FROM PROCAMPO TO PROAGRO PRODUCTIVO: THE PROMISE OF TRANSFORMATION OF THE RURAL AGRICULTURAL SECTOR

Abstract

The entry of the neoliberal model in the mid-1980s gave way to a series of restructures in all the sectors of the country. The agricultural sector, which had already experienced its golden age a few decades earlier, had to face new challenges in terms of competitiveness, industrialization and marketing, so the federal government at the time introduced a policy that involved the creation of the Programa de Apoyos Directos al Campo (PROCAMPO), as a counterweight to the new challenges that the sector would have to face.  Subsequent governments kept PROCAMPO in operation for more years than it was originally thought ; therefore,  it is important to analyze its impact as an economic and social program in the rural agricultural sector because, unlike other programs, it included a large number of small producers who were intended to become more competitive; this population represented a significant percentage of the total of the country  Unlike Mexico's urban population and that of its northern trading partners, they were highly vulnerable and marginalized, and were owners of small properties  exploited for subsistence. Their existence placed the country at a commercial competitive disadvantage with respect to the United States and Canada. The objective of this paper is to show the impact of PROCAMPO on rural agricultural communities.