Rumors, Revolts, and Reses: Local Responses to Foot-and-Mouth Disease Eradication in Cold War Mexico

• In Event: Cold Warriors and Technocrats: Experts and Expertise in the Latin American Countryside

Abstract

The joint US-Mexican campaign against foot-and-mouth inspected, quarantined, slaughtered, and vaccinated livestock across Central Mexico from 1947-1954. Involving thousands of veterinarians and ranchers from both countries, and many battalions of Mexican troops, the campaign was unprecedented in scale and in the degree of cooperation across national borders. This paper examines the relationship between local and expert knowledge within the campaign, drawing on new research in Mexican and US national archives, collections of personal papers, and participant memoirs. It argues that the case illustrates the existence of multiple, competing claims to both local and expert knowledge, and the limits to US and Mexican state power posed by rural resistance. First, the paper explores how peasants responded to the campaign, emphasizing the variety and depth of resistance. It then discusses how Mexican and US scientists, political elites, and the Mexican military responded to popular hostility, and gradually reshaped policy. In conclusion, the paper briefly considers the campaign's legacy in national and global context.

Author

• Thomas G Rath, University College London