Hegemony, commodification, and the state: Mexico's shifting discourse on agricultural germplasm

In this work, we examine the debate over the commodification of agricultural germplasm in Mexico using a neo-Marxist theoretical framework. Specifically, we examine Mexico's movement away from a ''Farmers' Rights'' framework, which treats germplasm as a ''common good'' towards the passage of the Mexican Federal Law on Plant Varieties, which sees germplasm as a commodity. In order to understand this legal change, the recent history of this discourse in Mexico is examined. Using theoretical insights based in an analysis of this discourse, we examine the ideological elements of this debate. It is argued that an international hegemonic bloc has arisen to address this issue, superceding the bounds of any single state entity and functioning through the international bodies of free trade. Taking the Mexican state to be relatively autonomous from capital, we argue that the hegemonic bloc influenced the change in Mexican policy. We conclude with a discussion of the possible effects of this legal change in Mexico. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]