Effects of Neoliberalism on Dairy Cattle Ranching in the Municipality of Marcos Castellanos, Lerma Ciénega Border Region, Jalisco-Michoacán, Mexico

Abstract

This research aims to analyze the consequences of the imposition of the neoliberal economic model on the activities of dairy cattle producers in the municipality of Marcos Castellanos, Michoacán. We used a network methodology to identify key actors in the municipality to whom we applied semi-structured interviews in group sessions. This research shows the crisis that the producers of Marcos Castellanos, Michoacán -one of the municipalities with the highest milk production in the state- are going through, which has caused discouragement among the producers, leading most of them to sell their cattle to look for other forms of subsistence. The results allow us to conclude that the economic crisis caused by the neoliberal model’s policies negatively impacted the dairy farmers of Marcos Castellanos, Michoacán, in the last two decades, particularly in the first three years of the Lopez Obrador government, whose administration has abandoned the livestock sector.