Watering the Revolution

An Environmental and Technological History of Agrarian Reform in Mexico

Nonfiction, History, Americas, Mexico, Science & Nature, Nature, Environment, Environmental Conservation & Protection
Cover of the book Watering the Revolution by Mikael D. Wolfe, Duke University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Mikael D. Wolfe ISBN: 9780822373063
Publisher: Duke University Press Publication: June 22, 2017
Imprint: Duke University Press Books Language: English
Author: Mikael D. Wolfe
ISBN: 9780822373063
Publisher: Duke University Press
Publication: June 22, 2017
Imprint: Duke University Press Books
Language: English

In Watering the Revolution Mikael D. Wolfe transforms our understanding of Mexican agrarian reform through an environmental and technological history of water management in the emblematic Laguna region. Drawing on extensive archival research in Mexico and the United States, Wolfe shows how during the long Mexican Revolution (1910-1940) engineers’ distribution of water paradoxically undermined land distribution. In so doing, he highlights the intrinsic tension engineers faced between the urgent need for water conservation and the imperative for development during the contentious modernization of the Laguna's existing flood irrigation method into one regulated by high dams, concrete-lined canals, and motorized groundwater pumps. This tension generally resolved in favor of development, which unintentionally diminished and contaminated the water supply while deepening existing rural social inequalities by dividing people into water haves and have-nots, regardless of their access to land. By uncovering the varied motivations behind the Mexican government’s decision to use invasive and damaging technologies despite knowing they were ecologically unsustainable, Wolfe tells a cautionary tale of the long-term consequences of short-sighted development policies.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In Watering the Revolution Mikael D. Wolfe transforms our understanding of Mexican agrarian reform through an environmental and technological history of water management in the emblematic Laguna region. Drawing on extensive archival research in Mexico and the United States, Wolfe shows how during the long Mexican Revolution (1910-1940) engineers’ distribution of water paradoxically undermined land distribution. In so doing, he highlights the intrinsic tension engineers faced between the urgent need for water conservation and the imperative for development during the contentious modernization of the Laguna's existing flood irrigation method into one regulated by high dams, concrete-lined canals, and motorized groundwater pumps. This tension generally resolved in favor of development, which unintentionally diminished and contaminated the water supply while deepening existing rural social inequalities by dividing people into water haves and have-nots, regardless of their access to land. By uncovering the varied motivations behind the Mexican government’s decision to use invasive and damaging technologies despite knowing they were ecologically unsustainable, Wolfe tells a cautionary tale of the long-term consequences of short-sighted development policies.

More books from Duke University Press

Cover of the book Skin Acts by Mikael D. Wolfe
Cover of the book Revolutionary Nativism by Mikael D. Wolfe
Cover of the book The Male Pill by Mikael D. Wolfe
Cover of the book Facing the Planetary by Mikael D. Wolfe
Cover of the book Socialist Realism without Shores by Mikael D. Wolfe
Cover of the book Detente in Europe by Mikael D. Wolfe
Cover of the book The Age of Beloveds by Mikael D. Wolfe
Cover of the book The Promise of Happiness by Mikael D. Wolfe
Cover of the book The Abolition of Slavery and the Aftermath of Emancipation in Brazil by Mikael D. Wolfe
Cover of the book A Not So Foreign Affair by Mikael D. Wolfe
Cover of the book Idle Fictions by Mikael D. Wolfe
Cover of the book The Last "Darky" by Mikael D. Wolfe
Cover of the book New Masters, New Servants by Mikael D. Wolfe
Cover of the book From Fanatics to Folk by Mikael D. Wolfe
Cover of the book Constitutionalism, Identity, Difference, and Legitimacy by Mikael D. Wolfe
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy