University of California Institute for Mexico and the United States Berkeley • Davis • Irvine • Los Angeles • Merced • Riverside • Santa Barbara • Santa Cruz • San Diego • San Francisco UC MEXUS NEWS
Number 41 l Spring 2004 CONTENTS BOOKS ...... 30 EDITORIAL ...... 3 ILLUSTRATIONS . . . . 32 LATINOS II CONFERENCE . . . . 24
NEW DIIRECTOR ARRIVES ...... 2 REVIEWS CISNEROS ...... 27 ELLSTRAND ...... 29 TRANSGENIC MAIZE ...... 17 ZAVELLA ...... 25
Environmental Fallout by Beverly Ellstrand UC MEXUS This painting of seedlings struggling to thrive amid a proliferation of compet- awards and grants ing elements made a perfect illustration for a 2003 book by the artist’s son, for 2003 UC Riverside Professor of Genetics Norm Ellstrand. An article on pages 17-23 can be accessed looks at transgenic crops, their promise and their perils, especially in relation on the Website at: to Mexican maize. A review of Ellstrand’s book, Dangerous Liaisons: When WWW.UCMEXUS.UCR.EDU Crops Mate with their Wild Relatives, appears on page 29.
FUTURE INVESTMENT octoral students face their Almost a quarter century ago, two greatest challenges at when UC President David Saxon Dthe beginning and the end launched the UC MEXUS consor- Student focus of their studies – just the times when tium to help set funding parameters there is the least support available. for research on Mexico, Mexican Providing support at those most Americans and bilateral concerns, pays dividends vulnerable times has became an the Institute focused primarily on integral part of the UC MEXUS faculty research grants. The first mandate. decades later But it didn't start out that way. Please see STUDENTS, Page 4 NEW UC MEXUS DIRECTOR Education holds key to binational future he new UC MEXUS director Latino population now has enormous ences, comes from UC Santa Cruz has been keeping up a hectic political power – enough to sway an where he was an associate professor of Tschedule since he took over election at the local, state or federal environmental studies. The Institute’s leadership of the Institute in October. level. third director since it came to Riverside Roberto Sánchez-Rodríguez, an To support a better understanding in 1984, Sánchez-Rodriguez takes over international scholar with academic of such interconnectedness, Sánchez- from anthropologist Juan-Vicente experience at University of California Rodríguez brought his first months on Palerm, who served as UC MEXUS and in Mexico, has set about bolstering the job to a close by reviewing and re- director for eight years. The Institute’s programs already in place and opening energizing the Institute’s cooperative first director Arturo Gómez-Pompa, a the door to new ideas and ventures. agreement with CONACYT, which tropical ecologist and UC Riverside “Fiscal limitations not withstand- funds graduate, postdoctoral and fac- professor of botany and plant sciences, ing, we will continue to explore new ulty research, exchanges and sabbati- holds a universitywide appointment as areas of cooperation and research cals. And he renewed a three-year a distinguished professor of botany. between Mexico and California,” he agreement with Universidad Nacional Sánchez-Rodríguez brings a multi- told UC MEXUS staff on his arrival. Autónoma de México (UNAM). national and multicultural perspective Education is a key to myriad issues The new director plans to keep up to bear on the development and and the answer to many problems, he with his research into the human enhancement of research and academic says. Educating students today – dimensions of global environmental collaborations between Mexico and UC. whether UC students learning about change. His multidisciplinary back- After earning a bachelor of arts Mexico or Mexican students learning ground spans both environmental and degree in architecture from UNAM and about California – informs the leaders urban studies. His research also undertaking additional studies in of tomorrow. encompasses environmental issues in France, he earned a doctorate in “These young people are the deci- urban areas, sustainable develop- regional and urban planning at the sion-makers of the future,” he said. ment, environmental issues at the University of Dortmund, West Germany. And he sees UC MEXUS as per- U.S.-Mexican border, and linkages He has held several positions in fectly placed to perform that work. between trade and environment. Mexican government and in academia. “The Institute provides fantastic For the last four years, Mexico He was Department of Urban and opportunities to link Mexico and has outspent all European countries Environmental Studies Director at California – not only academically but and Japan in trade with California. the Colegio de la Frontera Norte also to broaden understanding between Mexican purchases alone support or (COLEF) in Tijuana, Baja California, the two areas.” contribute to almost a quarter-million when passage of the North American Mexico is California’s major trade California jobs. In addition to eco- Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partner and the two entities are tied nomic interdependence, the two enti- paved the way for a two-year posi- culturally, socially, politically and geo- ties share water, air, population and tion in Montreal. After serving as graphically. When two areas have such resources. Research, especially joint program manager for transboundary strong personal and economic linkages, research, is vital for the mutual issues at the North American political, environmental, economic and progress and development of two such Commission for Environmental social links are a given, he says. In the interdependent neighbors. Cooperation (NACEC) created under case of Mexico and its former posses- Sánchez-Rodríguez, who also NAFTA, he came to California, join- sion, California, the two share tremen- takes on a UC Riverside faculty posi- ing UC Santa Cruz faculty dous history and culture. Moreover, the tion as professor of environmental sci- before coming to UC MEXUS.
2 UC MEXUS NEWS l Spring 2004 EDITORIAL Research networks proving invaluable UC system and Mexican universi- and the treatment of infectious dis- ties. They foster greater under- eases, which do not recognize polit- UC MEXUS standing between California and ical borders. We also will extend Director Mexico and enable both societies our collaborations, and network Roberto to develop more productively. with scholars and institutions on Sánchez- The time is now propitious not both sides of the border that focus Rodríguez only to maintain the programs that on these critical issues. have proven to be so beneficial but In addition, UC MEXUS plans alifornia and Mexico share also to focus on areas of vital bina- to expand its in-house research. In many mutual challenges in tional concern, and to employ those the immediate future, we will focus Cthe areas of education and resources to enrich current scholar- on water resource and other envi- research. For almost a quarter century, ship and our up-and-coming schol- ronmental issues along California’s the University of California Institute ars. Given the current economic cli- border with Baja California. This for Mexico and the United States mate in California, however, I topic has enormous implications has been a key player in helping believe that we must seek out new for economic growth and social address those challenges. One of the opportunities so that UC MEXUS well-being in California and Institute's most effective strategies can expand its academic activities. Mexico, and their study requires has been to nurture projects, relation- As a first step in this direction, multidisciplinary approaches. Our ships and collaborations – an UC MEXUS is creating a seminar goal is to provide an integrated approach that now promises to series on UC campuses. Such a pro- perspective on the social, econom- bear fruit in unanticipated ways. gram will provide a forum for the ic, political and environmental UC MEXUS can point to myriad research and academic activities that dimensions of these topics. fledgling projects that have flour- the Institute supports and enhance We believe that the power of new ished, attracting funding from insti- their visibility within the UC system. ideas and passion for discovery we tutions in both the U.S. and Mexico. The series also will provide Mexican encounter so often among grant recipi- In so doing, such projects, along graduate students at UC campuses ents can trump the funding difficulties with other UC MEXUS programs, with an opportunity to expand their so prevalent in these tough economic have created an invaluable network expertise and academic contacts. times. The wealth of resources that the of scholars who have fostered coop- We continue to explore options to Institute has seeded and developed eration and exchange among depart- expand commissioned research. UC places us in the ideal position to bring ments, divisions and labs in both MEXUS will maintain its support for together cutting edge researchers to countries' universities and campuses. educational and health issues relevant jointly address the challenges faced I believe the benefits of these to the well-being of our two societies by Mexico and California and con- relationships radiate far beyond the – topics such as science-education, tribute to their resolution.
UC MEXUS NEWS l Spring 2004 3 ANDREA MIKOLON, 1999 DISSERTATION GRANT Student focus
Brucellosis study led to Mongolia Continued from Page 1 director, Arturo Gómez-Pompa, ormer UC Davis graduate student Andrea Mikolon found herself soon moved to include graduate on camera and in print as she coordinated aid for poultry and cattle students and, when anthropologist farmers during the disastrous 2003 Southern California fires. A F Juan-Vicente Palerm took over the California Department of Food and Agriculture emergency response vet- directorship in 1995, he brought erinary medical officer and Mexico liaison, she laughs at questions about with him a firm commitment to the connection between her 1996 dissertation work and her current work. fostering student education and "It's all because of my work in Mexico," she said. Brucellosis (aka Malta fever) hit Baja California goatherds and goat vastly expanded graduate student farmers with unexpected force in the early 1990s. programs. Support for dissertation Brucellosis studies usually focus on the eco- students went from a casual few nomic impact on the herds, whose fertility and hundred dollars the first year they milk production drop sharply. Less attention is were funded to $12,000 under the paid to the economic impact on the individuals. second director, making it the In humans, the flu-like symptoms usually disap- longest-standing and most success- pear. But sometimes the bacterium works its way ful student program. into the internal organs creating permanent damage. Palerm's passion for students, With UC MEXUS support, Mikolon studied the however, encompassed those from outbreak, interviewing 300 patients in depth. Mexico as well as from California. Mikolon found that more than a third of those But by the time he assumed his post infected still had medical problems two years later in 1995, he faced a daunting chal- – a situation that was being inadequately addressed. lenge. Anti-immigrant measure, ANDREA MIKOLON Many workers were sick for more than a Proposition 187, had cast a deep month, losing wages of about $450 and incurring chill on California-Mexico relations. medical costs of more than $1,000. High hopes for mutual cooperation Mikolon's study, among the first to quantify the risk factors in people, raised by the signing of the North appeared in the Journal of Border Health, 1999, and attracted a lot of American Free Trade Agreement attention. Her Mexican experience prompted the World Health (NAFTA) had all-but evaporated. To Organization to invite her to develop a brucellosis control regimen in make matters worse, Mexico was Mongolia. She remained there for three years, teaching epidemiology at mired in political crisis, the U.S. the National Medical University of Mongolia, periodically taking her was plunged in xenophobic presi- students out among the nomadic herds, where brucellosis remains one of dential campaign rhetoric, and the four major chronic infections. California relations with Mexico Back in California, she was swept up by a Newcastle disease out- were being driven by bigotry and break in poultry, a task that involved extensive liaison with Mexico’s mistrust. Palerm, however, resolved Baja California state and veterinary officials, whom she knew through to forge ahead, and he created an her dissertation studies. unprecedented opportunity for UC Although she remains involved in disaster relief, she now holds the and for Mexican graduate students – official position of Mexico liaison – an important task, she said, one that would stress contributions because of the huge amount of cross-border trade in food and agricul- from both sides of the border and ture products between California and Mexico. Please see STUDENTS, Page 6
4 UC MEXUS NEWS l Spring 2004 CAMILLE ANTINORI, 1997 DISSERTATION GRANT Locals find economic shelter in forest land
amille M. Antinori took a research trip to Oaxaca in When the project is completed, the partners aim to have 1997 that may have changed the way economists developed new and accurate data on which the Mexican Clook at community property rights. In Oaxaca, as in government can base effective land-management policies, most of Mexico, the communities that surround forestlands but also to set up a system for collecting and processing own and manage them. such information in the future. The UC Berkeley graduate student took a novel approach Meanwhile, Antinori is combining this work with LBNL to examining the effect of such ownership on forest resource projects on climate change, especially in relationship to management and investment in Oaxaca's indigenous com- forestry, and the effect of deforestation and reforestation to munities. Taking the economic tools commonly used to remove harmful gases from the atmosphere. study corporate entities in a capitalist economy, she exam- ined community enterprises, often run by people living at subsistence level. By making comparisons with conventional firms or agricultural cooperatives, she provided a better understanding of the needs, challenges and contributions of community ownership. Overall, she found that communities retained control of their forest resources because it protected them from the whims of the markets to a greater degree and provided an immediate outlet for use of skills and skill building in the immediate community. The conclusions she drew about common-property-based enterprises help understand communal property ownership word wide – not just in forest land, but also grazing lands, oil reservoirs, apartment buildings, the Internet, play- grounds, watershed collaborative groups and fisheries. Camille Antinori visited the By the time Antinori finished her work, she had become remote, mountainous state of an expert in a little-studied area. Post-doctoral fellowships Oaxaca to study community ownership of the plentiful followed and finally a position at the Lawrence Berkeley woodlands where one of the National Lab (LBNL), where she remains today. largest varieties of pine and The UC MEXUS grant that financed that trip is still pro- oak worldwide provide the ducing results, Antinori says. A Mexican colleague develop- basis of commerce and a ing a survey of forestlands in Mexico sought her out. livelihood for the locals. Some Working as part of an interdisciplinary team of researchers communities are expanding from UC Berkeley, Florida International University, UNAM, into export markets, and manufacturing and Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económica (CIDE), wood products such as tool handles and doors. Antinori will help create databases and studies to provide the most reliable estimates and descriptions to date of the Forestry projects can counter harmful greenhouse gas number of Mexican communities managing forestland. The emissions. Making some broad assumptions about tree data will enable researchers for the first time to make scien- growth and carbon dioxide sequestration, for example, tifically valid assertions about the ecological and economic she said four acres of trees could offset the carbon diox- impact of community-managed forests. ide emissions of a single person.
UC MEXUS NEWS l Spring 2004 5 TIMOTHY DOWNS, 1995 DISSERTATION GRANT Many minds needed to work Student focus on water and health risks Continued from Page 4 imothy J. Downs 1995 research into urban water supply issues proved create a model of academic coopera- to be a model for interdisciplinary collaboration that has been his tion and cost sharing. Tmodus operandi ever since. On July 25, 1997, Mexico's Working with several collaborators on two parallel projects involving water National Council for Science and supply and public heath, Downs assembled data on a series of cost-effective Technology (CONACYT) entered solutions to water supply and treatment problems. into an Agreement of Cooperation The first collaboration – with an ecologist and an engineer from UNAM – in Higher Education and Research looked at the looming crisis in population growth and its effect on Mexico City with the University of California water supply and wastewater treatment. Downs led the team to develop a work- that contained a strong commitment able plan to provide water and sanitation to Mexico City. to educating and training the next The second collaboration – with two Mexican public generation of scholars and scientists. health experts – examined the health risks in water sup- Both entities committed to shar- ply. Untreated wastewater from Mexico City was being ing the costs of the program, which used for irrigation in Hildalgo. Excess water created an would integrate Mexico's top stu- aquifer that supplied local drinking water. Downs’ team dents into UC graduate programs. evaluated the health risks of groundwater consumption In the last half-dozen years, since and studied the environment’s role in breaking down the binational agreement was and dispersing chemical contaminants and pathogens. signed, 134 Mexican students have The collaboration of experts from distinct institutions was enrolled in UC graduate programs a groundbreaking effort at multi-disciplinary forecasting. as a result of the agreement. These "Environment, development and community are numbers provide a sharp contrast to highly interactive and need to be appreciated together as TIMOTHY DOWNS the early 1990s, when new enroll- a system of relationships," he said. "One may assess ment of Mexican graduate students water supply and pollution problems as a field scientist, and report results in a journal in the traditional way, but this is inadequate." slowed to a trickle, even as it Only by incorporating the contributions of all stakeholders can one under- increased at other universities and stand the social, economic and ecological dimensions of the issues, he said. abroad. Such a "knowledge-partnership" must extend into the identification and evalu- Today, Mexican students specifi- ation of alternative policies and practices, and it must remain involved cally wishing to study at UC, take throughout the process of implementation and evaluation. part in a three-step process. "This becomes a societal learning cycle, a new way of doing business." Prospective students are screened His dissertation work, supported by UC MEXUS and Pan American Health through CONACYT's rigorous aca- Organization, sowed the seeds of this understanding and laid a foundation for demic selection process to ensure a future projects, first in Mexico and today at Clark University. Downs now works pool of high caliber candidates. with former UCLA mentor Mel Suffit to coordinate the Environmental Science Qualified students then apply direct- & Policy graduate program in the Department of International Development, ly to UC graduate schools for Community and Environment. His projects take multi-stakeholder, interdiscipli- admission. Students who are admit- nary approaches to problems associated with health, water supply and sanitation, ted receive a complete financial biodiversity and soil conservation, energy, transportation, agriculture and industry. package provided by CONACYT He also is working on a book, Multiple natural resource management and UC MEXUS. methods for Scholar-Practitioners in Developed and Developing Countries. Please see STUDENTS, Page 9
6 UC MEXUS NEWS l Spring 2004 1998 UC/CONACYT, 2002 UC MEXUS DISSERATION FELLOW Racing with time to capture language eriberto Avelino is in a race against time. A UCLA graduate student, he is charting Yalálag Zapotec – Hone of 43 Zapotec languages spoken in the Mexican state of Oaxaca – and on the streets of Los Angeles. For the last couple of decades, indigenous people have not only been traveling north to work, but have begun to settle in California. They live in small pockets duplicating the culture, traditions and language of the communities they left behind. But Yalálag Zapotec fares poorly when exposed to the mul- ticultural Los Angeles environment. Children are exposed to English at school and Spanish in the streets. Yalálag Zapotec is literally crowded out. The people and their language are invisible to the mainstream community. Even the Zapotec refer to their unique language as merely a dialect. “In terms of networks, it’s more useful to speak Spanish than English,” said linguistics specialist Avelino, who is put- ting the finishing touches to his dissertation, “Topics in Yalálag Zapotec grammar,” before departing for a postdoc- toral fellowship at UC Berkeley. “We are witnessing another variant of language threat. As Photo by Heriberto Avelino an important segment of Zapotec speakers migrate, the lan- Heriberto Avelino, right, a UCLA indigenous languages, guage could be lost as soon as in the second generation.” expert, joins some East Los Angeles laborers on the street. His interest in American Indian languages began in his undergraduate days when he charted Northern Pamé, a previ- ously undocumented language spoken by about 2,000 people low students, presented the results of their studies to linguistic in San Luis Potosí. experts worldwide. Such incidents demonstrate the importance Sound is all-important among the 172 Mexican indigenous of studying languages while they are still available, he said. languages known as Otomanguean languages. Unlike “Without the evidence Zapotec languages provide, we Western Indo-European languages like English and Spanish, could never learn the limitations of our current knowledge, tone and phonation are integral to grammar and vocabulary – and the possibility of advancing linguistic theory.” similar to Chinese. Just as the Chinese word ma can have This line of investigation will continue when he moves one of five distinct meanings, depending on the pitch of the to Berkeley later this year to work with an eminence grise in voice, so in Zapotec, a word like ya can mean bell, cane or the world of linguistics. Ian Maddieson’s project to establish sweathouse. Unlike Chinese, however, there has been little standards and methodology for language research ("The study of these phenomena. And unlike Chinese, many of Sounds of the Worlds Languages") begun a decade ago with these languages are not thriving. Peter Kadefoged at UCLA, attracted a National Science A recent study of Zapotec has thrown something of a Foundation grant. Maddieson already is working with Avelino wrench into traditional theories of sentence formation. on the phonetic structures of endangered Mexican languages.” Without delving into complexities, suffice it to say that Avelino hopes this will be the beginning of solid research accepted theories on pronoun formation went out of the win- into the myriad distinct Mexican languages. dow when Avelino, his UCLA adviser Pamela Munro and fel- “I will target languages in imminent danger of extinction.” Please see LANGUAGE, Page 9
UC MEXUS NEWS l Fall 2003 - Winter 2004 7 NIELAN BARNES, 2001 DISSERTATION GRANT KESSLER, 1996 DISSERTATION GRANT AIDS needs cross-border treatment Politics as unusual olitical scientist Timothy P. ielan Barnes has been examining programs that address the spread and Kessler’s career has taken some treatment of HIV/AIDS on both sides of the border. At a time when sharp turns since a 1996 disserta- NAFTA and globalization have increased the pace of economic, cultur- P N tion grant took him to Mexico to try al and social integration, inequities in living standards and access to health care and explain the inexplicable. have risen sharply, especially in places like the US-Mexico border where popu- His UC Berkeley dissertation, lation flow is most intense, Barnes says. “Capitalizing on Politics: The State and People moving between Mexico, where there is universal health care, and the Mexican Finance Policy,” examined the U.S., where people buy health care, find it extremely tough to coordinate treat- rationale behind Mexican finance poli- ment. "We need health systems that talk across international borders." cy during the previous quarter century. A UC MEXUS dissertation research grant, enabled Barnes to undertake field Conventional interpretations failed to research on both sides of the border. provide a logical rationale for it. By looking at the disease and health care delivery, Barnes He worked on the assumption that showed that policies that stop at national borders undercut self-interest rather than national interest health care efforts and effectiveness in both countries. drove what were often characterized as "Binational collaboration is vital to address infectious dis- technocratic decisions on economic poli- eases in this age of great international mobility," she said. The cy reform. He explored the motivation of need is especially urgent where serious complaints like HIV the national government (and the party and SARS are concerned. that controlled it), but his subsequent The intricacies of funding modes on both sides of the border, work focuses on the political pressures and the interplay between local, regional, state and national of global institutions that influence agencies mean that policy-makers need to consider political NIELAN BARNES developing countries’ policy decisions. culture, and local and national history to ensure cooperation As research director for the non- and coordination. As it is, U.S. HIV/AIDS policies and funding guidelines discour- profit Citizens Network for Essential age binational and inter-organizational collaboration, and consign Mexican Services, he often finds himself at organizations to a marginal role in planning and delivering health care. Mexico's odds with his former employer, the lack of HIV/AIDS programs further undercuts opportunities for a coordinated World Bank, in political affairs, chal- assault on the disease. lenging the rationales that justify Barnes is finishing her dissertation at the UC San Diego Center for UC imposing economic policies that harm Mexican Studies. Her work appeared in the International Journal of poor people. Sociology Social Policy.
TREVIZO, 1994 DISSERTATION GRANT Seeing action in context facilitates understanding ontext is not only important now a sociology professor at Capitalists: Mexico, 1970-1975 exam- but essential to understanding Occidental College and postdoctoral ines the lengthy political struggles that Csocial and political issues, as researcher at UC MEXUS, set out to enabled a small group of agrarian cap- UCLA graduate student Dolores talk not only to peasants but also the italists to win organizational autono- Trevizo found when she set off for estate holders and state elites against my from the Mexican government by Mexico in 1994. whom they revolted. forming the National Agrarian Intent on looking at the impetus for Agrarian Insurgency, State Policy Council in 1984. Former nationalists the 1970 peasant insurgency, Trevizo, and Self-Organization of Agrarian Please see TREVIZO, Page 16
8 UC MEXUS NEWS l Spring 2004 Student focus JOSÉ VELÁZQUEZ MONREAL 1998 UC/CONACYT FELLOW
Continued from Page 6 Citrus doctor goes to work
The cost-sharing program does n the misty mornings along the coastal plains of the state of Colima, not preclude students' access to such José Joaquín Velázquez Monreal can sometimes be found wandering other resources as teaching assist- I through the lemon orchards and exploring coconut, mango and banana antships, research assistantships and groves that grow alongside them. fellowships that departments or His work with the National Institute of Forestry Agriculture and Fisheries graduate divisions may offer. (Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales y Agropecuarias, INIFAP) The UC-CONACYT agreement has brought him to this garden state, the most popular among Mexicans, to delivers benefits to all parties employ his expertise in citrus diseases acquired during his doctoral program involved. UC gains an increased at UC Riverside. number of outstanding CONACYT- Colima, whose rich volcanic sponsored Mexican students in soil nurtures a wide array of agri- graduate programs, and CONACYT cultural products, lives up to its sees increased cost efficiency in its name as the seat of the Gods graduate fellowship programs for (Colima, from the Nahuatl colli- study abroad. Students receive a maitl - colli, ancestors or gods; maitl, domain). Velásquez’s broad array of opportunities for UC research station, located in graduate study and a reduction of Tecoman, the center of Mexican their repayment obligations. lemon production, lies along the As a result of the efforts put into coastal plain in the south of the this program, UC today receives the state, safely removed from the highest number of CONACYT doc- active Fire Volcano. Once famil- toral fellows of any institution in Velásquez Monreal earned his doctorate iar with the agriculture in the the world. Because of the CONA- on the tristeza virus at UCR in 2003. Here, he region, he will set about develop- CYT focus on the sciences, almost points out the effect on the leaves of an ing research projects involving two-thirds are in the sciences with orange tree. the local lemon crop. the natural sciences dominating at 30 percent. The remaining thirty- Languages nine percent are in the social sci- That is not all. ences and humanities. Continued from Page 7 “I would like to train native speak- The first of this new generation They already have recorded data on ers to investigate their own languages,” of researchers have completed their Lowland Chontal, a language spoken he said. “There are always subtle intri- studies, or are close to it, and are on the Oaxaca coast by less than 100 cacies to a language that the native can playing their part in creating and elderly people. Avelino also hopes to detect better.” solidifying relations among capture the essence of one of the Zoque More than 960 million adults are illit- researchers and research institutions languages, Tuxtla Zoque, while the last erate worldwide, the U.N. reports, many on both sides of the border. remaining speaker is alive. from poor, indigenous populations whose One of them, Jose Joaquín He is eager to return to Mexico and languages are endangered. Training Velásquez Monreal, is still working continue his work in collaboration with them is a first step in empowering them his UC contacts. Students can be trained to become agents of change for their Please see STUDENT, Page 10 to gather the fast-disappearing data. communities, he said.
UC MEXUS NEWS l Fall 2003 - Winter 2004 9 ANNE STAUNTON, 1996 DISSERTATION GRANT Student focus Health workers practice at home Continued from Page 9 nne Staunton's graduate studies at UCLA in 1996 took her to East Los Angeles to work with community health educators. closely with colleagues in the UCR AShe found that immigrant women, trained in reproductive department of plant pathology even health education, took greater responsibility for contraception in their as he sets down roots in the state of own relationships. The immigrant women also were able to initiate discussions about risky sexual behavior, sexually transmitted diseases Colima, Mexico, and employs his and HIV prevention with their own spouses and children. expertise in citrus diseases on the Almost a decade later, as director of program development and evaluation economically valuable Mexican at the Venice Family Clinic, the largest free clinic in the country, she is still lemon crop. working with immigrant families that confront the same issues. Still unpacking after five years at "We are hoping to improve health literacy, patient-provider communication UC Davis, Pedro Andrade Sánchez and effective self-care management for our poor and uninsured is eager to get his hands dirty in the patients, many of whom have chronic health problems," she said. soil of Torreón, Coahuilla, a center The clinic caters to low-income, often minority patients with- of cotton production. On the other out access to health care. Staunton directs research and evaluation hand, UC Davis department of food projects, and also leads a small team that raises more than $1.5 million a year to help fund clinic operations. Recently-funded science and technology colleague programs include a California Endowment-supported multi-year Jose Luis Cardenas Lopez is well health empowerment initiative that harkens back to her graduate established as a professor and research work. researcher at the University of Her dissertation work helped her hone the skills she is using so Sonora, Hermosillo campus. successfully to better empower family members, especially The world of commerce has ANN women, in issues of contraception and risky sexual behavior. snapped up UC San Diego's Daniel STAUNTON The dissertation also prepared her for work in management Chiquiar, now working as an inves- consulting and applied research in the health care industry. She tigator for the Bank of Mexico. evaluated health organizations' effectiveness in face-to-face and computer Javier Guzman is pursuing his study accessible health education. So-called e-health education uses the Internet and information technology to improve access to health information, health of synthesis and characterization of insurance, and to cut costs in managing health care. nanomaterials as catalysts during a postdoctoral fellowship at the
GABRIELA SOTO-LAVEAGA, 1996 DISSERTATION GRANT Mexican root proved vital for western pharmacies he role that tens of thousands of Mexicans played Foundation grant, Soto Laveaga traveled to the Chinantla in the pharmaceutical industry for decades is region of Oaxaca, to study the social and economic effect on Talmost entirely unacknowledged. the peasants who harvested the raw material. Between 1940 and 1970, derivatives of wild Mexican She found that few of the more than 150,000 peasants yam, or barbasco, found in the isolated jungles of Oaxaca who gathered the yams were ever told what barbasco and southeastern Mexico, provided the raw material for the was used for after it left their jungle homes. Yet barbasco synthetic steroid hormones present in hundreds of modern picking was the main source of income for many locals. medicines such as oral contraceptives and antiasthmatics. Over the years, they placed millions of tons of roots near With the help of a $2,000 UC MEXUS dissertation grant, as well as a Fulbright-García Robles fellowship, and a Ford Please see SOTO-LAVEAGA, Page 12
10 UC MEXUS NEWS l Spring 2004 UC MEXUS DISSERTATION GRANTS BY CAMPUS AND DISCIPLINE 1994-2003 Number Funding of grants (units of $10,000)
Student focus Chemical Technology Institute in up new areas of investigation and graduate students in all disciplines Valencia, Spain. finishing their dissertation. at this point in their academic Pondering a plethora of options in The loneliness of that most formi- career. the arena of photonic crystals has dable and intimidating time "This exceptionally successful dis- kept Ivan Alvaredo Rodríguez at descends on every doctoral student. sertation grant program provides rare UCLA after graduation. While he The structure of classes and the sup- support at a critical time in a stu- ponders the future, he continues to port of classmates fall away leaving dent's graduate career," said Grants work with the colleagues and advis- no defense against the blank page Program Officer Andrea Kaus. ers who so inspired him. and the expectations – real or imag- Dissertation support was the first "I have been collaborating with ined – of advisers, peers and, most of student-focus program the Institute smart people from all over the all, oneself. undertook in 1986. Awards were for- world," he said. "The environment The dissertation rarely represents malized in 1990 in the form of pushes you to do the best you can.” the career capstone many students grants of up to $1,000 for travel or This first group of UC/CONA- imagine it to be. Instead it helps lay unforeseen research needs as gradu- CYT fellows step into their post- the groundwork for a young schol- ate students embarked on thesis or doctoral shoes as researchers as and ar's research agenda and defines dissertation work. academics after surmounting the the direction they will take. By 2001, this amount increased to second greatest obstacle in their aca- Long before the agreement with $12,000 per grant over a period of demic careers – undertaking their CONACYT, UC MEXUS put in first autonomous research, opening place a vehicle to help eligible UC Please see STUDENTS, Page 14
UC MEXUS NEWS l Spring 2004 11 UC/CONACYT FELLOWS Soto-Laveaga Continued from Page 10 van Alvaredo at UCLA is teetering on the edge of a tech- highways and local roads where nology that could mark a new frontier in electronic com- passing trucks picked them up and munications. His 2003 dissertation dealt with the creation I delivered them to the various phar- of two-dimensional photonic crystal single-defect optical maceutical laboratories. Despite cavities, one of the building blocks in the emerging field of being kept in the dark about the photonic integrated circuits. In layperson's terms – just as important role of their work in the electronic semiconductors are vital organs for running world of science, the influx of today's computers, photonic semiconductors (running on money from the barbasco trade light rather than electrical energy) could replace them if researchers altered peasant culture and, more succeed in overcoming the technological challenges that prevent them unexpectedly in an area of high from being practical for commercial products. illiteracy, their vocabulary. It is fascinating work in a field wide open for a bright young scien- “Hundreds of campesinos’ letters tist such as Alvaredo. The alumni who have worked with his UCLA from that time began to include mentor Eli Yablonovich would fill who's-who of cutting-edge enter- chemical terms in their everyday prises, and his colleagues provide a goad for his best work, he says. requests for electricity, water, "You end up doing things you thought you were not going to do at all." schoolhouses,” said Soto-Laveaga, Although Alvaredo has offers from industry and academia, he can now a history professor at UC Santa be found on the same lab stool he has occupied for the last few years. Barbara. A 1976 letter, which "I am finishing things up a little bit and thinking what to do next." Veracruz peasants wrote to President ose Luis Cardenas already has begun Luis Echeverría, asking for a school- passing on the knowledge he gathered as house, shows local campesinos Ja UC Davis doctoral student in his new adopted and refashioned the lan- post at the Universidad de Sonora at guage of chemistry to meet every- Hermosillo, where he is working as a day needs. researcher at the seafood lab. Soto Laveaga also finds that the His 2003 dissertation was on the jumbo influx of money from the pharmaceu- squid, specifically analyzed enzymes it pro- tical labs challenged traditional ideas duces for possible use in the food industry, in of social hierarchy, race and power. cheese and beer production, as a tenderizer, Indigenous peasants involved in and for fish sauce. the barbasco trade began to supplant the mestizos who had traditionally ngélica Castañeda-Jiménez at UCLA Department of Environmental served as middlemen in the barbas- AScience and Engineering is hard at co trade. work writing her dissertation on development These findings, spelled out in of standards for removing heavy metals on her 1998 dissertation, “Root of Discord: Commoditization of Jose Luis Cardenas contaminated floors. Her research, conducted in Ventura and Barbasco and the Mexican People, and the jumbo squid Los Angeles counties, will result in a guide 1968-1989,” were a stepping stone whose enzyme pro- for decontamination specialists to ensure that to the UC President’s postdoctoral duction he was cleanup is conducted in a way to ensure fellowship she subsequently studying. human health and the safety of groundwater. earned, and eventually to her current post at UCSB.
12 UC MEXUS NEWS l Spring 2004 PEDRO ANDRADE,1998 UC/CONACYT FELLOW Man of the soil fullfills his UC Davis dream edro Andrade is waking up. Not lit- Agricultural Development and was bound for erally. He is actually unpacking the UC Davis. Pcar and settling his family into their "I still remember the very first class. My new home in Torreon, Coahilla, where he English was deficient and I was completely will put five year's study at UC Davis into lost," he said. "I reassured myself that I was practice at an INIFAP research facility. determined to overcome all difficulties. And But those years at UC Davis represented as the days went by, I realized that I wasn't the fulfillment of a dream, one "Dr. alone." Andrade" worked hard to make a reality. Helping dispel his sense of isolation was Raised in urban Chihuahua by his geol- Department of Biological and Agricultural ogist father and schoolteacher mother, the Engineering Prof. Bryan Jenkins, in whom he science-minded city boy says he was found a steady source of encouragement. drawn to agriculture because the discipline "He's been a tutor and a friend," Andrade dealt with issues of vital importance to said, a mentor who not only facilitated his people. academic progress but also showed personal The journey to UC Davis started more concern for him and his family. The admira- than twenty years ago, when he enrolled Pedro Andrade tion was mutual: in a small agricultural college in Delicias, "Pedro is hard working and a deeply con- Chihuahua, to study agricultural engineering with an cerned individual," says Jenkins, "scholarly and serious in emphasis on soils. his work yet personable and easy to work with. He is truly a "Our school's limitations in infrastructure . . . had a remarkable student, an exceptional member of the graduate tremendous impact on the scientific content that our school student ranks." could offer," he says. But five years of scholarship filled Gradually Andrade's ear and tongue adjusted to the new him with a passion for his subject, accompanied by a grow- environment. He launched into research on energy expendi- ing desire to study at UC Davis – a longing he likens to a ture and the mechanization of Mexico's agriculture, earning kid wanting watch his favorite ball team play. a master's degree. The timing was perfect. The 1997 agree- "I had no doubt that I wanted to do research. Love for ment of cooperation between UC and CONACYT initiated my career and the desire to excel at higher levels put in my a program providing up to five years' funding for Mexican mind the dream of coming to UC Davis," he recalls. doctoral students at UC campuses. Andrade was among the "I wanted to be close to the people I knew only by name, first group of students the agreement covered. in their books and publications. They were the icons of a Providing support and direction were professors Shrini young agronomist." Upadhyaya and Bill Chancellor, whose help he came to But the time was not yet ripe. Andrade spent the next six deeply appreciate. After two years of unstinting effort, he years in the fields of Baja California implementing and was able to advance to candidacy and dedicate himself to enhancing his knowledge. The work was challenging: researching the interaction between soil and agricultural adapting American technology to Mexican laborers, lot machinery. He focused on the design and manufacture of a sizes and soil conditions for production of fresh vegetables. sensor that detects soil compaction problems. Four confer- But despite the joy of discovering a new area of interest, he ence papers and a patent for the sensor design grew out of realized he was no closer to realizing his dream. There was this study. As Andrade was putting the finishing touches to only one solution: his dissertation before returning to Mexico, Deere and Co. "I quit my job so I could dedicate myself full time to showed interest in his device. The financial support provid- learning English and preparing for the examinations that ed during the last five years through the UC-CONACYT were part of the selection process." program has been a blessing, he says. Two years' hard work followed. But the sacrifices paid "It allowed me to fully dedicate my time to advance in off: He was admitted to Mexico’s Program of International every single stage of my graduate studies experience."
UC MEXUS NEWS l Spring 2004 13 UC/CONACYT/ FELLOWS avier Guzmancompleted a doctorate in chemical engineering Student focus in record time, graduating from UC Davis four years after Jcompleting his Mexican bachelors. Now he is spending a Continued from Page 11 year, maybe more, at the Valencia (Spain) Polytechnic University, two years. The program now pro- Instituto de Tecnología Química, on a postdoctoral fellowship. vides substantial support for the He is looking at the synthesis and characterization of nanomate- research phase of UC graduate stu- rials as catalysts – an expansion of his work at Davis. While at dents' dissertation work. UC, Guzman was picked for a National Science Foundation pro- Since 1994, almost 200 graduate gram: Integrative Graduate Research and Training, which he cred- students have received more than $1 JAVIER its with playing an important role in his professional development. million in dissertation research sup- GUZMAN lejandro López-Feldman at UC Davis is consumed by palm trees port. Of these, more than 50 students from the Chiapas rainforests. For a half century, the xate palm, in Latino studies have been support- AChamaedorea genus, (See inset) has been exported to the U.S., ed with funds from Senate where florists use the leaves in large wedding, funeral and religious display Concurrent Resolution No. 43 that such as on Palm Sunday. López-Feldman’s dissertation, "Management of natural the University of California resources in the Chiapas rain forest," tackles the need for indigenous people to Committee for Latino Research have a means of support without depleting the stock of native palms. Over- (UCCLR) has provided to UC harvesting has reduced the stock of trees. By examining the economics of MEXUS or matching funds from UC harvesting palms he hopes to find better ways to MEXUS manage them before they become extinct. The senate resolution, passed in “My research strives to understand the econom- 1989, called for greatly increased ic motivation of rainforest peasants to harvest the resources to support research in palm for commercial purposes, and to evaluate the such critical subjects as education, effect of different policies on local practices and the immigration, health, criminal jus- stock of the resource.” tice and community development, His study focuses on the Selva Lacandona, while working to build campus home to the Lacandone, Chole and Tzeltal people. support for research, and training The area, rich in archaeological and cultural arti- of a new generation of scholars facts, sits at the center of the Mesoamerican working in Latino topics. Biological Corridor, a UNESCO biosphere reserve The dissertation research grants ALEJANDRO LÓPEZ-FELDMAN and conservation/sustainable development project. program is open to UC graduate stu- lso consumed by dissertation writing, UC Davis’ Mario Tinoco- dents who have advanced to candida- Herrera is researching researchers. Using social and historical analy- cy before the start of the project peri- Asis, participant observation and interviews, he is examining the experi- od. All disciplines in the areas of ence of Mexican agronomists who study in the U.S., then move back to Mexico Mexico-related studies, Latino stud- to continue their research. ies, United States-Mexican relations, critical U.S.-Mexican issues, and lant biologist Gabriela Toledo-Ortiz at UC Berkeley is finalizing her Mexican and Latino topics in the arts research into basic-helix-loop-helix (bHLH) proteins and their role in and humanities are eligible. phytochrome controlled light signal transduction pathways. By study- P Similar to other UC MEXUS ing the bio-informatics, reverse genetics and molecular biochemistry of the bHLHs proteins of Arabidopsis thaliana, she aims to identify and describe grants programs, the application those involved in the deetiolation of Arabidopsis seedlings that are control by process is designed to nudge stu- light receptors. dents into academic collaborations
14 UC MEXUS NEWS l Spring 2004 UC MEXUS-CONACYT DOCTORAL STUDENTS BY CAMPUS AND DISCIPLINE 1994-2003
Student focus and affiliations that will follow them onto the first rung of their career need to excel as academics and will into their professional careers. They ladder, the Institute is once again forge valuable new contacts with must supply an invitation from a examining its commitment to stu- those who share their area of inter- Mexican host institution and must dents and evaluating how best to est," he said. demonstrate an academic connection support their work. After almost a quarter century, with a Mexican scholar or scientist, Although California and UC are UC MEXUS can draw on a wealth preferably in an advisory role. beset by financial problems, new of alumni with expertise in every Students repeatedly report back UC Mexus Director Roberto significant profession and field of that the ties to a Mexican researcher Sánchez Rodríguez is exploring academic investigation. and institution have opened up mul- ways to support and enrich the edu- Former students now make up a tiple and unexpected opportunities. cational experience of all the stu- who's-who of leaders in academia, "Advisers usually lead their stu- dents the Institute helps fund. government and industry. They have dents into collaborations with A revised agreement with CONA- developed programs, made movies, Mexican colleagues," Kaus said. CYT continues to provide funding for excavated major archeological sites, "Now the students often pave the Mexican doctoral students, but Sánchez become leading architects, doctors way for their advisers." says he wants to do more to enhance and engineers. They will, no doubt, Both the dissertation grants and the academic experience for these stu- be among those who define the new the fellowships for Mexican gradu- dents. Their time at UC would be so directions in research, scholarship ate students have produced cutting- much more enriched if the Institute can and the arts – not only at UC but edge research, binational projects, bring them together to meet other spe- also in the U.S. and Mexico. and increased and strengthened col- cialists in their area of research. – by Frances Fernandes laboration with Mexican scientists "We hope that by bringing them and scholars. together with the experts in their As the current students step up field, they will gain the skills they
UC MEXUS NEWS l Spring 2004 15 UC/CONACYT FELLOWS Trevizo ose-Felipe Martínez-Fernández on Student Reading Achievement: Continued from Page 8 hasn't been letting any dust settle Issues of Measurement, Validity, Jon his keyboard since he and Equity"), his time is crammed and autonomists nationwide arrived at UCLA in 1998. Despite with presentations both in the U.S. accomplished this by bridging an being in the final stage of a study and Mexico. ideological divide separating on statistical methods in education- "Inequalities in terms of oppor- them. al research (“A Multilevel Study of tunities-to-learn in the classroom Neither the heterogeneity of the Effects of Opportunity-to-Learn are one of the main reasons for the the capitalists markets nor the lower performance of ways in which state policy disadvantaged students," impinged on their material inter- Juan M. Mayoral Villa he said. A year after he begin- His dissertation ests explain this ideological ning his studies at UC applies a new method of divide, Trevizo argues. Her statis- Berkeley, Mayoral-Villa’s statistical analysis that tical analysis shows that peasant mentors took him to allows more direct mobilization determined the Mexico to help compile exploration of the influ- political agendas and world- a report on seismic dam- ence of such inequalities views of the agri-businessmen. age after the 1999 earth- on student achievement. quake in Puebla. The old She concludes that such political Carolino building ernando Garza agendas emerge through the in downtown Sánchez is using political and ideological conflicts Puebla City (left) FMono Lake to organized challenges from below collapsed and develop important infor- engender. many churches mation on microalgae Political mobilization needs to sustained dam- growth and survival in be understood not solely in terms age. Despite the hostile conditions created of its causes, but also its conse- interruption, by high salinity and high he finished his levels of pH. If scientists quences, she says. dissertation understand how algae The data Trevizo was able to early and is grow in hostile conditions, collect during that Mexican trip working in they will better be able to not only enabled her to finish her industry. devise ways to grow food dissertation in 1998, it also pro- in areas that previously vided the grist for additional arti- had been unsuitable. cles that helped her earn tenure at orge Sifuentes Littleboy at UCSB is using GIS to study ancient Maya set- the Los Angeles college where tlements in the Yalahau region of Quintana Roo with UCR’s Scott Fedick. she now teaches. Lack of awareness about data quality issues has created problems for some J The central findings of the dis- archaeological research, leading to erroneous reports of sertation were published in Social location coordinates and other attributes, he says. His project assesses the quality of GIS data, and Science History 27:1 (2003) as designs processes to produce accurate results. He hopes well as in Sociological to smooth the path for researchers to better evaluate Perspectives (2002). socioeconomic and cultural processes shaping the settle- Moreover, she continues to ment patterns in an early agricultural society. If he suc- mine that data and hopes to write ceeds, researchers will have more realistic expectations a book on the research that the of what the software can accomplish. Institute funded.
16 UC MEXUS NEWS l Spring 2004 Maize experts tussle with transgenes
omatoes that fight cancer, corn that carries its own bug-killer, Trice that packs a bigger protein punch: Reports of such wonder-crops, more like science fiction than fact, have been a reality for almost two decades. But the headlines, promising an end to hunger and a revolution in farming, obscure more sobering news: Tlaloc, the god l A super-weed invaded the European of rain and of sugar beet crop, costing farmers thou- agriculture sands, pushing up consumer costs and is seen here raising questions about the added damage checking out that might be caused if weeds cross-bred the maize with genetically engineered crops.l crop A tainted corn crop insinuated itself into a soybean harvest destined for human consumption, costing millions in fines and loss of income. l Genetically modified maize sprouted among the traditional varieties of Mexican subsistence farmers in nine ©Uniuversity of California Press states, leaving dismayed officials to fig- ure out how the banned product had found its way into so many cornfields. picture of the issues and challenges Some scientists, however, ponder the International concerns about the faced in transgenic gene research and potential for unintended by-products unintended consequences of purposeful- its application in Mexico and the U.S. and side effects from production ly or accidentally allowing genetically The evolution, production and pro- of these super-strains - an Oedipal urge modified seed to intermingle with tradi- tection of Mexican varieties of maize to breed with wild relatives while wip- tional strains prompted a call for inves- have provided a wealth of opportunities ing out more ancient progenitors, or a tigation. In response, the Commission for study. A nutritionally rich and versa- silent carrier of products toxic to the for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), tile crop that has emigrated from its environment or to people. formed under NAFTA, undertook a native Mexico to far-flung nations in Creating a report that will allay major study. The Commission's interna- need of its versatility, it also has attract- unfounded fears while urging caution tional group of experts is drafting a report ed multinational commercial interests, in introducing the new super strains due for release at the end of this year. especially in its genetically modified looks like a high-wire act for the Prominent among those contributing form. Those companies not only see Commission's experts. to the debate is a broad spectrum of maize as profitable food and feed but "We have tried to make an effort to researchers many of whose work has also as a vector for exclusive properties keep ourselves impartial as possible," been advanced by UC MEXUS seed such as resistance to natural and chemi- said José Sarukhan-Kermez, chair of funding. Their contributions have cal attack, and as foster parent for the 16-member CEC expert advisory proven critical in creating a complete industrial and pharmaceutical products. group, senior professor of ecology at
UC MEXUS NEWS l Spring 2004 17 Peripatetic transgenes in maize leave experts in a quandary the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de MEXICO'S RICH GRANARY México (UNAM), and the rapporteur of In Mexico much more of that debate the World Commission on the Ethics of is taking part in the mainstream media. Scientific Knowledge and Technology. Mexico is the birthplace, and a Impartiality, real and perceived, may major producer and consumer of be hard to come by when the most maize, one of the world's most impor- vocal factions in the debate fall into tant and nutritional crops. two extreme camps. The lengthy history of crop devel- Doomsayers proclaim that genetically opment and seed exchange common modified plants will run rampant, wipe among indigenous farmers has created Maize out native strains, intermarry with wild not only a diversity of varieties of production, relatives to create unvanquishable super- maize but also a wealth of knowledge weeds, and poison people and livestock. little appreciated either by do-gooders location of Utopians predict an end to world or commercial interests. maize land- hunger, pharmaceuticals grown on tree "Indigenous knowledge is a powerful races and (pharming), and nutrient-enriched crops resource in its own right and is comple- grown with built-in weed, disease and mentary to knowledge available from teosinte collections in Mexico – pest-killers that spare the environment Western scientific sources," said Miguel The geographical distribution of by eschewing fertilizers and ploughing. Altieri, a UC Berkeley associate profes- cultivated maize races and teosintes The whole story, however, is much sor of entomology, who wrote one of in Mexico overlap in part of the more complicated. the discussion papers for the CEC. "There won't be a short-term resolu- "The ethnobotanical knowledge of maize distribution range. The levels of tion of this controversy," said Norman certain campesinos in Mexico is so maize produc C. Ellstrand, professor of genetics at elaborate that the Tzeltal, P'urepecha, tion are also UC Riverside and director of the UCR Maize landrace and Yucatan Mayans can recognize shown in this Biotechnology Impacts Center. His new (hundreds of) plant species." figure. book, "Dangerous Liaisons? When Agricultural reformers who have Teosinte Cultivated Plants Mate With Their Wild uniformly introduced modern crops, Relatives," tackles some of these issues, fertilizers and irrigation systems have with the history, environment, culture drawing on research that received seed not only shut out the poorest farmers and cuisine of the country. funding in part from a UC MEXUS grant. who could ill afford such technology, The broad genetic base of traditional "In the past," he said, "stakeholders he said, but bred new problems. maize resulted from generations of seemed either largely pro-biotech, Large-scale reform programs tend manipulation. For 8,000 years or more, believing that concerns about the tech- to use a single strain of crop - wiping farmers have selected out maize strains nology would soon whither away, or out the benefits of diverse maize best adapted to their particular soil types skeptical of the technology and con- genetic pool often with devastating and microclimates. Today, Mexico is a vinced that as soon as people woke up results for poor farmers. repository for more than 60 recognized to the possible problems, the technolo- The greatest fear for Mexican strains of maize and many more that gy would soon whither away." maize and its relatives is that careless- have not yet been typed. Such a wealth "The reality is that scientists and ness or ignorance could wipe out what of choices gives farmers tremendous policymakers will be wrestling with nature and Mexican farmers spent security against the incursion of new those issues for a long time to thousands of years developing - a pests, diseases or changes in climate. come." hardy crop inextricably interwoven As climates change, and new plant
18 UC MEXUS NEWS l Spring 2004 eave experts in a quandary (million tons per year) the planting of transgenic maize pend- Birthplace of maize 1.5-2.5 ing studies of the implications of cross-
Maize is the second-most (million tons per year) breeding, Chapela well knew that more productive crop on Earth 0.5-1.5 than a third of the U.S. maize that
and the most nutritious. In (million tons per year) Mexico imports for consumption con- Mexico, its birthplace and 0.1-0.5 tained transgenes to render them resist- site of greatest variety, ant to herbicides, pests and diseases. maize has been cultivated for at least 8,000 He also knew that peasants would try years. It evolved from wild grasses called out any new maize seed they came teosintes and proliferated into scores of local across, just as they had for centuries. If varieties adapting to wildly differing soils and they found it grew well, they would climactic conditions. The U.S., the world's plant it and cross breed it in the time- biggest maize producer, provides 25% of honored way. Mexico's needs. A third of U.S. maize (and At the same time, many scientists in growing) contains transgenes, so the effect of symposia and conferences were shrug- U.S. maize “escaping” into Mexican agriculture ging off the idea that transgenic corn is worrisome and could be devastating. would escape into the indigenous corn population, said Chapela. In Oaxaca, he vowed not to be caught unawares when the inevitable happened. In his role of scientific director of Berkeley's Mycological Facility in Oaxaca, which kept him in close touch with local farmers, he ensured that his biological lab was equipped to test the © NAFTA Commission for Environmental Cooperation indigenous grain. Even so, he says it took him by surprise when his graduate diseases and pests continue to evolve, seed repositories at two centers, INI- assistant David Quist awoke him one Mexico remains the guardian of a rich FAP and CIMMYT, but the work is far morning in 2000 with the news that storehouse of varieties of maize from complete. So a couple of years three-quarters of a sample of indige- already evolved to address exactly ago, when UC Berkeley professor nous grain contained a transgene (from such diverse situations. Ignacio Chapela reported finding trans- an insecticide bacterium, used in so- "(The diversity of maize) is the genic maize in remote farms in called Bt corn). world's insurance policy," said Mauricio Oaxaca, the reaction was extreme if "I thought I was ready for it, but I Bellón, director of economics at the not entirely unexpected. thought it would be 10-15 years down International Maize and Wheat Improve- This wasn't rocket science, to hear the road," he said. " Oaxaca is such a ment Center (CIMMYT), the foremost microbial ecologist Chapela tell the sensitive area and it was a surprise to public research facility for corn. "The story. Through UC Berkeley's Depart- find it there already." diversity of these (native varieties), is ment of Environmental Science, Policy Chapela alerted the Mexican gov- the basis of our food supply," he told and Management, he had been working ernment, which verified the findings the U.S. magazine, The Nation. among the peasant farmers of Oaxaca with assistance from the research Mexico has been building maize for 15 years. Although Mexico forbids groups, the Instituto de Ecología (INE)
UC MEXUS NEWS l Fall 2003 - Winter 2004 19 Peripatetic transgenes and CINVESTAV. Both tested for trans- answer, Gepts said. maize, recombination would guarantee genic flow into traditional maize and In 1983, Barbara McLintock won a that the detrimental effects on genetic wild species. Both confirmed Chapela's Nobel Prize for her work in the 1920s variation would be restricted to small discovery in Oaxaca, and also found and '30s demonstrating that maize portions of the genome," she wrote. transgenes in Puebla. Since then, non- genes stray either from their original government organizations also have placement or in the chromosome. This UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES tested maize with positive results for work took place before transgenes were Crop diversity is only the starting transgenes in nine states. However, sci- an issue. Much less is known about the point for the investigative maze that entists say those tests fail to pinpoint the stability of transgenes when they are embroils transgenic maize research. type of transgene present. introduced in different genetic back- Maize pollen generally travels as Now the Mexican government has grounds as would be the case in Mexico. much as 60 feet from the plant. commissioned what it hopes will be In the U.S., the stability of expression If the maize transfers its weed and the definitive study on which to base of transgenes has been verified as part insect-resistance to its wild cousins, the future policy. UC Davis Professor of of the regulatory process. grass-like teosintes, they might spawn Agronomy & Range Science Paul Researchers have been hampered in so-called "super-weeds," so tough to Gepts, working under a CONACYT- their efforts to study the stability of combat that they could threaten to UC MEXUS collaborative grant with the transgenic trait in plants because choke out the maize crop without the Hugo Perales Rivera of El Colegio de of proprietary issues regarding the use of highly toxic herbicides. la Frontera Sur, will attempt to pin underlying science, Gepts said. That's not all, says UCR's Ellstrand. down the extent of transgene incursion Researchers at such public institu- "Wild populations (could) evolve into Mexican maize landraces. The tions as UC are, perhaps best placed to that accumulate multiple transgenes by project involves five partners at UC conduct impartial research into such multiple hybridization events," he Davis and two additional Mexican issues as comparing transgenic and writes in his book. institutions. Their work is seen as the nontransgenic lines. The alternative So the teosinte grasses that are the definitive seed project, examining the would be to hand over responsibility kissing cousins of maize could conceiv- extent of incursion of trangenic maize for public welfare to private agencies. ably become not only resistant to multi- into local varieties, and laying the In the meantime, worldwide mar- ple herbicides and pests, but also carry framework for looking at the cultural keting of transgenic maize continues, biochemicals and pharmaceuticals "and elements that might play a part. with little or no study on the long- a host of other novel traits," he says. Because of the huge controversy term effects of the product or its sta- Along comes a cow for a snack of that surrounds the issue in Mexico, bility. sweet teosinte grass and all those ele- Gepts and his colleagues will use three In Mexico, few people are researching ments are on their way up the food different labs concurrently to test the those issues, and in the U.S. the majority chain and onto the dinner table. maize samples. In addition, they will of the research is into productivity rather examine the impact of escaped trans- than environmental concerns. YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT genic maize on farmers, farming prac- But the news may not all be bad, Some in the Mexican medical com- tices and economics. They also will said UNAM's Dr. Elena R. Alvarez- munity are already pondering the possi- attempt to determine the stability of the Buylla, INE Laboratorio de Genética ble effects of transgenics on what we transgenes within the plant. Molecular, Desarrollo y Evolución de eat. Although testing to date has failed to Chapela and Quist raised the issue Plantas, in one of the three key reports demonstrate ill effects from eating prod- of stability in their controversial paper for the CEC maize investigation. ucts that contain transgenic ingredients, but did not provide a satisfactory "In open-pollinated species like Dr. Salvador Zubirán, head of nutrition
20 UC MEXUS NEWS l Spring 2004 at the Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición, said recently that might not be the whole story. "When antibiotics were developed in the 1930s, people said they would save the world," said INE Director Exequiel Ezcurra. "Few people saw that there were going to be side-effects and that we should use the technology carefully. "How many women get breast cancer today because of an accumulation of tetracyclines in fatty tissue?" he said. "If we had known about all these side effects we could have used them more wisely." Today, as the medical community tries to deal with the effects of the widespread use of antibiotics (increased resistance of bacteria, aller- gies and toxicity, exacerbated by their common use in feed animals), they face another conundrum: What effects might they expect from deregulated transgenic crops that carry antibiotic- resistant genes? Their voices are join- ing those calling for greater cautious- ness in the commercial use of trans- © NAFTA Commission for Environmental Cooperation genes. toxic to plants. Maize roots develop humans but also to the environment. However, some scientists point to the poorly in that environment, stunting The potential benefit is so important importance of balancing the risk of a crop growth and sapping it of nutri- that this technology cannot be stopped. "maybe" with the urgent nutritional tional value. Herrera-Estrella intro- It must not be stopped." needs of impoverished populations. duced a citrate gene into the maize that Luis Herrera-Estrella is one of those keeps aluminum away from the roots. HOW GOES THE MORATORIUM? on record as arguing that strong, if care- However, although Herrera-Estrella The technology has been stopped ful, consideration be given to develop- was able to produce a healthy plant to a certain extent in Mexico - or at ment of transgenic foods, and he has the despite the soil conditions, in 1998 the least the planting of transgenic maize credentials to back him up. CINVES- government imposed a ban on the test- in fields or in the lab. Recently, the TAV, Irapuato, Department of Genetic ing or commercial use of his discovery 1998 moratorium was back the news: Engineering Director Herrera-Estrella and all transgenically modified maize. A government commission, Comisión was the first scientist in Mexico to "(Anti genetic engineering activists) Intersecretarial de Bioseguridad y develop genetically modified maize. speak selectively, only negative Organismos Genéticamente The acidic soil in the southwestern things," he said in the PBS movie Modificado (CIBIOGEM), recom- part of Mexico renders aluminum in Harvest of Fear. "They totally ignore mended lifting the ban on growing the earth soluble, a form that is highly the positive benefits not only to transgenic maize for the purpose of
UC MEXUS NEWS l Spring 2004 21 Peripatetic transgenes scientific testing. of wonder for its extraordinary migratory ties within traditional agroecosystems Ending the moratorium is a great habits, the butterfly is studied from ele- could potentially be wiped out." idea, said INE's Ezcurra, who is frus- mentary school classes to research labs. The stir created by Losey's findings trated that even his researchers cannot Each year, after migrating thousands of caught the attention of both main- cultivate the plants in the lab. But with miles to spend the winter near Mexico stream media and environmental one very large caveat. City, the butterfly begins its return trip. It activists who even began testing food "We need to agree first on the mech- breeds on milkweed, found mostly near from grocery stores for the presence of anisms," he said. "Someone could cornfields in the Midwestern states, genetically engineered material. plant hundreds of hectares of maize many of which now are planted with Subsequent studies confirmed and say it's for an experiment." Given transgenic crops. The milkweed – the Losey's findings, although they showed the ample evidence that maize's peri- only thing monarch caterpillars eat – gets the mortality rate in the fields to be patetic pollen makes gene flow a real a powerful dose of far-flying corn pollen. lower than in the lab. The EPA, how- danger, there is a lot at stake, Ezcurra "On spring and summer days, pollen ever, incorporated into its new regula- said. Not only is the purity of Mexico's is everywhere," Cornell researcher Losey tions tactics to help protect such invaluable treasure trove of maize in says in Harvest of Fear. Knowing that benign insects from Bt corn. danger, there is fear that companies corn pollen can travel up to 60 yards, will demand compensation from farm- Losey grew curious about the proximity ENVIRONMENTAL PLUSES ers whose crops have cross pollinated of milkweed to Bt corn, whose pollen & MINUSES with the transgenic neighbors. contains a crystalline endotoxin, toxic to Despite vicious attacks on Losey "Don't take me for a Luddite, an many insects. He dusted milkweed and his scholarship from Bt corn inter- irrational enemy of technology," he leaves with regular corn pollen and some est groups, Losey himself called for said. "You cannot see this science only with Bt corn pollen. Four days later, 44 more study and a measured approach in terms of black and white. In the percent of the monarch caterpillars that to the issue. Bt is certainly a better development of biotechnology, shades fed on leaves laced with Bt corn pollen option than generalized insecticides of grey are very important." were dead. None of the others died. that kill everything they touch, he said. In the U.S., opinions on the wisdom "Monarchs are considered to be a The biotech companies also point of growing transgenic corns are also flagship species for conservation. This out that introduction of transgenic divided, perhaps to even greater effect. is a warning bell," said fellow Cornell crops has tremendously reduced pesti- The U.S. is the largest producer of researcher Linda S. Rayor. "Monarchs cide and herbicide use, a point much maize in the world. Producers have con- themselves are not an endangered belabored in an October Atlantic verted to transgenic varieties at a rapid species right now, but as their habitat is Monthly article called tellingly "Will rate, something that sits poorly with disrupted or destroyed, their migratory Frankenfood Save the Planet?" Cornell entomologist John Losey, who phenomenon is becoming endangered." "Transgenic cotton reduced pesti- thinks much more testing should have There's agreement from Berkeley's cide use by more than two million been done. And Losey speaks from a Altieri who points to a Swiss study that pounds in the United States from 1996 particularly informed perspective. saw a 62 percent mortality rate among to 2000, and it has reduced pesticide predacious lacewing larvae sprayings in parts of China by more UNINTENDED TARGETS (Chrysopidae) raised on Bt-fed prey. than half," the article's author Jonathon Scientists such as Losey have not con- "The need for exacting research into Rauch writes in what seems mostly to fined themselves to the effect of trans- narrowly targeted topics sometimes fails be a paean to agricultural biotechnolo- genics on humans. That work set Losey to consider that, if one or two specific gy. "Moreover, introduction of Bt corn thinking about the monarch butterfly. insects fail to thrive alongside a specific was touted as having the potential to Symbol of environmentalism and source transgenic crop, entire insect communi- reduce annual pesticide use in America
22 UC MEXUS NEWS l Spring 2004 Starlink corn
tarlink corn was engineered to make the Stoxin Cry9C. But tests revealed that it by more than 14 million pounds." consume, or will not have devas- broke down slowly in the digestive tract, pre- But then he goes on: tating consequences," she wrote in senting the potential to be an allergen, so the "Crop monocultures, as whole fields her study for the CEC. "But we EPA refused to OK it for human consumption. of only wheat or corn or any other single should worry that so many new Manufacturer Aventis began selling it for plant are called, make poor habitat and products of pharmaceutical or animal feed. But when environmental are vulnerable to disease and disaster. industrial application are being activists Friends of the Earth learned that Although fertilizer runs off and pollutes developed precisely in maize. If most farners do not separate genetically engi- water, farming without fertilizer will any prove toxic, and escaped neered corn from conventional corn, the deplete and eventually exhaust the soil. pollen mates with varieties grown group went shopping in a local supermarket. It sent 23 corn-based products for testing and Pesticides can harm the health of human for consumption, we could expect found the unapproved protein Cry9C in taco beings and kill desirable or harmless negative consequences of substan- shells. bugs along with pests. Irrigation leaves tial concern." Although Aventis withdrew Starlink corn behind trace elements that can accumu- from the market, at a cost of $500 million, late and poison the soil." VIEW FROM THE FIELD the product already had spread all over the This is where UC Berkeley's Altieri While scientists and policy- world turning up in a Japanese a baking mix, might take issue with this glowing report: makers work to finalize the CEC in Korea, the U.K and Denmark. "Bt toxins can be incorporated into report this year, scholars such as the soil through leaf material when Altieri and UC Santa Barbara's farmers plow under transgenic crop Daniela Soleri strive to keep in focus and hardly anyone knows about it." residue after harvest," he writes in his the needs of the poor farmers most at The farmers, she says, are interested CEC paper. "Toxins may persist for two risk in this debate. to discuss the new transgenic products to three months, resisting degradation In a four-nation research project aptly but begin to shy away when they learn by binding to clay and humic acid soil called Bringing Farmers' Knowledge, about some of the down sides. particles while maintaining toxin activity Practice and Values into the Discussion INE's Ezcurra too worries about this (Palm et al. 1996). Such active Bt toxins of Transgenes in Traditionally Based group of citizens who not only are that end up and accumulate in soil and Agricultural Systems, Soleri has been among poorest, the most isolated water from transgenic leaf litter may traveling to Oaxaca (aided by a UC Mexicans; their survival depends on have negative impacts on soil and aquatic MEXUS Travel Grant). In the central traditional agriculture. They have the invertebrates and nutrient cycling." valleys, a dozen miles or so from the most to lose if transgenic gene flow So, while biotech companies test and city of Oaxaca, she and Flavio Aragón has overridingly negative effects. But launch more and more transgenic prod- Cuevas, maize breeder and genetic he believes that the last few years have ucts, the scientific and environmental resource specialist, Instituto Nacional brought a softening of the disagree- communities struggle to keep up with de Investigaciones Forestales, ments among opponents in the issue. the possible consequences. The U.S. Agricolas y Pecuarias (INIFAP), have "Three years ago the commercial received more than 3,200 requests to been talking to farmers about trans- interests said you could plant trans- field-test transgenic plants during 2001- genic crops to ensure that their genic corn without its flowing into the 3 of which more than a half (1700) were unadulterated views, knowledge and native population but all the research for maize. UNAM's Alvarez-Buylla practice will be presented at all levels has shown that gene flow is com- studied the applications and concluded of discussion. mon," he said. "Having industry and that biotechnological companies have Despite the international ruckus agricultural authorities accept that is a selected maize as the preferred medium about the (Chapela/Quist) paper in great step." for the production of chemicals. Nature," she notes with some irony, – by Frances Fernandes "Probably most will be innocuous to "you go 20 kilometers outside the city
UC MEXUS NEWS l Spring 2004 23 Latinos in California II Researchers share their insights Latino waiter serving lunch at time the group gathered in 2003 to women and none on queers. I and a the Latinos in California II disseminate their research and the lot of us came away with the feeling AConference in September asked maturation of the research infrastruc- that we learned a lot.” a participant what the event was about. ture, that was no longer the case. Conference organizers brought pol- “It’s about you,” he was told. Although Latinos represent 35 percent icy leaders into conversation with Had he been able to attend the work- of the state population, in many areas scholars who work on Latina/o issues shops at the Riverside Mission Inn, he of California Latinos are a majority – by including them in panel discus- would have recognized issues that affect and growing. And as the population sions. Their goal was to ensure that his daily life – the migration path he grows, so do the issues that beg for the newly gained knowledge did not followed; the conditions he labored investigation. stay trapped within the walls of aca- under; the lack of health care; his kids’ Since 1990, UC has allocated more demia but was available to stakehold- schooling, and the fantastical media than $7 million for Latino research. But ers and policymakers responsible for images of Mexico, and even Mexican the rapid growth of the population as a making decisions that could improve Americans, that bear little resemblance whole and Latinos in particular, along the lives of Latinas/os and all groups to the country and the culture he knows. with the economic, social and educa- in the state of California. For the last thirteen years UC tional changes in the state, have meant They also actively sought involve- researchers, at the behest of and with that scholars have been dealing with a ment from current and former gradu- funding from the state legislature, have moving target. ate students to highlight the work of been studying pressing issues such as “Since 1995, there have been new the upcoming generation of scholars. these as they affect Latinos in California. studies on education, health, politics “We all have worked long and hard In 1987, a state senate concurrent and the economy,” said Dolores to . . .nurture graduate students resolution (SCR 43) called upon UC to Trevizo who coordinated the event through the labyrinth of the research bring together a task force of scholars, with then-UC MEXUS Director Juan- process,” told the Zavella conference professionals, government officials and Vicente Palerm; conference commit- participants. community leaders to examine the key tee chair, UC Santa Cruz Professor The gathering also provided an issues affecting the state’s growing Patricia Zavella and committee mem- opportunity for many scholars who Latinos population. The resulting report bers UC Santa Barbara sociologist were budding researchers and junior framed a daunting challenge to improve Denise Segura; Andrés Jiménez, faculty during the 1995 event to catch opportunities for Latinos, and stressed director of the California Policy up with one another’s careers and to the need for education and research. UC Research Center and UC San Diego take another look at their own. then formed the Committee on Latino Ethnic Studies Professor Ramón “I look at labor markets,” Zavella Research (UCCLR), which funnels Gutiérrez. said, “and they are very gendered. funds to faculty and students through Although the general topics have Now I need to look more carefully and UC MEXUS, the Latino Policy Institute remained the same, this second con- ask different questions that I hadn’t and nine campus research programs. ference highlighted the increase in been asking before.” Five years later in 1995, UC faculty interdisciplinary work in cultural stud- A booklet containing articles by and students showcased the new and ies including research on the media some of the researchers and a list of expanded research that resulted from and popular culture, literature, history people and institutions that have the enhanced funding in a conference, and queer studies. received SCR 43 funding since 1995 Latinos in California. “There’s a sense of diversity in the is available from UC MEXUS. At that time, Latinos were growing Latino population,” Zavella said. “The in number but still a minority. By the first conference had no panel on
24 UC MEXUS NEWS l Fall 2003 - Winter 2004 Consumate storyteller Migrants’ stories illustrate inequities atricia Zavella likes to "He couldn't go back tell stories - other because he felt great shame," Ppeoples' and occasion- Zavella says. So he lives with ally her own. a relative facing a life without Her love of story and a prospects or future. passion to know about the Access to health care is a lives of those workers at problem not all migrant the bottom of the social workers anticipate when they scale have not only come to California. In Mexico, enriched her own research everyone is eligible for basic but that of others. medical services. In the U.S., Migrant farm workers, the the work available rarely working poor in general and Photo by Olga Ramírez-Nájeres provides health insurance. their lives often provide the UCCLR Chair Patrica Zavella, left, with fellow UC When problems occur, work- basis for Zavella's research Santa Cruz colleague psychology professor Aida ers don't know about or don't Hurtado and UCLA sociology professor Edward Tellez into the lives of Latino/as have access to the few non- during the Latinos In California II conference and of immigrants. Far from profit clinics that serve such being intrusive, her investi- populations, Zavella says, gation is often warmly embraced. and they feel fear and even shame about asking for services, "People's stories are valuable to them," she says. "They "They feel they have to rights to health care or social want me to tell their stories and take them to the public. It services," she says. "And because of Proposition 187, they matters a lot to disenfranchised people that people hear their feel it's inappropriate to ask for health care." stories especially around migration." Female workers face additional challenges, as Zavella dis- The working poor want U.S. society to see and under- covered in a study of the elements in Chicano and Mexican stand them, she says. Instead they are blamed for myriad society that define women's lives. In the fields, male workers societal ills. Her interview subjects tell her, "We are not predominate and sexual harassment of women runs rampant. heard, nobody cares and we suffer in silence." "It was like running a gauntlet to go to work," Zavella Zavella's early research into the chronically poor in says. "They are touched, propositioned and are constantly at Chicano, Mexican and white communities examined the risk for sexually transmitted disease." complex social relations affecting California's immigrants, Relatives in Mexico scrutinize real or imagined transgres- who were increasingly seen as a political threat, even as their sions. Zavella convened focus groups to help the women labor was instrumental in the service sector and agriculture. develop the skills to survive in such a hostile environment. Unlike whites living in poverty, Chicanos and Mexicanos By contrast, Mexican women workers dominate the food face ethnic and racial discrimination, she found, and often processing industry. When the Watsonville area suffered the become enmeshed in social conflict based on their race and widespread closure of food processing plants, Zavella joined poor English language skills. These issues are more than a forces with fellow UC Santa Cruz Latin American and Latino compilation of hard statistical evidence, she says. Those at Studies Professor John Borrego to examine the effect on thou- the bottom of the economic ladder live them out daily. sands of displaced workers. One young construction worker's lack of English con- Many women had worked in the plants for years and were tributed to his being permanently disabled. Without the state middle aged. Retraining gave them skills for lower-wage provided healthcare he would receive in Mexico, he is unable to work, to receive disability or to go home. Please see STORYTELLER, Page 26
UC MEXUS NEWS l Spring 2004 25 Storyteller UT, Arlington (then at COLEF) whose their children bring these differences Continued from Page 25 complementary expertise in urban home even more dramatically. work, but that often called for English povertyand community-based organiz- "They are losing their daughters to a skills they had never acquired. In addi- ing, and maquiladoras enhanced their set if values that are inappropriate." tion, they faced competition from work. Martha J. Sánchez, a UNAM Zavella, the product of a working younger male workers for the fieldwork researcher (Instituto de Investigaciones class family has found that her own that was available to them. In Mexico, Sociales) joined Zavella in looking at story has helped her empathize with where many of the plants had relocated, Zapotec migrants in México and those she studies and also approach her the two researchers discovered that the California. ("Género, etnicidad y work in less traditional ways. companies employed even lower-paid migración: historias de llegada de The eldest of 12 children in a working Mexican women and over time brought mujeres indígenas y no indígenas en el class Southern California family, when not prosperity, but increased poverty. norte del estado de California.") Zavella began to study the effect of social By the late '90s, more and more Once again, field research in inequality on people of Mexican origin researchers were taking an interest in Somona and Santa Cruz counties, and at UC Berkeley, she was appalled by the Zavella's work. in Mexico City, will result not only in traditional social scientific model. UC Santa Barbara's Denise Segura hard data but also a handful of in-depth In traditional scholarship, the culture joined Zavella in hosting a conference, stories to be published in an anthology of poverty is blamed on peoples' values "Mexican Women in Transnational this year. Many of these Napa valley and beliefs that make them poor and keep Context: Labor, Family and Migration," grape workers speak neither English them poor. She rejected that interpretation. which drew a couple of dozen scholars nor Spanish, but, because they tend to "We needed to talk about the social from many disciplines on both sides of work with extended family members, structure, limited opportunities and look border. The 1999 gathering at Zavella's their experience is quite different from at the consequences in welfare and home campus provided an unexpected the farm workers Zavella talked to immigration reform," she says. "We bonus in delineating the way studies of early in her academic career. need to broaden the political discussions women and work had evolved differently In 1995, while serving on a UC MEXUS about why they migrate and why they in the two countries. Whereas study of review committee, Zavella encountered want jobs, how they live their lives." women took hold among U.S. scholars the work of Xóchitl Castañeda, now Uncovering and telling her own sto- in the '70s with sophisticated analysis of director of the California-Mexico Health ries was perhaps one of the most diffi- race, class and gender, interest in migrant Initiative at the California Policy Research cult tasks, as she recounts in Telling to workers generally, and women in partic- Center. The two women have since joined Live: Latina Feminist Testimonios. ular, was a recent occurrence in Mexico. forces to study: "The Mexican Body: "As I tried to understand my heritage "There was a sense that they were Cross Border Perspectives on Sexuality through oral histories and storytelling, I lost to the nation," Zavella said. "Now and Health Among Women and Men." found a wall of reticence on both sides people are looking at transnational ties, Their work appears this year in the of the family," Zavella wrote. remittances, how people adapt, changes Journal of Latin American Anthropology Conveying the complexity of peoples' their children are going to experience." (special issue on racialization of Latinos). stories actually led her to ethnographic After a follow-up meeting in Chapala, How women see themselves as sex- writing, where she places stories about Mexico, Migrantes Mexicanas en Con- ual beings and in relationships gets experience in political, economic and textos Transnacionales: Trabajo, Familia changed when they come to live in social context. y Actividades Políticos-Comunitarios, another country, Zavella says. Their And while her work continues, the the two women joined forces with María sense of being mujeres decentes is chal- poor and disenfranchised need not fear Eugénia de la O Martínez of CIESAS, lenged in the way they dress, behave that they will suffer unseen and Guadalajara, and Christian Zlolniski, and the places the habituate dress, and unheard.
26 UC MEXUS NEWS l Spring 2004 BOOK REVIEW BY NORMA KLAHN Cisneros writes story for las Américas aramelo by Sandra Cisneros is nary being expressed by the narrator/ an ambitious novel. A story writer. If language renders the world a Cabout three generations of a familiar place, then Cisneros’ text can Mexican and Mexican American family, be seen as geographically and linguisti- it sets the stage for transnational cally mapping a new space out of encounters, cultural phenomena and which the Great Américas Novel will evocation of place (Chicago, Oaxaca, appear. Even though it falls short of Mexico City, San Antonio). The book the mark, Caramelo should be recog- also contains 500 years of history, nized as an important contribution in reflections on the function of narrative that endeavor. and, most important, a mixture of The 1984 publication of House on English and Spanish and the (mis) Mango Street brought Cisneros interna- translations that occur in bi-cultural tional renown. The book insightfully communities. and poetically captured the marginal- The narrator navigates the codes of ization of a people. Anticipating the both cultures with a mix of high and Latino literary boom of the late 1980s Caramelo by Sandra Cisneros. popular culture illustrated in songs, and early 1990s, House on Mango New York: Knopf , 2002. poems, films, popular icons and cele- Street provided a response to the poli- brated writers from both sides of the tics of exclusion that Mexican commu- Rio Bravo/Rio Grande. nities experienced in the U.S. Written imaginatively recreate a past she can Further, in a daring and original from an ethnic working class feminist only retrieve from memory. She selec- (albeit problematic) move, she uses perspective, the book sought to redefine tively pieces together stories from fami- English in literal translation from U.S. national discourse outside its ly members, who have their own ver- Spanish, effectively forcing the non- monolithic categories. Eighteen years sions of happenings. Spanish-speaking reader to enter a later, Caramelos’ cross-border and The story begins with the Reyes defamiliarized world via another transatlantic success attests to the family’s annual trip to Mexico City to tongue. “Tio Chato,” or “Tia Guera,” novel’s ability to capture the 21st cen- visit the “awful grandmother” who common forms of address in Latino tury realities of migratory flows, dislo- dotes on her artisan upholsterer son. families, become an insulting “Uncle cations and relocations that happen Inocencio, but rejects her daughter Lala, Fat Face,” or a racialized “Aunty Light- within and outside geo-political bound- protagonist, narrator and alter-ego of the Skin.” The birthday song, “Las aries, which are redefining ways of author. A traumatic revelation provides Mañanitas,” is rendered as the mislead- belonging to a homeland. The accelera- the pretext for disinterring the family ing “Little Mornings.” This linguistic tion of these movements in the past history and conveniently allows the device demonstrates that translating decade, when Cisneros was re-creating Scheherazade-like Lala to interrupt the words does not signify understanding the story of three generations in her storyline in true cliffhanger fashion, cultural significance. family, no doubt made possible the leaving the reader frustrated but captive. Written from another imaginary, the telling of these stories. They dramatize In the second part, the self-reflexive uninitiated reader must read the cul- the strong ties to their places of origin narrative, with Lala as a weaver/writer turescape on its own terms. Even syn- and kin that prompted Mexicans living of tales, will take many detours as she tax is translated literally. The English in the U.S. to shuttle back and forth. digs deeply to unearth the ghosts of the language must suffer changes so as not Cisneros takes verifiable events and “awful grandmother’s” past and her to deform the Mexican cultural imagi- characters but uses narrative fiction to eccentric offspring. Only in the last part of the book are the loose ends partially
UC MEXUS NEWS l Spring 2004 27 Cisneros: story for las Américas tied up. Stories about the past, the narra- impose her own modified version of for the love of Inocencio. The book tor reminds us, constantly shift in the events, consequences and resolutions. could have been titled, “My grand- retelling. These recollected accounts cor- The stories do serve as morality tales mother, myself.” rect, eliminate or add details according enabling Lala to reject the roles women to the vested interest of the teller – not in her family have played. Ironically orma Klahn, professor of least of whom is the protagonist/narra- and as a result of the on-going dialogue literature at UC Santa Cruz, tor/author herself. with the “awful grandmother,” she rec- Nstudies the literature and cul- The book is structured around the ognizes that she has not only inherited ture of Mexico and Latin America. She metaphor of the weaver. Lala is the her abuela’s caramelo rebozo, but also also looks at Chicana and Latina work thread that keeps the loose fragments her selfish and possessive attitudes. In connected. Early on we learn that Lala both cases, their behavior is presented from a cross-border perspective. She inherited her great-grandmother’s as a woman’s justifiable defense against has edited several critical anthologies caramelo rebozo (a striped shawl sym- patriarchy. One cannot help drawing the including Los novelistas como criticos, bolic of mestizo heritage), which the old conclusion, however, that the tension 1992, and Las nuevas fronterizas del woman left unfinished when died. In underlying Lala’s relationship with her signo XXI 2000. Her book, Resurgent traumatic situations, Lala weaves and “awful grandmother” is a competition Mexico, will be published later this year. unweaves the fringe as her grandmother did before her, all the while (de)con- structing the on-going stories, always unfinished, always modifiable. nterdisciplinary by design Fairy tale allusions to Rumpelstilskin VOLUME 19, NUMBER 2 SUMMER 2003 Iand international by and Cinderella compete with Mexican nature, Mexican Studies/ melodrama and soap operas as Cisneros Estudios Mexicanos is the searches for a narrative tone and style to only U.S. published best accommodate this family’s endless academic journal devoted exclusively to the study of tales. The narrator claims that soap Mexico and its people. Read operas are a true rendering of reality, articles in either English or but even as Lala strives to find truth and Spanish that examine the moral integrity, the story remains too cultural, historical, political, close to the surface. The humanizing social, academic and scien- tific factors affecting the gestures of repentance and redemption UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS country's development. that could have deepened the charac- ters’ emotional range appear, if at all, ‘The major source for the literature on trends late in the telling. in Mexican scholarship,’ The book is more parody than melo- Roderic Ai Campo, Tulane University drama and the characters teeter on the Subscribe Online Today! verge of caricature. The narrator is nei- http://www.ucpress.edu/journals/msem ther generous nor sympathetic towards Individual: $30 Institutional: $100 Student/Retiree: $18 Electronic only: most of her characters. With an authori- tarian stance, dictatorial mode and University of California Press, Journals Division didactic impulse, Lala interrupts and 2000 Center St., Suite 303 suppresses the voices from the past to Berkeley, CA 94704-1223
28 UC MEXUS NEWS l Spring 2004 BOOK REVIEW BY DANIELA SOLERI Dangerous Liaisons? When Plant promiscuity cultivated plants outhern Mexico is a fascinating maize's wild relative, teosinte, mate with place for anyone, academic or an important genetic resource? their wild not, interested in agriculture. It Does it matter? relatives, S Norman C. lies at the center of the region, home to Suddenly, gene flow among Ellstrand, such major agricultural civilizations as plants was pushed from a spe- 2003, the Zapotec, Mixtec and Maya, respon- cialized area of research to Johns sible for outstanding intellectual, social headline news around the world. Hopkins and cultural accomplishments including UC Riverside geneticist University architecture and art of striking beauty Norman C. Ellstrand, a leader in Press and elegance. plant gene flow research for Agriculture was and remains the nearly 20 years, has gathered what he relatives or other associated species was foundation of indigenous peoples' liveli- and others have learned on the subject considered minimal and inconsequen- hood in an area that has produced some into a new book Dangerous Liaisons? tial. Now, however, hybridization has of the best known social and political When cultivated plants mate with their been documented in 22 of the 25 most movements for the rights of indigenous wild relatives. Though only one chapter widely grown crops in the world, some- rural people. Many crops of global deals with transgene flow per se, the times with substantial consequences for importance (maize, common beans, whole book examines the theory and weed control or crop yields. Studies of squash, sunflowers and chiles) originated evidence that are prerequisites to under- plant mating systems, genera and grow- and were domesticated here. Their wild standing transgene flow and its conse- ing environments show that hybridiza- relatives still grow here, where fields quences. tion is the rule not the exception. and gardens may contain rich and valu- Ellstrand takes us on a systematic tour The book then considers the conse- able diversity. of the key biological questions regarding quences and implications of crop to These are some of the reasons for the gene flow between domesticated plants wild-relative gene flow. Ellstrand chal- explosive response to a 2001 paper by (genetically engineered or not) and their lenges common assumptions about gene two UC Berkeley scientists (Quist, D. wild relatives. Many questions are also flow in general and the potential risk of and I. H. Chapela, "Transgenic DNA intro- relevant to gene flow among domesticated transgene movement in particular. He gressed into traditional maize landraces plants, and all are relevant to gene flow discusses theory and evidence directly in Oaxaca, Mexico" Nature 414:541-43) between genetically engineered maize relevant to some of the most contentious reporting that they had found genes of and traditional maize varieties or teosintes. issues in the debate about the Oaxaca genetically engineered maize in tradi- He begins by orienting us to terms report and agricultural genetic engineer- tional varieties in secluded areas of and basic theory and then looking at ing. He shows that, even if a gene is Oaxaca, Mexico. whether hybridization (successful mating detrimental in the local context, it may Coming in the midst of an escalating of plants from genetically distinct popu- still persist or even increase in a plant worldwide debate about genetic engi- lations or different taxonomic groups) population under certain conditions. It is neering, the Oaxaca report raised many between domesticated and wild plants not always accurate to assume that, out- fundamental questions about how we occurs. This section examines research side specifically tailored agricultural use and regulate genetically engineered evidence – some clarifying theory; some environments, transgenes will have a crops. Did transgenes (genes from other demanding a re-evaluation of common fitness cost making plants bearing trans- taxa) in genetically engineered maize assumptions not borne out by empirical genes unable to compete with transgene- varieties move into local maize? Will studies. For example, hybridization free plants. In some cases, repeated flow they persist? Will they move into between domesticated plants and wild Please see PROMISCUOUS, Page 31
UC MEXUS NEWS l Spring 2004 29 OOKSHELF UC MEXUS receives many books to review. The most recent 2003 acquisitions are listed below. An updated list is maintained on the Institute Website: www.ucmexus.ucr.edu.
Brooks, David & Jonathan Fox, Cross-Border Dialogues: Mini-biographies of Mexicans throughout more than 250 years U.S. - Mexico Social Movement Networking. UC Regents of the country's history provide insight into the issues of nation- Assessments of a decade of social responses to economic inte- alism and globalization, modernization and its effects on ordi- gration between Mexico and the U.S., documenting the emer- nary people, and the struggle for the self. gence of social organizations and constituencies as key actors in Pitti, Stephen J. The Devil in Silicon Valley: Northern Cali- the bilateral relationship. fornia, Race & Mexican Americans. Princeton University Press Carrera, Magali M., Imaginary Identity in New Spain: Stories of disparate residents – early Spanish-Mexican settlers, Race, Lineage, and the Colonial Body in Portraiture and Gold Rush miners, transplanted farmworkers, Chicano move- ment activists and late-twentieth-century musicians – provide a Casta Paintings. University of Texas Press broad reevaluation of California history, the Latino political tra- Study of 18th century portraiture and casta paintings as a reflection dition and the story of labor in the American West. of Spanish government attempted to categorize its subjects through social regulation of their bodies and the spaces they inhabited. Rodriguez, Victoria E., Women in Contemporary Mexican Politics. University of Texas Press Felix Longoria's Wake: Bereavement, Carrol, Patrick J., An analysis of Mexican women who have seized new opportunities Racism & the Rise of Mexican Activism..University of Texas Press to participate in the political process through elected and appointed A study of the international furore ignited when a Three Rivers, office, nongovernmental organizations, and grass roots activism. Texas, funeral home refusal to hold a wake for much decorated Private First Class Felix Longoria because "whites would not like it." Smedley, Brian D., Adrienne Y. Stith & Alan R. Nelson, Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial and Gutman, Matthew C., Changing Men and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care. National Academy Press Masculinities in Latin America. Duke University Press Patients' and providers' attitudes, expectations and behavior analyzed Essays by well-known U.S. Latin Americanists and newly trans- for persons of color’s experience in the health care environment. lated works by noted Latin American scholars examine studies on and commonalities to masculinity across Latin America. Humberto Crosthwaite, Luis, Puro Border: Dispatches, Publishers Snapshots, Graffiti from the U.S./Mexico Border. Cinco Cinco Puntos Press, 701 Texas, El Paso, Texas 79901 Puntos Press Tel.:1-800-566-9072 http://www.cincopuntos.com Photographs and graffiti outside the world's largest gated com- Duke University Press, Box 90660, Durham, NC 27708-0660 munity help create a collage of life en la frontera that is rooted Tel.: 919-687-3650 http://www.dukeupress.edu in the best writing from both sides of the border. National Academy Press, 2101 Constitution Ave., NW Box 285, Washington, D.C. 20055 Tel: 800-624-6242 http://www.nap.edu Joseph, Gilbert M. & Timothy J. Henderson. Mexico Princeton University Press, 41 William St., Princeton, New Jersey Reader: History, Culture, Politics. Duke University Press 08540 Tel: 609-258-4900 http://www.pup.princeton.edu A collection of poetry, fiction, polemics, photo essays and scholar- Scholarly Resources, 104 Greenhill Ave., Wilmington, DE 79805- ly writing serving as a guide to the history and culture of Mexico 1897 Tel.: 800-772-8937 http://www.scholarly.com Smithsonian Institution Press, 750 Ninth St. NW, Washington, DC Oropesa, Salvador A., Contemporaneos Group: Rewriting 20560-0950 Tel.: 202-275-2300. http://www.sipress.si.edu Mexico in the Thirties and Forties. University of Texas Press University of Texas Press, P.O. Box 7819, Austin, TX 78713-7819 Examining the work of five contemporaries – Salvador Novo, Tel: 512-471-4032. http://www.utexas.edu/utpress Xavier Villaurrutia, Augustin Lazo, Guadalupe Marin, and Jorge University of California Press, 2120 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, CA Cuesta – writers that emerged after the Mexican Revolution and 94720 Tel.: (510) 642-4247 http://www.ucpress.edu University of Arizona Press, 355 S. Euclid, Ste. 103, Tucson, AZ challenged the nationalist and masculinist image of Mexico that 85719. Tel: 520-621-1441 www.uapress.arizona.edu Revolutionary writers, artists and movimakers propagated. University of Notre Dame Press, 310 Flanner Hall, Notre Dame, IN 46556. Tel: 800-621-2736 www.undpress.notredame.edu Pilcher, Jeffrey, Human Tradition in Mexico. Scholarly Resources
30 UC MEXUS NEWS l Spring 2004 Plant promiscuity
Continued from Page 29 lacks substance, documentation or reflec- l Who will pay to monitor tradition- of locally beneficial genes may result in tion – useful attributes given the broad ally based agricultural systems for a short-term net increase in wild relative interest in genetic engineering and gene transgene flow and for consequences diversity, depending on the number and flow in agriculture and related issues. such as the evolution of pest resistance diversity of gene sources. Ellstrand provides clarity in the midst of to specific transgenes? Ellstrand concludes that gene flow contentious debate – guiding us along a l When introduction of genetically between crops and their wild relatives path of theory and ideas that can be test- engineered crops is considered, how does not differ significantly in geneti- ed empirically. Equally important, he will the values of local communities cally engineered crops and those that adheres to the logical, albeit neglected, (into whose fields and gardens those are not. But in some instances the con- flipside of this approach: It is inappropri- transgenes may move be weighed? Will sequences may become harmful and dif- ate to eliminate possible scenarios sim- their values be respected in the same way ficult to control. In European sugar beet ply because empirical tests are lacking. as those of people demanding kosher food fields, crop x wild beet hybrids became Similarly, he recognizes the limits of bio- or organically grown produce? devastating weeds. And hybridization logical research, pointing out that biolo- "Thinking about impacts (of geneti- among two genetically engineered and gy is only one aspect of this issue. cally engineered crops) involves think- one non-engineered herbicide-resistant Discussion continues both in Mexico ing out of the box," Ellstrand says on canola variety resulted in plants resistant and globally about genetic engineering page 164. This timely, useful and enjoy- to three kinds of herbicides that, under and the consequences of transgene flow able book helps us start to do just certain circumstances, became weeds. into local maize varieties and teosinte. that. He demonstrates that we cannot Dangerous Liaisons? provides an under- aniela Soleri, research ignore hybridization between crops standing of gene flow that will help begin scientist and lecturer in the (whether genetically engineered or not) to untangle such complex questions about DEnvironmental Studies Pro- and their wild relatives even if the nega- genetic engineering as: gram, UC Santa Barbara, is currently tive environmental or socioeconomic l What will be the long-term effect investigating farmers' knowledge and consequences occur only occasionally. of transgene flow on genetic diversity in practices relevant to transgene flow in The book's accessible style neither such areas of crop origin and diversity as Meso-America, and olive gene flow presumes that readers are specialists, nor Oaxaca? in North America. CUT HERE
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UC MEXUS NEWS l Spring 2004 31 UC ON THE WEB ART UC MEXUS: http://www.ucr.edu/ucmexus/index.htm P.1 Environmental Fallout, 1997, Beverly Ellstrand, University of California’s ten campuses provide a wealth of 22 by 28 inches, mixed media. Reprinted from information on their Websites. These URLs lead to details artwork by Johns Hopkins University Press about the UC system, individual campuses, academic depart- P. 16 Puebla earthquake photos by R.B. Seed, ments, research programs, faculty, researchers and admissions: P. 17 Tlaloc reprinted, by permission, ©University of California Press, 1983, Codex Magliabechiano UC Office of the President, 1111 Franklin Street, Oakland, CA 94607 edited by Elizabeth Hill Boone http://www.ucop.edu P. 19 Map reprinted, by permission, NAFTA UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720 Commission for Environmental Cooperation http://www.berkeley.edu/ from a working paper, “Economic Valuation and UCR, Davis, CA 95616 Trade-Related Issues,” by Scott Vaughan P. 21 Corn picture, by permission, NAFTA http://www.ucdavis.edu Commission for or Environmental Cooperation UC Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697 P. 27 Book cover art courtesy of Knopf http://www.uci.edu P. 29 Book cover art courtesy of Johns Hopkins Press UC Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095 http://www.ucla.edu UC MEXUS NEWS UC Merced, Merced, CA 95344 Published by the University of California Institute http://www.ucmerced.edu for Mexico and the United States (UC MEXUS) UC Riverside, Riverside, CA 92521 UC MEXUS Director: http://www.ucr.edu Roberto Sánchez-Rodríguez UC San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093 Editor: Andrea Kaus http://www.ucsd.edu Senior Writer: Frances Fernandes UC San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143 Correspondence: 3324 Olmsted Hall, University of http://www.ucsf.edu California, Riverside, CA. 92521; phone 951-827- UC Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106 3519; fax 951-827-3856 http://www.ucsb.edu UC Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 © 2004 The Regents of the University of California http://www.ucsc.edu No article may be reprinted without permission of the publisher
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