The Politics of State Formation in Postrevolutionary Oaxaca
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the mexican experience William H. Beezley, series editor The Politics of State Formation in Postrevolutionary Oaxaca University of Nebraska Press Lincoln & London © 2009 by the Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska All rights reserved Manufactured in the United States of America A part of chapter 4 originally appeared as “Defending ‘Our Beautiful Freedom’: State Formation and Local Autonomy in Oaxaca, 1930–1940,” Mexican Studies/Estudios Mexicanos 37, no. 1 (February 2007): 125–53. Copyright © 2007 by the University of California Institute for Mexico and the United States, and the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Reprinted with permission. A part of chapter 5 originally appeared as “Inventing Tradi- tion at Gunpoint: Culture, Caciquismo and State Formation in the Region Mixe, Oaxaca (1930–1959),” Bulletin of Latin American Research 27, no. 2 (April 2008): 215–34. Published by Wiley-Blackwell. Reprinted with permission. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Smith, Benjamin T. Pistoleros and popular movements : the politics of state formation in postrevolutionary Oaxaca / Benjamin T. Smith. p. cm. — (The Mexican experience) Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 978-0-8032-2280-9 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Oaxaca (Mexico : State)—Politics and government— 20th century. 2. Oaxaca (Mexico : State)—History—20th century. 3. Social movements—Mexico—Oaxaca (State)— History—20th century. 4. Central-local government rela- tions—Mexico—History—20th century. 5. Federal govern- ment—Mexico—History—20th century. 6. Government, Resistance to—Mexico—Oaxaca (State)—History—20th century. I. Title. f1321.s64 2009 972'.74082—dc22 2008055277 For my wife, Noemi Contents List of Illustrations viii Acknowledgments ix List of Abbreviations xiii Introduction 1 1. Revolution and Stasis in Oaxaca, 1876–1928 22 2. The Caudillo and the State, 1928–34 42 3. The Rise of Cardenismo and the Decline of Chicolopismo, 1932–36 76 4. The Politics of Cardenismo, 1936–40 107 5. Cárdenas’s Caciques, 1936–40 135 6. Politics and Socioeconomic Reform, 1936–40 194 7. The Problems with Cardenista Politics and the Rise of the Urban Social Movement, 1940–44 241 8. The Rise and Fall of Edmundo Sánchez Cano, 1944–47 289 9. The Vallistocracia Governor, 1947–50 328 10. The Short Reign of Manuel Mayoral Heredia, 1950–52 362 Conclusion 402 Notes 415 Bibliography 495 Index 535 Illustrations Figures 1. A rally by the Confederación de los Partidos Socialistas de Oaxaca 48 2. The welcoming committee for Lázaro Cárdenas 125 3. Heliodoro Charis 143 4. The band of Santiago Zacatepec 183 5. Oaxaca City market 273 6. Acción Católica Mexicana 276 7. La Casa Fuerte 307 8. “Mapping Modernity” 372 Maps 1. Mexico 2 2. Geography of Oaxaca 24 3. Administrative Districts of Oaxaca 27 Tables 1. Strongmen of Oaxaca, 1920s 64 2. Strongmen of Oaxaca, 1930s 138 Acknowledgments This book would not have been possible without the financial support of the University of Cambridge and Michigan State Uni- versity. I would particularly like to thank Chris Bayly, who or- ganized a Domestic Research Scholarship from the University of Cambridge to study Mexico. At Michigan State University, this book would not have been possible without the administrative skills and moral support of my head of department, Mark Korn- bluh, who organized a sabbatical for me in my third year and has been the architect of a truly wonderful history department. The work is based on the array of sources in Mexico City and Oaxaca’s archives. As a result, I would particularly like to thank the staff at the Archivo General de la Nación, Archivo General del Poder Ejecutivo de Oaxaca, Hemeroteca Pública de Oaxaca, and Hemeroteca Nacional as well as the host of smaller archives I perused. A special mention must go to the staff of the Biblioteca Bustamante Vasconcelos, the municipal authorities of Tlahuitolte- pec, and the diocesan authorities of Huajuapam de León, who were all generous with their precious documents and their time. A project like this can only be completed with the intellectual and moral support of a host of academic colleagues and friends. In Cambridge I was inspired and guided by Keith Brewster and then David Brading, whose knowledge of Mexico over the past five centuries seemed to be infinite. I would also like to thank William O’Reilly, David Lehman, Clare Hariri, Julie Coimbra, and Celia Wu for gentle encouragement and an occasional meal or pint. Julie and Clare were the heart of the Centre of Latin American Studies and were extremely kind to me and my wife. acknowledgments In Michigan I have been fortunate to join an extremely vibrant and exciting department. There are few colleagues in the his- tory department who have not been kind enough to offer a few words of advice to a lost ex-patriate. I would particularly like to thank David Bailey, John Waller, Peter Alegi, Peter Beattie, Walter Hawthorne, Erica Windler, Jerry Garcia, Morgan Sweeney, Laurent Dubois, Emine Evered, Lisa Fine, Peter Knupfer, Lewis Siegelbaum, Pero Dagbovie, and Leslie Moch. In Mexico I was as- sisted by Carlos Sánchez Silva from the local university, the Univer- sidad Autónoma “Benito Juárez” de Oaxaca. Outside the various institutions to which I have been attached I have been fortunate to be involved with a large number of superb scholars of Mex- ico at various conferences and roundtables, who have all helped discuss and develop my work. They include Alan Knight, Paul Gillingham, Edward Wright Rios, Thom Rath, Andrew Paxman, Ben Fallaw, Roberto Blancarte, Robert Curley, Adrian Bantjes, Mary Kay Vaughan, Bill Beezley, and Bill French. A special men- tion must go to Matthew Butler, without whose friendship and intellectual help this book would have been far poorer. Outside academia I have been fortunate enough to have been aided by the companionship and support of various friends in the United Kingdom and Mexico who have been kind enough to put me up, offer a good meal, or listen to my stories of Oaxaca’s his- tory. They include Joe, Ian, Todd, James, Will, Nick, Tom, Ted, Ed, Susana, John, Abby, Miguel “El Diablo,” José Alfonso, Guillermo, Montserrat, Alma, and Claudia. I must also thank both my fam- ily in Britain, especially Granny, Grandpa, Grandma, Mum, Dad, and Claire, and my family in Mexico, who have welcomed me with open arms. A special mention must go to mis suegros, my par- ents-in-law Don Eloy Davíd Morales Jiménez and Doña Catalina x acknowledgments Sánchez Ruiz; mis cuñados, my siblings-in-law Efrain, Michael, Elvia, Edith, and Avi; and other family members, Serafin, Melissa, Ceilmor, and Troy. This project would have been both more dif- ficult and less enjoyable without the love, friendship, and sup- port of my wife, Noemi Morales Sánchez, who not only tolerated the time when her often bad-tempered, confused, and dispirited husband lived in the past rather than the present but also helped me delve into that past by spending two months interviewing lo- catarias, market women, for this book. A last mention must go to my daughter, Emilia Francesca, whose recent birth has made me understand why in what Eric Hobsbawm has termed this “ahis- torical era” it is so important to put down our knowledge of the past for future generations. xi Abbreviations aacm Archivo de Acción Católica Mexicana aao Archivo de la Arquidiócesis de Oaxaca acld Archivo de la Camera Local de Diputados acm Acción Católica Mexicana agn Archivo General de la Nación agpeo Archivo General del Poder Ejecutivo de Oaxaca ahsdn Archivo Histórico de la Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional ahsep Archivo Histórico de la Secretaría de Educación Pública aja Archivo Joaquín Amaro amoj Archivo Municipal de Oaxaca de Juárez amt Archivo del Municipio de Tlahuitoltepec apec Archivo de Plutarco Elías Calles y Fernando Torreblanca ar Fondo Presidentes, Ramo Abelardo Rodríguez arpp Archivo del Registro Público de Propiedades bts Benjamin Thomas Smith, interviewer ccm Confederación Campesina Mexicana cco Comité Civico Oaxaqueño cdem Comité de la Defensa de Expendedores de Mercados clso Confederación de Ligas Socialistas de Oaxaca cnc Confederación Nacional Campesina cnop Confederación Nacional de Organizaciones Populares coc Confederación Oaxaqueña de Campesinos cpso Confederación de Partidos Socialistas de Oaxaca abbreviations crom Confederación Regional de Obreros Mexicanos ctm Confederación de Trabajadores de México cut Confederatión Unica de Trabajadores daai Departamento Autónomo de Asuntos Indigenas foa Foreign Office Archive fplp Frente Popular Libertador Pochutleco fppm Federación de los Partidos del Pueblo Mexicano froc Federación Regional de Obreros y Campesinos frteo Federación Regional de Trabajadores del Estado de Oaxaca ftoc Federación Tuxtepecana de Obreros y Campesinos gclso Genuina Confederación de Ligas Socialistas de Oaxaca iaca Instituto Autónomo de Ciencias y Artes ica Instituto de Ciencias y Artes ini Instituto Nacional Indigenista ips Investigaciones Políticas y Sociales lncug Liga Nacional Campesina “Ursulo Galván” lruao Liga de Resistencia de los Usuarios de Agua de Oaxaca mac Fondo Presidentes, Ramo Manuel Avila Camacho mav Fondo Presidentes, Ramo Miguel Alemán Valdés naa National Anthropological Archive nms Noemi Morales Sánchez, interviewer pan Partido Acción Nacional pcm Partido Comunista Mexicano pnr Partido Nacional Revolucionario pri Partido Revolucionario Institucional prm Partido de la Revolución Mexicana sep Secretaría de la Educación Pública uem Unión de Expendedores de Mercados xiv Introduction n 24 January 1947, a