Abstract

GONZALEZ MIRELES, Gabriela Sofía. A Scientific Research Program for Yucatan from the Office of Industrial Research of the Bank of Mexico, 1942-1946. Estud. hist. mod. contemp. Mex [online]. 2025, n.70, pp.89-120.  Epub July 04, 2025. ISSN 0185-2620.  https://doi.org/10.22201/iih.24485004e.2025.70.78012.

This study examines the scientific research and planning project developed by the Office of Industrial Research of the Bank of Mexico through the U. S.-based consulting firm Armour Research Foundation, in Yucatan, within the context of World War II and the reorganization of the global hard fibers market. It explores the influence of the war on Mexican industrial policy and the institutionalization of a government agency that structured the national research program in this area. Drawing on the reports produced by this office -preserved in the Gonzalo Robles Collection at Mexico’s National General Archive (AGN)- and from an institutional and regional history perspective, the article analyzes the conditions and measures undertaken to establish a scientific program aimed at reviving the henequen sector, addressing food supply challenges, and promoting technical and scientific education in Yucatan. Although the results fell short due to the region’s structural complexities, the case offers an insight an into the role of scientific and technological initiatives as drivers of national and regional economic development in the postwar global reconfiguration.

Keywords : Yucatán; henequen; World War II; scientific program; industry.

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