HUMBERTO GONZALEZ | Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios Superiores en Antropología Social (CIESAS)

Papers by HUMBERTO GONZALEZ

By the late 1950s, the neglect of small producers and peasants and their increased dislocation le... more By the late 1950s, the neglect of small producers and peasants and their increased dislocation led to increased rural militancy in growing areas of the Mexican countryside. 18 Under the auspices of the Popular Socialist Party (PPS) and the Unión General de Obreros y Campesinos Mexicanos (UGOCM), Jacinto López led peasants in an 14 • Enrique C. Ochoa and David E. Lorey discussed here remain vexing problems for Mexico, as the uprising in Chiapas continues to remind us, and will remain relevant to policy issues far into the future. FOOrnOlES 1 From the text of article 27, reprinted in Jesús Silva Herzog, El agrarisrrw mexicano y la refonna agraria: Exposición y crítica

Carta Económica Regional, 1996

Carta Económica Regional, 2008

Alternative ways of trading, that are based on ideologies appealing to ethics, redistribution and... more Alternative ways of trading, that are based on ideologies appealing to ethics, redistribution and sustainable agriculture, have emerged in the world market. These alternatives are favourable to small-scale coffee farmers in developing countries, who have been capable to organise and to improve the quality of their coffee. Furthermore, the fair-trade stresses the growing role of non-governmental organizations as global articulators and agents of local change, when nation states have reduced their involvement in the economy and the development in front of multinational corporations.

Development Studies Research, 2014

Large-scale specialization in monoculture production for export markets infringes upon the agricu... more Large-scale specialization in monoculture production for export markets infringes upon the agricultural and food systems and security of the populations of exporting countries that adopt export-oriented policies because it: (a) entails adopting production patterns that over-exploit and deteriorate the natural and human resources of agricultural regions; (b) subordinates producers and consumers in agroexporting countries to the interests of transnational intermediary companies and the regulations of foreign government agencies that prioritize the interests of their own citizens; and (c) restricts the right of domestic consumers to access a nourishment that is sufficient, healthy and culturally acceptable. The study of this Mexican case allows us to better understand the agricultural and food situation that is currently emerging in developing countries that choose to broadly apply neoliberal policies. Mexico has one of the most open agricultural sectors and is a leading international exporter of several fruits and vegetables; but at the same time it is a net importer of basic foods for its domestic population. This case study is analyzed from the perspectives of plantation-oriented agricultural practices and global commodity chains; however, neither of these perspectives considers the problems of environmental degradation and food security, both of which are studied in this work.

Desacatos. Revista de Ciencias Sociales, Apr 1, 2014

Proyecto académico sin fines de lucro, desarrollado bajo la iniciativa de acceso abierto

Resumen es: Con base en el concepto de vulnerabilidad alimentaria se analizan las implicaciones q... more Resumen es: Con base en el concepto de vulnerabilidad alimentaria se analizan las implicaciones que, en los ultimos veinticinco anos, ha tenido la politica agroalime...

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2019

The use of pesticides in agricultural activities has increased significantly during the last deca... more The use of pesticides in agricultural activities has increased significantly during the last decades. Several studies have reported the health damage that results from exposure to pesticides. In Mexico, hundreds of communities depend economically on agricultural activities. The participation of minors in this type of activity and their exposure to pesticides represents a potential public health problem. A cross-sectional study was conducted, in which urine samples (first-morning urine) were taken from children under 15 years of age in both communities. A total of 281 urine samples obtained in both communities were processed for the determination of pesticides with high-performance liquid chromatography together with tandem mass spectrometry. In 100% of the samples, at least two pesticides of the 17 reported in the total samples were detected. The presence of malathion, metoxuron, and glyphosate was remarkable in more than 70% of the cases. Substantial differences were detected regar...

This article studies the impact of neoliberal policies that have been implemented by the Governme... more This article studies the impact of neoliberal policies that have been implemented by the Government of Mexico from the 1980s on the food-base of the country. These policies have made the living conditions of large sections of the population precarious, making it harder for them to gain access to a diet that is sufficient, healthy, nutritious, and culturally acceptable. The article uses the concept of agrifood vulnerability to determine the social and environmental risks to which individuals, groups, sectors, and nations are exposed. This helps define the extent to which neoliberal policies provide, or do not provide, capacities and skills for individuals, groups, and nations to resist and recover from natural, economic, and social threats. These threats can put sustainable production and the access to food by present and future generations to risk. The concept of agrifood vulnerability can thus be used also to analyse the discriminatory food policy that prevails on a national and global scale.

Agroecological reconfiguration alternatives are programmes of action developed by local and regio... more Agroecological reconfiguration alternatives are programmes of action developed by local and regional organizations seeking to reverse environmental degradation produced by intensive industrialized farming. Growers who take part in them recognize their interdependence with the ecosystem and are aware of the need to act collectively in order to regain the productivity and competitiveness that have been lost through the degeneration of natural resources. The varied patterns of production developed by those promoting these alternatives are mixed, and have to demonstrate technical and economic viability; they must also justify themselves through commitment to a sustainable environmental and social development of the region. The diverse public and private actors involved share a sense that the ecosystem is a common heritage that must be safeguarded. Today, agroecological reconfiguration alternatives are the most effective initiatives for the environmental governance of agriculture in Mexico._ 357 484..502

Estudios Sociologicos, 1998

... la política agrícola nacional en México, presentada de manera sucinta, plantea que el central... more ... la política agrícola nacional en México, presentada de manera sucinta, plantea que el centralismo, ... tencia y funcionamiento fueron interpretados y aplicados de múltiples maneras por los productores ... Este habitus lo he denominado pragmatismo jurídico, y nos revela que existe ...

This study examined issues affecting teacher shortages in Texas, noting how school districts were... more This study examined issues affecting teacher shortages in Texas, noting how school districts were dealing with it. The research focused on whether district size, ethnic student makeup, or district property wealth would make a difference in a school district's ability to recruit and retain quality teachers. A two-part questionnaire was mailed to all Texas school districts, and 325 out of 1,078 responded. The questionnaire asked for quantitative data about types of vacancies, percentage of students in various academic programs, starting salaries, extra pay for types of degrees and certification, local incentives and benefits for teachers, strategies for filling vacancies, and conditions under which non-certified teachers were hired. It also asked for qualitative data about the impact of teacher shortage; retaining, recruiting, and mentoring; and strategies the state should implement to guarantee an adequate supply of teachers. Researchers grouped the districts by student population numbers and divided them into categories of wealth and categories of ethnicity (predominantly Hispanic or predominantly white). Results indicated that ethnicity made a significant difference in the number of teaching vacancies. Size also made a significant difference, but wealth had no effect on the number of vacancies school districts reported. (Contains 10 references.) (SM)

International Journal of Food Science & Technology, 2010

Mechanisms of global governance, developed in response to initiatives adopted by the FAO to comba... more Mechanisms of global governance, developed in response to initiatives adopted by the FAO to combat hunger and confront food crises, are the result of wide ranging historical debates using three basic criteria for justification: the scientific, the political-ideological, and the ethical. On the basis of these criteria, certain forms of understanding and acting on agriculture, health and nutrition at global level have come to be accepted as valid. Currently the debate and the resulting proposals are based on the recognition of food as a universal human right.

Con base en el concepto de vulnerabilidad alimentaria se analizan las implicaciones que, en los ú... more Con base en el concepto de vulnerabilidad alimentaria se analizan las implicaciones que, en los últi-mos veinticinco años, ha tenido la política agroalimentaria de México en el acceso sustentable de la población a una alimentación suficiente, nutritiva y saludable. Este análisis considera tanto factores de orden natural (diversidad genética, cambio climático y degradación ambiental), como económi-co (autosuficiencia alimentaria e importación y exportación de alimentos) y social (movilidad de la población, ingreso y niveles de pobreza). Concluye que la política agroalimentaria en México ha con-tribuido a una mayor vulnerabilidad alimentaria de la población mexicana en el corto y mediano plazo. PALABRAS CLAVE: vulnerabilidad, política agroalimentaria, seguridad alimentaria, sustentabilidad de la agricultura Nutritional Vulnerability and Mexico's Agro-Alimentary Policy Based on the concept of nutritional vulnerability, this paper studies the effects of Mexico's agro-alimentary policy on the population's sustainable access to an adequate, nourishing and healthy nutrition during the last twenty-five years.This analysis takes into consideration natural factors (genetic diversity, climate change and environmental degradation), economic factors (food self-sufficiency and food importation and exportation), as well as social factors (population mobility, income and poverty levels). It concludes that Mexico's agro-alimentary policy has deepened the population's nutritional vulnerability for the short and medium term.

Contemporary Sociology, 1989

RETURN AZTLAN The Social Process of International Migration from Western Mexico Douglas Massey Ra... more RETURN AZTLAN The Social Process of International Migration from Western Mexico Douglas Massey Rafael Alarcon Jorge Durand Humberto Gonzalez ... RETURN TO AZTLAN This One 95TX-341-J5RX ... STUDIES IN DEMOGRAPHY General Editors Eugene A. Hammel ...