This month we talked to Sergio Fernández Bravo, who is a fellow doctoral researcher from Global Development Studies at University of Helsinki. Sergio is interested in the relationship between natural sciences and politics, specifically in the Global South. His current research focuses on synthetic pesticides and how they are used as devices of power and influence the epistemic arrangements within the Mexican Green Revolution. Sergio gives insight into the history of pesticide use in Mexico and the various ways that they have influenced the trajectory of the region. Even though we are not directly invoking the term extractivism very often, there are so many connections and cross-fertilizations with extractivisms. For example, we discuss the role of terra nullius and wasteland in creating imaginaries about how land can and should be used (and what humans can do with it!) Join us for this wide ranging and intensely interesting conversation!

If you are interested to learn more about Sergio’s work, please visit his academic profile. https://researchportal.helsinki.fi/en/persons/sergio-fernandez-bravo 

If you would like to contact Sergio for any further discussion of what you heard in this episode, please feel welcome and encouraged to drop him a line (sergio.fernandezbravo (at) helsinki.fi). He is up for making connections and having conversations about pesticides and the broader topics of his research.