Can Mezcal Jumpstart a Rural Oaxacan Economy? Marianne McCune - Planet Money
go to original February 6, 2014

Chopping a maguey plant, which is used to make mezcal. (Mezcal Tosba)

In the mountains of Oaxaca, in southern Mexico, there are basically no jobs. Villages are empty of young men, who go elsewhere in Mexico or to the U.S. to find work.

In this show, we meet two cousins from Oaxaca who dream of bringing jobs to their village. Their strategy: Launch a startup to make mezcal, a popular local liquor then get people in the U.S. to buy it.

Correction: In this episode, we incorrectly stated that bourbon has to be made in Kentucky. It does not. According to the Kentucky Distillers Association, it does need to be made in the US.

Music: Music from the traditional Zapotec brass bands of the Sierra Norte in Oaxaca, Mexico. (recorded by Marianne McCune at the yearly fiesta in 2004).

See the article at NPR.org

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