THE SEARCH FOR PEST CONTROL. THE AGRICULTURAL PARASITOLOGY COMMISSION OF MEXICO (1900-1908)

Abstract

From 1900 to 1908, Mexico had a research center known as the Agricultural Parasitology Commission. This was a scientific institution, under the administration of the Ministry of Development, that sought to control agricultural pests through their natural enemies; namely, other living beings that attacked them. Poisonous plants were also used, as well as simple chemicals and mechanical means such as ovens, pits and traps. The commission’s findings were published in its own journal and in a large number of newspapers, as the researchers wanted farmers to know about their results and apply them to their crops. In addition to disseminating their information to peasant farmers interested in progress and in discoveries that might be useful to them, the researchers were also open to learning from the farmers, for both had knowledge worthy of note. During the period when the Commission was active, its work was supported by the Ministers of Development, these being Manuel Fernández Leal (1892–1900), Leandro Fernández Imas (1901–1902), Manuel González Cosío (1903–1905) and Blas Escontría Ruiz de Bustamante (1905–1906). However, the commission lost support when Olegario Molina, a henequen farmer, took the ministerial post. During his period, communities were stripped of their land, as well as other abuses. Since no documentation of this center has been found in the National General Archive, the possibility is suggested that it was destroyed. Copies of the commission’s journal can not be found in libraries in Mexico City. This article presents the achievements of the institution, the problems it faced and its disappearance, an example of the vulnerability of science to authoritarianism.