Revolution in Mexico WHAP/Napp “Despite many upheavals in Mexico in the nineteenth century, in 1910 the government seemed in control. For thirty-four years General Porfirio Díaz had ruled Mexico under the motto ‘Liberty, Order, Progress.’ To Díaz ‘liberty’ meant freedom for rich hacienda owners and foreign investors to acquire more land. The government imposed ‘order’ through rigged elections and a policy of pan o palo (bread or the stick) – that is, bribes for Díaz’s supporters and summary justice for those who opposed him. ‘Progress’ meant mainly the importing of foreign capital, machinery, and technicians to take advantage of Mexico’s labor, soil, and natural resources. But this material progress benefited only a handful of well-connected businessmen. Though a mestizo himself, Díaz discriminated against the nonwhite majority of Mexicans. He and his supporters tried to eradicate what they saw as Mexico’s embarrassingly rustic traditions. To the educated middle class – the only group with a strong sense of Mexican nationhood – this devaluation of Mexican culture became a symbol of the Díaz regime’s failure.

Yet the Mexican Revolution developed haphazardly, led by a series of ambitious but limited leaders, each representing a different segment of Mexican society. The first was Francisco I. Madero, the son of a wealthy landowning and mining family. When minor uprisings broke out in 1911, the government collapsed and Díaz fled into exile. The Madero presidency was welcomed by some, but aroused opposition from peasant leaders like Emiliano Zapata. In 1913, after two years as president, Madero was overthrown and murdered by one of his former supporters, General Victoriano Huerta. The inequities of Mexican society and foreign intervention in Mexico’s affairs angered Mexico’s middle class and industrial workers. They found leaders in Venustiano Carranza, a landowner, and in Alvaro Obregón, a schoolteacher. They called themselves Constitutionalists.

As early as 1911 Zapata, an Indian farmer, had led a revolt against the haciendas in the mountains of Morelos, south of Mexico City. His soldiers were peasants. For several years they periodically came down from the mountains, burned hacienda buildings, and returned land to the Indian villages to which it had once belonged. Another leader appeared in Chihuahua, a northern state where seventeen individuals owned two-fifths of the land and 95 percent of the people had no land at all. Starting in 1913 Francisco ‘Pancho’ Villa organized an army of three thousand men, most of them cowboys. They too seized land from the large haciendas, not to rebuild traditional communities as in southern Mexico but to create family ranches. Zapata and Villa were part agrarian rebels, part social revolutionaries. The Constitutionalists had fewer soldiers than Zapata and Villa; but they held the major cities, controlled the country’s exports of oil, and used the proceeds of oil sales to buy modern weapons. In 1919 they defeated and killed Zapata; Villa was assassinated four years later.” ~ The Earth and Its Peoples 1. The Mexican revolution was 2. Which of the following was an agrarian fundamentally a conflict between rebel? (A) Liberals and socialists. (A) Porfirio Díaz (B) Supporters of Zapata and Villa. (B) Francisco I. Madero (C) Mexican businessmen and foreigners. (C) Emiliano Zapata (D) Conservative landowners and landless (D) Victoriano Huerta peasants. Key Words/ I. After Independence Questions A. By early 1800s, Latin America independence but not industrialization B. Trading raw materials/agricultural products for foreign manufactured goods and investments but economically dependent C. Divided societies: wealthy landowners and landless peasants II. Mexico After Independence A. Wealthy families of Spanish origin, less than 1 percent of the population, owned 85 percent of Mexico’s land, mostly in huge haciendas (estates) B. Also a handful of American and British companies controlled most of Mexico’s railroads, silver mines, plantations, and productive enterprises C. At the other end were Indians, many of whom did not speak Spanish D. Mestizos, mixed Indian and European ancestry, only slightly better off E. After independence, wealthy Mexican families and American companies used bribery and force to acquire millions of acres of agricultural land F. Sugar, cotton, and other commercial crops replaced corn and beans, and peasants had little choice but to work on haciendas G. For thirty-four years, General Porfirio Díaz ruled Mexico 1. Though a mestizo, Díaz discriminated against the nonwhite majority H. His devaluation of Mexican culture was a symbol of the regime’s failure III. The Revolution A. Uprisings broke out in 1911, government collapsed and Díaz fled B. Francisco I. Madero became president and was welcomed by some C. In 1913, Madero was overthrown and murdered by General Huerta D. Woodrow Wilson sent United States Marines to occupy Veracruz E. New leaders emerged: Venustiano Carranza and Álvaro Obregón F. Succeeded in overthrowing Huerta in 1914 G. Also, as early as 1911, Zapata, an Indian farmer, had led a revolt against the haciendas in the mountains of Morelos, south of Mexico City H. Francisco “Pancho” Villa also organized an army in the north and seized land from the large haciendas to create family ranches I. Zapata and Villa were part agrarian rebels, part social revolutionaries J. 1919, Constitutionalists killed Zapata and later assassinated Villa K. An estimated 2 million people lost their lives in the civil war IV. After the Revolution A. Constitution of 1917 promised universal suffrage and one-term presidency; state-run education to free poor from hold of Catholic Church; and laws specifying minimum wages and maximum hours B. Artists: José Clemente Orozco, Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo – celebrated Mexican history and Indian and Mestizo cultures C. Expropriation of foreign-owned oil companies D. But Revolution did not fulfill democratic promise of Madero, brought to power a party that monopolized government for eighty years 1. Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) or Partido Revolucionario Institucional E. Yet allowed far more sectors of the population to participate in politics Reflections: 1. Which of the following best describes Who were caudillos? Mexico’s road to independence? (A) Latin American cattle ranchers (A) A mass movement of the lower classes (B) Liberal politicians who safeguarded led to the formation of a participatory constitutional rule in Latin America democracy. (C) Wealthy plantation owners who (B) A failed mass movement of the lower dominated Latin American agriculture classes was followed by a successful anti- (D) Conservative strongmen who Spanish rising by Mexican conservatives. established dictatorships in many Latin (C) The Spanish quickly and voluntarily American nations granted Mexico its independence. (E) Indian warriors who rebelled against (D) The Mexican army, aided by the young Latin American governments United States, rapidly expelled the Spanish rulers. 4. In which Latin American nation did (E) None of the above. indigenous people play the most prominent political role during and after the winning of 2. Who among the following was Mexico’s independence? agrarian revolutionary during the Mexican (A) Argentina Revolution? (B) Colombia (A) Agustín Iturbide (C) Brazil (B) Lopez de Santa Anna (D) Mexico (C) Porfirio Díaz (E) Cuba (D) Francisco Madero (E) Emiliano Zapata 5. Which best characterizes the rule and impact of Porfirio Díaz in Mexico? 3. Which area of the Latin American (A) Sacrifice of liberal political principles in economy was most damaged by free-trade pursuit of industrial and infrastructural relations with the British? modernization (A) Rail (B) Peasant-based populist mandate (B) Port city achieving comprehensive land reform (C) Manufacturing (C) Puppet rule manipulated by German (D) Ranching imperialism bringing little to no economic (E) Agricultural development (D) Conservative ruler who returned large landowners and Catholic elites to power

Thesis Practice: Continuity and Change over Time Analyze continuities and changes in Mexico’s political and economic systems from 1517 to 1917.

______“The PRI (Institutional Revolutionary Party), Mexico’s ‘official’ party, was the country’s preeminent political organization from 1929 until the early 1990s.” ~ Country Studies More Thoughts on the Mexican Revolution:  Calls for political and land reform, education, and nationalism led to the Mexican Revolution.  Several key players, like Emiliano Zapata, Pancho Villa, and Victoriano Huerta battled for control of the country, eventually yielding to Alvaro Obregon.  The constitution of 1917 made promises of land reforms (slow to materialize) and public education (more successfully met).  Attempts to “Indianize” the nation were begun by the government.  Pro-Marxist artists like Diego Rivera became well known around the world.  The government took control of the petroleum industry.  The PRI developed into the controlling force in politics and remained so through the end of the 20th century.

In Depth: A Century of Revolutions:  Not since the late 18th and early 19th centuries were there revolutions like those in the early 20th century.  Differently, the revolutions of the early 20th century were precursors to later revolutions that struck after 1945.  Like those from a century earlier, 20th-century revolutions had several commonalities: rural discontent, population pressures, and high taxes.  Unlike the previous era, however, 20th-century revolutions were also caused by the disruptions of the Industrial Revolution and by a Western-centered global market system.  In addition, discontented World War I soldiers were a ready source of militant action for revolutions.  Opposition to perceived Western influence was another ingredient.  Finally, the Communist theories of Marx, Lenin, and Mao were a factor not in existence a hundred years before. ~ World Civilizations

Comparative Essay Practice: Compare the goals and outcomes of the French Revolution and the Mexican Revolution.

Thesis: ______

The Mexican revolutionary ______used the motto “Land and Liberty” to express his political goals.

To understand the Mexican Revolution is to understand most revolutions in Latin American. Prove this thesis: ______