De bienes comunes a mercancias. Un análisis de las modificaciones a las leyes de semilla en Argentina y México a partir de la inserción de la biotecnología en el agro

Abstract

The GMO regulation process in Mexico has been subject to a wide public diplomacy campaign that started in the 90s and it is now about to conclude. Mexico has introduced a GMO favorable policy, with major consequences for its economy and agricultural trade with the US, where most of the transgenic seeds come from. A hierarchical public diplomacy model is proposed as an analytic framework for the study of biosafety legislation in Mexico. The model shows the decisions on GMO regulation to involve multinational corporations, international organizations, public agencies, scientific community, NGOs and media. The interaction among politicians, experts and civil society has been strongly divided either for or against large scale manipulation applied to agriculture. Consultation with scientists was thoroughly exercised, creating diplomatic hybrids such as environmental NGOs or public-private partnership. The fusion of these actors shows a high level of complexity in GMO policies, which favors the interest of pro-GMO actors but puts at a disadvantage the ones against genetic manipulation, mainly small producers and environmental lobbyists.