is expected in November.
Berdegue earned a master’s degree in agronomy from California-Davis and a doctorate in social sciences from Wageningen University in the Netherlands. He recently was a regional representative for the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.
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