President Claudia Sheinbaum on Thursday sent to Congress a constitutional reform proposal that seeks to ban the cultivation of genetically modified (GM) corn in Mexico.

The proposal aims to “establish the obligation of the state to guarantee the cultivation of corn in national territory that is free from genetically modified organisms.”

It also seeks to define corn in the Constitution as an “element of national identity.”

Sheinbaum’s proposal notes that corn is a “fundamental crop in Mexico” and a plant that is “inseparable” from and “essential” to “Mexican food culture from its origins.”

A wide variety of native corn varieties are grown in Mexico and there are concerns that the cultivation of GM corn could genetically contaminate those crops.

The reform proposal — which seeks to modify articles 4 and 27 of the Mexican Constitution — aims to conserve and protect native corn varieties.

“We have to protect the biodiversity of Mexico,” Sheinbaum said in December while speaking about her plan to place a constitutional ban on the planting of GM corn.

The previous federal government published a decree on Dec. 31, 2020 that stated that biosecurity authorities would “revoke and refrain from granting permits for the release of genetically modified corn seeds into the environment.”

Sheinbaum’s initiative, if approved, would provide an extra — and stronger — layer of protection against the cultivation of GM corn.

The government has sought to phase out the importation of GM corn for human consumption, starting with bans against the use of GM corn in tortillas and dough, with a possible future ban on GM corn for livestock, as well. However, the United States challenged the restrictions and a three-member USMCA dispute panel ruled in favor of the U.S. claims last month.

Approving ban on GM corn cultivation ‘a priority,’ says Morena lower house leader 

The Chamber of Deputies, Mexico’s lower house of Congress, received Sheinbaum’s reform proposal on Thursday afternoon.

Ricardo Monreal, the ruling Morena party’s leader in the Chamber of Deputies, said on the X social media platform that the “processing” of the constitutional bill “will be a priority.”

The president of the lower house, Sergio Gutiérrez Mena, said that consideration of the bill by the Chamber of Deputies will be scheduled at the next meeting of the legislature’s permanent committee, which will take place next week.

Approval of constitutional reform proposals requires the support of two-thirds of lawmakers in both houses of Congress. Morena and its allies have a two-thirds majority in the Chamber of Deputies and are officially just one vote short of a supermajority in the Senate.

However, finding an extra vote in the Senate has not been a problem for Morena in recent months. More than a dozen constitutional reform proposals — including a controversial judicial overhaul — have been approved since lawmakers elected last June assumed their positions on Sept. 1.

With reports from Animal Político and Reforma