Officials enact sweeping ban targeting serious public health threat: 'Part of a larger strategy'

Mexico has enacted its most significant pesticide restriction in decades, banning the production and use of harmful chemicals, including DDT and carbofuran.

As reported by Mexico News Daily, a measure to ban 35 pesticides was signed by President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo in an effort to transition to safer agricultural practices. The ban is the first step in a larger strategy to phase out toxic chemicals, protect health, and support sustainable agriculture. Additional restrictions are expected to join the sweeping legislation in 2026 and 2027.

"It was a commitment made months ago: the pesticides that will appear in the Official Gazette this afternoon or tomorrow at the latest, which are banned in Mexico, are banned," Sheinbaum Pardo said at a press conference to announce the historic ban. "Some of them are banned in many places around the world and there was no ban on their use here, pesticides that cause great harm to health and the environment."

In a study published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, a team of researchers outlined the adverse health effects that DDT, also known as Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, has on the human population. Short-term exposure to high doses of DDT can cause nausea, vomiting, seizures, and respiratory issues. Long-term exposure can result in an increased risk of neurological problems, cancer development, and pregnancy concerns.

"The decision is part of a larger strategy to achieve a much cleaner, more sustainable, and safer agriculture for the country's producers, farmworkers, and consumers," said Mexico's Agriculture Minister Julio Berdegué.

While discussing why it took so long for the country to ban DDT, Berdegué did not offer concrete answers. "A Ripley's tale," Berdegué added. "Incredibly, the production or use of DDT [had not been] banned in Mexico. Who knows how that was possible?"

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For now, many farmers may struggle to find effective alternatives to the newly banned pesticides. While this could impact the agriculture industry as a whole, Berdegué remained confident that farmers would be given options.

"There's a lot of research around the world looking for substitutes," Berdegué said. "That's of interest to many other nations, not just Mexico, so I have a lot of faith that over the course of time … I can't say how long … there will be products available in Mexico."

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