Extractive agave and tequila production in Jalisco, Mexico

Abstract

This chapter analyzes agave and tequila production in Mexico. It seeks to challenge the notion that only forms of agricultural production that receive little to no domestic processing can be considered agroextractive. Corporate controlled agave production should also be considered a manifestation of agroextractivism, the chapter argues, even though agave biomass is domestically processed into tequila. This is because industrialized tequila production is heavily polluting, thereby accentuating the extractive nature of the entire value chain, while creating relatively few jobs. The analysis in this chapter traces the flows of materials, contaminants and money through agave and tequila production, from the colonial period until the present, with a focus on the current neoliberal era. It takes into consideration ownership, exports, company-farmer and company-worker relations, technologies, relevant public policy and environmental and social impacts. It finds that, since the 1990s, exports have soared as transnational companies consolidated their control over the agave-tequila value chain, increasing biomass extraction and leading to severe forms of environmental degradation, deteriorating conditions for agave field workers, and the marginalization of smallholder farmers. Finally, the chapter briefly examines traditional mezcal production as a socially and ecologically sustainable alternative model.