Efraím Hernández, Chapingo, and Mexico's Green
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UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA GRADUATE COLLEGE A DIFFERENT SHADE OF GREEN: EFRAÍM HERNÁNDEZ, CHAPINGO, AND MEXICO’S GREEN REVOLUTION, 1950-1967 A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE FACULTY in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY By MATTHEW CAIRE-PÉREZ Norman, Oklahoma 2016 A DIFFERENT SHADE OF GREEN: EFRAÍM HERNÁNDEZ, CHAPINGO, AND MEXICO’S GREEN REVOLUTION, 1950-1967 A DISSERTATION APPROVED FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY BY ______________________________ Dr. Sterling Evans, Chair ______________________________ Dr. James Cane-Carrasco ______________________________ Dr. Ben Keppel ______________________________ Dr. Warren Metcalf ______________________________ Dr. Laurel Smith © Copyright by MATTHEW CAIRE-PÉREZ 2016 All Rights Reserved. Dedication This dissertation is dedicated to my mother, who is the only hero I have ever had in my life, and my mentors: Sterling Evans, Amílcar Challú, James Cane-Carrasco, Ben Keppel, Cathy Kelly, and Heike Vibrans. Acknowledgements Anyone who really knows me is aware that I struggle with academic niceties. I could never thank the people who have helped me over the last six years in a reserved, subdued (i.e, academic) tone. That amounts to an impossible task. Consequently, I will use informal phrases and what some people may consider mawkish prose to convey my appreciation. I also intend to break a cardinal rule in academic prose: I will repeat myself. I will not spend too much time locating creative ways to say “thank you” to people when “thanks” or “thank you” works best. Most of the people mentioned below will understand and appreciate my candor. Sterling Evans deserves first mention. His dedication to seeing me finish this dissertation has been unmatched. Over the last six years no one else has dealt with my intellectual immaturity and personal shortcomings more than Sterling, and I thank him for his patience. I should use this forum to tell him how much I appreciate his support, particularly when campus authorities took exception to what I still see as harmless comments. This is also the place where I should thank Dr. Evans for supporting my decision not to enter academia. He invested so much effort into molding me to be a history professor, and I know how much my decision stung him. But Sterling’s support has never wavered. Words cannot begin to describe how gratifying it is to have an adviser who respects my wishes and encourages me to pursue my aspirations, regardless of how counterintuitive they may appear. I have other fantastic mentors who deserve recognition. Jim Cane-Carrasco probably doesn’t remember pulling me aside in a campus parking lot and deftly telling me that I was being intellectually lazy in his seminar. I vividly remember the night, and iv I’m grateful that Jim told me to step up my game. Thank you, Jim, for teaching me the question that all historians should be able to answer: “So what?” You also earned my sincerest appreciation for helping me find a title to this dissertation. Ben Keppel merits mention for many things, namely for appropriately dismantling my half-brained arguments that defied logic and lacked rigor. More than one person has told me about the support Dr. Keppel has given me during my time in Norman, and I hope he knows that his encouragement fortified me during many difficult days. Other people at OU have helped me tremendously. Dr. Terry Rugeley is responsible for breaking many of my bad habits as a student and for showing me how to behave like a scholar. Dr. Warren Metcalf supported me behind closed doors, and I appreciate his vocal support. Thank you, Dr. Laurel Smith, for reading this dissertation and for giving me insightful comments. I never had the good fortune of taking one of Cathy Kelly’s seminars, but I did have the honor of serving as one of her assistants. Her demeanor in class gave me valuable lessons in how to be a professional in academia. She also taught me how to deal with the foolishness that women and other underrepresented groups face in the academy. I never intend to stop thanking Amílcar Challú for his encouragement since we met in 2007. He would’ve been justified to tell me to kick rocks several times, but he never did. When self-doubts overwhelmed me while writing this dissertation, Amílcar graciously took my phone calls, and he has no idea how much he helped. Gracias por la fortaleza. Many people in Mexico warrant mention. Heike Vibrans has been extremely supportive from the moment we met a couple years ago, when I showed up to her office v begging for favors. She knows that this dissertation would have never begun without her kindness to a stranger. I must thank each of the persons who allowed me to interview them for this dissertation. Most of your names didn’t make the final draft, and I sincerely apologize. But each of you has helped me understand so much about Efraím Hernández, and I will remain indebted to all of you for a long time. No one appreciates Marce Ramírez’s work as a librarian more than me. His procurement of articles, documents, and random pieces of information helped me tremendously. Jorge Ocampo’s generosity and patience are immeasurable, and I thank him for educating me on agricultural education in Mexico. His colleagues at Chapingo’s Archivo Histórico – Hiram Núñez, Rosaura Reyes, and their assistants – went above and beyond the call of duty and I will forever be grateful. Other amiga(o)s who deserve recognition include José Antonio López, Cristóbal Sánchez, Erasmo Vásquez, Yasmani Rafael Arenas, and Dani. Cristóbal, Toño, and Erasmo, my apologies for nearly getting us into trouble in Oaxaca. I owe the Velasco household quite a bit for their kindness during my time in Chalco. For his hospitality, I thank Dr. Alejandro Tortolero. Finally, I must recognize Marina, who made my time in Mexico truly memorable. Archivists are a historian’s friends. Accordingly, I thank many staff members at the Archivo General de la Nación for helping with a number of requests. At the Hernández archive, Verónica and Dr. Josué Kohashi-Shibata proved immensely helpful and both helped with countless favors for which I will always be grateful. Staffers at the Biblioteca Central in Chapingo, particularly Marce Ramírez, Jorge Ocampo, Hiram Núñez, and Rosaura Reyes, deserve hugs for the guidance they gave me when I was lost vi in Mexico. Lee Hiltzik and several employees at the Rockefeller Foundation Archive deserve many thanks, too. Many people in Oklahoma have helped me tremendously over the last six years. Sara Huber and Molly Murphy in the Interlibrary Loan Department at OU found many obscure titles that I needed to complete this project, and they know that their work proved instrumental in helping me complete this dissertation. The Graduate College and the Department of History at the University of Oklahoma helped defray some of the costs of my research trips, and I recognize their contributions in this space. But most of the money that it took to fund this dissertation came from my job with the National Park Service in Oklahoma City, and I am happy to acknowledge the individuals who supported me. Bruce Noble, Tucker Blythe, and Skip Wheeler must be mentioned for giving me time off while I researched in Mexico. Other people in Oklahoma City – John Withers, Karena Minor, Frank Torres, Michael Washington, Melanie Sander, Lindsay Compton, Athena Gonzalez, Alicia Bento, Tawna Dickens, Natasha Moore, Brandan Crabill, Leon Gillum, Craig Baxter, Randy Roschal, James Sing, and Bill Wright – have tolerated my contrarianism for years, and I am grateful for their patience. Friends have helped me maintain my sanity during graduate school. Fred Hall, I will not forget that you offered me a shoulder to lean on during rough patches in my personal life. Dustin, Chelsey, and Kelley are beautiful people who I consider dear friends. I will always appreciate our “grown-up” conversations during our many drinking sessions. Most of the time that I spend with Clayton Vaughn-Roberson involves a shouting match over some inane topic. Thanks for the verbal rows. vii It is difficult to be a graduate student of color in Norman for a number of reasons, but it’s manageable when you have friends who share the same experiences. I thank Gary Moreno and Ariana Quezada for their friendships and for giving me much- needed aliento during my time in Oklahoma. I am proud to say that the three of us are now professional colleagues. Los quiero como hermanos, por cierto. I would be thoughtless to not thank scholars who have, knowingly and unknowingly, helped me with this dissertation. Tore Olsson’s work showed me how a dissertation should be written. This dissertation fails to match his research, even remotely. Nevertheless I thank him for sharing his work with me and for his offerings of support. His research also influenced my thoughts in several spots, particularly in my first chapter. I thank Jorge Ocampo, Hiram Núñez, and their colleagues for their collection of documents and oral histories. Their published account of the 1967 agricultural college strike gave me a foundation on which to build my final chapter. Finally, I must thank Elizabeth Fitting and Karin Matchett. Both helped tremendously, specifically because they pointed out inexplicable blank spots in my research process. John Stewart offered critical comments concerning one of my chapters, and I thank him for his time. My family’s support has been overwhelming. Aunt Maggie and Uncle Jaime, it’s an honor to be your nephew. Mom, your help has never wavered during my time in Oklahoma. You deserve my degree as much as I do, and it will be in the mail shortly after I receive it.