In 1946, foot-and-mouth disease arrived to Mexico, starting an epidemic outbreak that affected livestock, especially cattle. Next year, the Mexican and US governments established a commission to contain the outbreak. The slaughter of the infected cattle via the so-called “medical rifle” (rifle sanitario) has been a central concern for Mexican historiography. The negative interpretation focuses on its adverse impact, due to both the decline in herds used as draft power to cultivate fields and the decline in the supply of meat and milk for urban markets. The positive interpretation centers the development of modernization projects in the Mexican countryside. Within this historiography, Thomas Rath's book constitutes a relevant contribution to the study of foot-and-mouth disease and the campaign to contain it, both for his approach and for the sources he used.
In its approach, the book questions the idea that the campaign was conceived of and applied from the top...
