The Manaus Free Trade Area （ZFM） will end in 2023, but there is a proposal to amend the Brazilian Federal Constitution so that it lasts until 2073. From the understanding of discourse as a social practice, this pape...The Manaus Free Trade Area （ZFM） will end in 2023, but there is a proposal to amend the Brazilian Federal Constitution so that it lasts until 2073. From the understanding of discourse as a social practice, this paper is based on the analysis of 265 parliamentary pronouncements, 19 numbers of an institutional magazine, and 626 news texts from the most important local newspaper, all published between 2007 and 2010. It reveals a shift in the discourse about the ZFM, guided by ecological modernization. The industries are now presented as responsible for preserving the rainforest： it is said that if the tax incentives stop, there will be unemployment and deforestation. This tragic story line does not recognize the role of traditional peoples and communities in forest conservation and neither is open to the public debate about other models of development for the Amazon.展开更多
The agricultural liberalization market process remains stalled Doha Round. The terms in protection levels reductions are negotiated, but the emergence of the global crisis constrains public resources to sustain them. ...The agricultural liberalization market process remains stalled Doha Round. The terms in protection levels reductions are negotiated, but the emergence of the global crisis constrains public resources to sustain them. In addition, the use of some grains as inputs in the production of biofuels, has contributed to the price increase in foods, although this production is an alternative to fossil fuels use and can help to reduce further environmental degradation. In this paper we analyze the main variables to be taken into account when negotiating the liberalization of agricultural trade, but also ofbiofuels in the context of Doha Round.展开更多
In this paper the authors inquire why, after more than 25 years of domestic agricultural reforms in Mexico and 15 years of trade liberalization of maize under the North American Free Trade Agreement （NAFTA）, the dom...In this paper the authors inquire why, after more than 25 years of domestic agricultural reforms in Mexico and 15 years of trade liberalization of maize under the North American Free Trade Agreement （NAFTA）, the domestic production of maize, a non-competitive crop and the major staple in Mexico, has increased. The authors present new empirical evidence showing that, as expected, maize prices in Mexico dropped until 2006 and have experienced a process of convergence with USA prices, and maize imports from the USA have increased. However, despite lower prices, maize production in Mexico has trended upward since 1992, two years before the beginning of NAFTA＇s implementation. Based on the heterogeneity of maize production in Mexico, three possible explanations are proposed to explain this unexpected outcome： government supports to big commercial farmers in the agriculturally rich North of Mexico; the persistence of maize production by subsistence farmers; and to a lesser degree, increasing yields on some irrigated maize farms. We finish the paper by drawing lessons from the experience of Mexico for other Less Developed Countries.展开更多
文摘The Manaus Free Trade Area （ZFM） will end in 2023, but there is a proposal to amend the Brazilian Federal Constitution so that it lasts until 2073. From the understanding of discourse as a social practice, this paper is based on the analysis of 265 parliamentary pronouncements, 19 numbers of an institutional magazine, and 626 news texts from the most important local newspaper, all published between 2007 and 2010. It reveals a shift in the discourse about the ZFM, guided by ecological modernization. The industries are now presented as responsible for preserving the rainforest： it is said that if the tax incentives stop, there will be unemployment and deforestation. This tragic story line does not recognize the role of traditional peoples and communities in forest conservation and neither is open to the public debate about other models of development for the Amazon.
文摘The agricultural liberalization market process remains stalled Doha Round. The terms in protection levels reductions are negotiated, but the emergence of the global crisis constrains public resources to sustain them. In addition, the use of some grains as inputs in the production of biofuels, has contributed to the price increase in foods, although this production is an alternative to fossil fuels use and can help to reduce further environmental degradation. In this paper we analyze the main variables to be taken into account when negotiating the liberalization of agricultural trade, but also ofbiofuels in the context of Doha Round.
文摘In this paper the authors inquire why, after more than 25 years of domestic agricultural reforms in Mexico and 15 years of trade liberalization of maize under the North American Free Trade Agreement （NAFTA）, the domestic production of maize, a non-competitive crop and the major staple in Mexico, has increased. The authors present new empirical evidence showing that, as expected, maize prices in Mexico dropped until 2006 and have experienced a process of convergence with USA prices, and maize imports from the USA have increased. However, despite lower prices, maize production in Mexico has trended upward since 1992, two years before the beginning of NAFTA＇s implementation. Based on the heterogeneity of maize production in Mexico, three possible explanations are proposed to explain this unexpected outcome： government supports to big commercial farmers in the agriculturally rich North of Mexico; the persistence of maize production by subsistence farmers; and to a lesser degree, increasing yields on some irrigated maize farms. We finish the paper by drawing lessons from the experience of Mexico for other Less Developed Countries.
