On November 27th, 2024, Nia King interviewed Eder Ruiz Sánchez, a Pulitzer Reporting Fellow, about his passion for journalism and his current project on small-scale corn farmers in Mexico. Ruiz Sánchez, a first-year student at an undisclosed university, shared his journey to becoming a journalist and how his interest in maíz (corn) was sparked at a young age.
Growing up in San Rafael, California, Ruiz Sánchez was always fascinated by the different colors of maíz he saw in Mexico when he was 11 years old. This sparked his interest in the history and engineering of maíz by Indigenous peoples. He credits his interest in journalism to a class he took with Visiting Assistant Professor Michael Wilson Becerril, where he wrote a journalism article on the Mapuche people of Chile and their struggle for sovereignty.
In the fall of 2023, Ruiz Sánchez studied abroad in Chile and learned about the Pulitzer Reporting Fellowship through a friend, Ramiro Hernandez. Inspired by Hernandez’s project on undocumented veterans, Ruiz Sánchez proposed a story on small-scale corn farmers in San Felipe del Progreso, his father’s hometown.
Ruiz Sánchez’s family in Mexico are campesinos (small-scale farmers), and he often hears about their struggles with drought and frost affecting their crops. He saw this as an important issue and wanted to investigate how these farmers, who are descendants of Indigenous peoples or actively practice their Indigenous culture, are coping with these challenges.
According to Ruiz Sánchez, almost a quarter of San Felipe del Progreso’s residents speak an Indigenous language, mostly Mazahua. These small farmers primarily grow corn for their own consumption and for their families, rather than for commercial purposes. However, they have been facing difficulties due to prolonged droughts and early frosts.
Through his project, Ruiz Sánchez hopes to shed light on the struggles of these small-scale corn farmers and the impact of climate change on their livelihoods. He believes that journalism is a powerful tool to amplify the voices of marginalized communities and bring attention to important issues.
In conclusion, Eder Ruiz Sánchez’s passion for journalism and interest in maíz and Indigenous cultures have led him to pursue a project on small-scale corn farmers in Mexico. Through his work, he hopes to raise awareness and give a voice to these farmers who have largely been left out of mainstream media.