Mexican farmers end airport protest after president refuses talks

Mexican farmers on Thursday ended a protest at an airport in the northern state of Sinaloa and agreed to meet with the local governor after Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said he would not negotiate with the demonstrators. Baltazar Valdez, president of the United Farm Workers of Sinaloa, said the hundreds of farmers who have protested at the international airport in the city of Culiacan since Tuesday decided to leave to avoid angering airport users. "We can't go on because we'll lose the sympathy of civil society, and for us that's very important," Valdez said. He added that a delegation would meet with Ruben Rocha, the governor of Sinaloa, which is a major corn-producing state. Producers have urged Mexico's government to guarantee prices for corn, wheat and sorghum to counteract a fall in international prices, and since Tuesday have protested at highways, government offices and the Culiacan airport, where dozens of flights were canceled.<br/>