Rust and the future of coffee in Chiapas

Abstract

This article examines the political, economic and socio-ecological roots of the coffee rust fungus that has devastated the Mexican coffee sector since 2012. Through an analysis of the impact of the fungus in the municipality of La Independencia, Chiapas, it shows that the recovery of the sector through resistant plants is transforming the long-term social,
economic, and ecological bases of coffee production. This transformation jeopardizes the future of small-scale production of organic and high-quality coffee, as well as that of its organizations.