Jungle Labs

Jungle Laboratories written by Gabriela Soto Laveaga included everything, from political attempts of control to social importance to the empowerment of rural peasants. The thoroughness was sometimes a little overwhelming, but it was interesting none the less. As with many of the books we’ve read so far, Soto Laveaga gives readers a sense of liberation for peasants as it allowed them to “[use] the barbasco trade to crave out new positions foe themselves in the countryside” (226). She makes it her duty to write about these peasants, rather than the motivations of companies who finance the pill. We see the necessity of their expertise come into play as the plant’s popularity increased throughout the mid-1900s, including Russell Marker, an American chemist who first synthesized steroids.

            Soto Laveaga was careful to illustrate these rural Mexicans’ increased sense in identity. Although conditions were laborious and payment was low, pickers could climb socially. In other words, they had the potential to start out as a barbasco gatherer and become skilled experts at negotiating agreements with those financially involved. This new found identity allowed for many Mexicans to become advocators of economic reform. Although they failed to set up a Mexican state-run company, readers see a different type of individuality progressing. Unlike the other books we’ve read, these peasants weren’t exploited for their hard work. They rose in their ranks and experienced a social revolution.