Bridges Trade BioRes • Volume 5 • Number 4 • 4th March 2004
LATIN AMERICAN GMO UPDATE: MEXICO, BRAZIL, PARAGUAY
LATIN AMERICAN GMO UPDATE: MEXICO, BRAZIL, PARAGUAY
Mexican Senate approves biotech bill
The Mexican Senate passed legislation authorising the planting and sale of genetically modified (GM) crops on 15 February. The law was drafted by the Senate in early 2003 with input from the Mexican Academy of Sciences (AMC) and approved in April of that year (see BRIDGES Trade BioRes, 1 May 2003). Following some revisions, the law was approved by the lower house of Congress on 16 December 2004 (see BRIDGES Trade BioRes, 20 December 2004) and was sent way back to the Senate. The new legislation does not grant approval for any GM crop per se, but rather sets out a process and framework for such approval to be granted in the future, attempts to address the conservation of genetic resources, calls for a yet-to-be-established special protection regime for varieties of maize native to Mexico, and requires all GM products to be labelled according to guidelines that will be issued by the Ministry of Health. It is expected that Mexican President Vicente Fox will sign the bill into law soon.
A number of critics spoke out against the law, including René Drucker, coordinator of scientific research at Mexico’s National University and former president of the AMC, who said that the law would bring no benefits to Mexico. In addition, seventy researchers published a statement in the 8 December edition of Mexico’s La Jornada saying that it was regrettable that the NAFTA Commission for Environmental Cooperation recommendations on GM regulation in Mexico had been ignored (see BRIDGES Trade BioRes, 19 November 2004).
Brazil’s lower house passes biosafety bill
On 2 March the lower house of the Brazilian Congress passed a controversial legislation that establishes a regulatory framework to legalise the sale and use of GM crops. The bill, which was originally approved by the lower house in February 2004 and approved with amendments by the Senate in October (see BRIDGES Trade BioRes, 23 September 2004), will strengthen the power of the National Technical Committee on Biotechnology (CTNBio) to approve applications for biotech crops. Greenpeace criticised the decision, saying that science and technology experts are over-represented in CTNBio to the exclusion of government officials specialising in the environment. Brazil’s farm research cooperative Codetec was confident that the passing of the law would lead to a rapid end at least to the ban GM soy. "The ban on GMOs has deprived Brazil of certain advantages that have long been enjoyed by our competitors such as the United States and Argentina," said Ivo Carraro, Codetec’s Executive Director. Approximately 30 percent of Brazilian soy is already grown from GM seeds as a result of illegal plantings, a phenomenon that had been accommodated through a series of provisional decrees authorising the planting of the GM soy (see BRIDGES Trade BioRes, 3 October 2003). The new law will go into effect once signed by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, expected later this month.
Paraguay to pay Monsanto royalties for soy
The Agriculture Ministry of Paraguay on 2 March approved an agreement signed by soy farmers, seed producers, cooperatives and exporters from across the country to pay US biotechnology company Monsanto royalties for the use of their seeds. Paraguay is the world’s fourth-largest soybean exporter of which approximately 60 percent is believed to be genetically modified. Farmers in Paraguay, along with neighbouring Brazil and Argentina, have for years been harvesting Monsanto’s Roundup Ready soybeans without paying royalties. This practice will end in Paraguay with the signing of the agreement, where farmers have agreed to pay US$ 2.82 per sack of seed that will sow approximately one hectare. The Paraguayan government legalised four new varieties of GM soybeans developed by Monsanto in October 2004.
"Brazil opens way for GMO crops, stem cell research," REUTERS, 3 March 2005; "Brazil OKs Law to Legalize Biotech Crops," AP, 3 March 2005; "Paraguay agrees to pay Monsanto royalties for soy," REUTERS, 3 March 2005; "Mexico approves planting and sale of GM crops," SCIDEV, 22 February 2005; "Mexico to OK gene-altered crops," KNIGHT RIDDER, 21 February 2005; "Paraguay gives green light for GMO soy," REUTERS, 21 October 2004.