After the furniture exhibition we kept moving northwest through what remained of Jalisco, then traversing Nayarit along its low lonely coast that begins after the capitol of Tepic a smaller city than I had expected. The dogs seemed to move in slow motion. After Tepic we dipped into a valley of volcanic rocks collected in heaps. My partner mentioned that it would be a great challenge to run a race over that course. The plantless landscape seemed volcanically new,,, the rocks still sharp and abrasive from the eruption. We dipped deep into this recent molten crease and began to climb out leaving the lava field behind and picking up a one sided valley. We were close now to Sinaloa. The crests of the mountains to the right seemed like an oddly bent wire. The deep savannah on the left opened up to scrub beach of beige sand. The highway runs away from the coast in Nayarit and Sinaloa because for a long stretch, almost 300 kilometers, the sandy flat coastal estuary rests near or below sea level. This is an area called "humedales" or wetlands in spanish, and consists of lagoons, swamps, manglares, beaches, and coral reefs. Marshy areas would appear close to the highway like deep blue mirrored mirages, and then vanish as quickly towards the western horizon as the road snaked east,,,,,, or the coast moved more to the west. There was no time to explore this treasure but it wetted my appetite for a return visit perhaps the next time on the coastal route that can be accesed from the level of the town of Rosario but towards Caimanes and the coast.
These humedales incorporate the remnants of some of the most important wetlands along Mexico’s entire coastline. They provide valuable ecosystem functions, like a giant net that captures and disperses bazillions of gallons of water and sediment that flow to the coast. Humedales stabilize and energize the entire system. There is so much biological activity in this region that the extraction of fish and shrimp feeds all of the Gulf of California with lots left over for exportation to the United States. The area is an important nursery, feeding and breeding site for numerous commercial fish species, such as sardines, and invertebrates. At least 30 percent of the Pacific Flyway shorebirds that breed in Alaska, western Canada and the United States overwinter along the Sinaloa-Nayarit coastline. However the humedales are under constant threat. Where once jaguars roamed the oversized potholes of water and jungly marshland, shrimp farming and agricultural runoff are now menacing the entire ecosystem.
We crossed into Sinaloa which was a geological surprise. On the left towards the coast there were the humedales and on the right perfect fields of corn and tomatoes that trailed off to the high Sierra Madre like a blue crenelated impenetrable wall, a reknown place where agribusiness ends and small plots of poppies and pot are grown. The humedales diminished as corn, tomatoes, potatoes and other crops began to line both sides of the highway. If one blocked out the Sierra Madre in the eastern distance one might think they were in Iowa. This is the breadbasket of Mexico. Sinaloa is all about agriculture.
Humedales along the highway
Humedales Nayarit
The wetlands of the pacific coast in Mexico
I enjoy shrimp too but now I ask for only the uncultivated ones in the market
Along the highway in Sinaloa
The broad coastal plain posseses an incredibly fertile soil built by sediments from the various rivers that descend from the Sierra Madre. Even their license plate sports a tomato.I was also surprised by the irrigation system for this zone. I read that the Sinaloan and Sonoran irrigation canals were built between 1910 and 1940. Before that indigenous peoples relied on seasonal rains. This enormous canal irrigation system built in Sinaloa and in Sonora before that sparked a green revolution in this part of Mexico. Water was a really big business in the southern USA soon after 1899 converted to the 20th century. This hydrocephalic mentality quickly spread to Mexico with the help of US investment and technology. By the 1950's Mexico's production of electricity due to dam building and agricultural yields that were sky rocketing made Mexico a large exporter of agricultural products to the USA.This was considered "new" water, clean water that ironically "breathed" life into the region.
Mexican irrigation used their northern neighbor as a technological model. Modern irrigated agriculture in the Southwest of the USA spread throughout northwestern Mexico by the North American companies in the Mexicali and Yaqui valleys. The Mexican government's motivation for impulsing its irrigation program in the northern half of the country was fear of its belligerent northern neighbor. Mexico sought to strengthen its geopolitical and cultural presence in this sparsely populated region. The loss of territory after the War with the United States was still vivid in the minds of many in government, and in their opinion the northern border was an under populated, fragile and vulnerable area. It should not be forgotten that in 1930, some eighty years after the war between Mexico and the United States ended with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, some politicians and businessmen in the United States advocated the annexation of the Baja California peninsula. It was hoped that irrigation systems would buffer expansionist mentalities in the USA by attracting large numbers of Mexican settlers to the borderlands, and that they would constitute the best defense of the border. It worked. It was best to "use it or risk losing it"
The social fabric did change with the creation of "new" water , which wasn't new at all, only water redirected from its ancient routes. With more money, however, comes more concentration of power, and wealth,,, and after many years of increased economic growth for some by the 1980's problems began to emerge. Agricultural runoff, salinization, and lower yields.
We finally arrived in Culiacan, the capitol of Sinaloa, near dusk. Culiacan is very new. What can I say, most of it is recently built and completely devoted to agriculture, a town of chain stores, fertilizers, tractor implements, and agribusiness. There are lots of new multiplex chain hotels. This indicates that a lot of business activity. We rented a room at the Fiesta Inn, one of the coldest hotels in which I have ever stayed. The rooms might as well have been completely fashioned of stainless steel with a drain in the middle. There is a sensuality associated with older substantial constructions. They wear out beautifully. We ambled about the historic center of Culiacan. It pales beside the large agribusiness perimeter surrounding it. The older facades in the historic center have been converted into something else,, inbetween worlds.
Some examples of Sinaloan agribusiness
Given the short sightedness of agricultural economies involving land use the idea that agribusiness is a superior system may be half true. We can envision a traditional economic pyramid with the corporate entities (bottom liners) nearer the top, where we will also find politicians, government corruption, contamination, and, the the peon who bears the weight at the bottom. However cities do develop, education does improve, lifestyles are enhanced for many, yet not for all, and of course all this can come crashing down when a market fails or an environment suffers from poor agricultural practices.
With illicit agribusiness the cartels are added to the corporate section of the pyramid along with politicians, police, the army, governments on both sides, and more widespread corruption. Yet the peon maintains his position. Then there are the long term effects of an illicit economy. Contrary to the widespread perception that income generated from the illicit drug industry automatically fosters economic development, there are no indications that the expansion of drug cultivation has led to an overall improvement in the economic situation or to the improvement of any broader development indicator at the national level. While there is evidence that sales of illicit drugs can foster economic development in the short term, the question remains whether that leads to a process of sustainable development in the long term.
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