Part 2 series intro: The face of northern Tamaulipas’ rural crisis isn’t found in statistics — it’s found in the farmers who have spent decades keeping the region’s fields alive. 

One of them is Rogelio García Moreno, a fourth-generation producer who has worked the land for 41 seasons and now fears the countryside is nearing a breaking point.

His struggle comes at a moment when others in the region are taking their frustrations to the streets. 

Over the past week, Mexican farmers and transport drivers have launched blockades near Reynosa, Nuevo Progreso, and San Fernando, disrupting highways that link directly to international bridges used daily by Rio Grande Valley travelers and freight.