My name is Bernardino Cruces, 85 year-old, I am a farmer

<p>My name is Bernardino Cruces Pedraza, I am 85 years old, and I am a producer of asparagus (<em>Asparagus officinalis</em>; editor’s note) in the ejido of Acuescomac, municipality of Atenco, State of Mexico. Many important things have happened in the country throughout my life, but nothing like the pandemic we are going through. At first, I thought it was fake news, I thought it was only meant to scare the people. I remembered the news about the ‘chupacabra’ in 1994. Or maybe it was something similar to the flu, which in my opinion was just a fleeting, harmless cold.To tell you the truth, I have never believed everything the news says, but as the months went by, I realized that this disease was really dangerous. I began to understand its importance when they closed the Iztapalapa supply center since that is where I sell my asparagus. The buyer told me that the government had made the decision to close the center due to a damn virus and that, as a consequence, the price of my product would go down, which would obviously affect me economically, me and my workers. In talks with friends, we made fun of and joked about the disease. It was rumored that it was just a government ploy to weed out the senior population as it couldn’t keep paying so much support. That made me angry, made me want to curse because people from the countryside do not live off the government. We work hard and our work is the most honest and the most worthy… We are not a burden to the government. By then it was the Spring-Summer season, and I was sowing asparagus, corn, and cabbage, in order to take advantage of the good rain and temperature of May, the month of my birthday. I felt safe in the field since I knew that the air there was good and that is why I would not be infected with anything; indeed, my lungs would be cleaned. That is why I did not wear a face mask, especially when I was working on my crops. Being in the field reassures me. When I’m weeding the field, my mind fills with memories of my childhood...memories from my entire life...memories of when we were not aware of anything else in the world, not like today...memories of my father, Mr. Narciso Cruces. He dedicated his life to working in the fields and raising cattle. Ever since I had use of reason, I helped him with that work, until I was 14 years old. It was then that American household appliance companies arrived, and I started working in the General Electric factory as a welder. Through hard work, I became a floor supervisor. I worked for that company for 40 years. Despite the hard work I did in the factory, I never left my father alone with the farm and livestock activities. It was only when I retired that I returned to work full-time to crop production. I changed from corn to vegetables due to a desire to relive my childhood. I know that working in the fields does not reward sentimentality. Working in the field requires hard work, commitment, and effort. It is true that the government provides some to agricultural producers in the form of livestock feed, fertilizer, tools, and agrochemicals, but I don’t like to depend on anyone. That is why I strive not to depend on external help but to be self-sufficient, with my own work.</p>