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The Politics of Bracero Migration By Alberto Maldonado Garcia A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor Margaret Chowning, Chair Professor Brian DeLay Professor Mark A. Healey Professor Laura J. Enriquez Summer 2016 Copyright © 2016 by Alberto Maldonado Garcia All Rights Reserved 1 Abstract The Politics of Bracero Migration by Alberto Maldonado Garcia Doctor of Philosophy in History University of California, Berkeley Professor Margaret Chowning, Chair From 1942 to 1964, a bilateral agreement known as the Bracero Program allowed Mexican men to work in the United States as seasonal contract laborers. During the program’s 22-year duration, Mexican officials distributed 4.64 million contracts. This dissertation examines two interrelated questions. First, how did the Mexican government distribute contracts? And second, what motivated rural workers from the center-western states of Guanajuato, Jalisco, and Michoacán – the states that sent the most braceros, between one-third and one-half of the total, to the U.S. – to want to migrate as braceros. Political factors linked to the implementation of and conservative Catholic opposition to the government-sponsored agrarian reform heavily influenced demand for bracero contracts. During the 1920s and 1930s, the federal government expropriated millions of hectares of land in the center-west and redistributed them among hundreds of thousands of rural workers. But numerous agrarian reform beneficiaries were granted insufficient or poor-quality lands, and the statutes that governed agrarian reform communities limited what beneficiaries could do with their lands. Those beneficiaries who had been adversely affected by the agrarian reform’s structures expressed an interest in migrating through the Bracero Program. The land redistribution process also drew the ire of conservative Catholics who believed that private property was sacrosanct and who were also upset with a series of anticlerical measures implemented by federal- and state-level administrations. This discontent led to open rebellion between 1926 and 1929, and Guanajuato, Jalisco, and Michoacán were the epicenter of the conflict. Community-level clashes between conservative Catholic and pro-government factions continued into the years of the Bracero Program and center-western rural workers who were pushed off their lands because of these conflicts also became interested in migrating as braceros. Federal officials acknowledged this demand by sending a significant number of contracts to center-western state governments. But because they had failed when they tried to directly recruit and select braceros, and because state-level officials did not want to risk losing control of that process, it was municipal-level officials that ultimately determined who received bracero contracts. Municipal authorities then used the bracero recruitment and selection process to enrich themselves, reward local allies, or remove local opponents. Thus, this dissertation shows that bracero migration was a deeply politicized process. i Table of Contents Acknowledgments………………………………………………………………………………..iii Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………v The Bracero Program and the Politics of Mexico-U.S. Migration Chapter One……………………………………………………………………………………...1 “The Urgent Need to Regulate Departures”: The Federal Administration of the Bracero Program Chapter Two…………………………………………………………………………………….30 “To Prevent Useless Journeys”: The State Administration of the Bracero Program Chapter Three…………………………………………………………………………………..54 “A Mockery of Responsibility”: The Municipal Administration of the Bracero Program Chapter Four……………………………………………………………………………………70 Abandoning a Dearly Beloved Land: Conservative Opposition to Revolutionary Policies and Bracero Emigration from the Lerma-Chapala Basin Chapter Five…………………………………………………………………………………….90 “Our Frightful Misery”: The Agrarian Reform’s Political Flaws and Bracero Emigration from the Lerma-Chapala Basin Chapter Six…………………………………………………………………………………….107 The Bracero Program in the Sierra Purépecha Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………..122 Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………………125 Appendix A……………………………………………………………………………………..137 Guanajuato Sub-Regions Appendix B……………………………………………………………………………………..138 Jalisco Sub-Regions Appendix C……………………………………………………………………………………..139 Michoacán Sub-Regions Appendix D……………………………………………………………………………………..140 Bracero Contract Distribution by Center-Western State ii Appendix E……………………………………………………………………………………..141 Bracero Contract Distribution by Center-Western Sub-Region Appendix F……………………………………………………………………………………...142 Bracero Contract Requests by Center-Western Sub-Region iii Acknowledgments Referring to this work as “my” dissertation gives the impression that I wrote it entirely on my own. Nothing could be further from the truth, and it is only fitting that I thank the individuals and institutions that helped along the way. First and foremost, I must thank the members of my committee. Margaret Chowning has been everything I could have asked for in a mentor. The questions addressed in this dissertation were the byproduct of an impromptu conversation I had with her outside her office during my first year of graduate school. During the intervening years, her keen eye and critical mind never allowed me to settle for “good enough.” And her kindness and generosity is unmatched in the Berkeley History Department. Mark Healey’s enthusiasm and passion were infectious, even though an entire continent physically separated us for most of my graduate career. Brian DeLay always knew the right question to ask at just the right time. And Laura Enríquez made sure that this historian kept at least one eye on the present. Outside of my dissertation committee, Mark Peterson was always a calm port in the storm. Mark Brilliant helped me better understand the country that my parents chose as their home and that I grew up in. Kerwin Klein always jolted my curiosity when needed. Lorena Ojeda Dávila of the Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás Hidalgo graciously provided a venue to present my work and has become a most esteemed colleague. And Charles Walker, my undergraduate advisor at UC Davis, has remained one of my most steadfast sources of support, most notably when he heroically joined my qualifying exam committee on relatively short notice. I must also recognize the Berkeley Latin American History Working Group, which provided me a forum to present my ideas and a space to learn from the work of other Berkeley Latin Americanists. I could not have completed this project without the work and assistance of the archivists and staff members of Mexico City’s AGN, Guanajuato City’s AGGEG, Guadalajara’s AHJ, and Morelia’s AGHPEM. I would particularly like to thank Leticia and Yolanda at the AGGEG, Gabby at the AHJ, and Ángeles at the AGHPEM, all of whom made the provincial archives feel like second homes. Dissertation research and writing requires financial as well as academic support. In regards to the former, I must thank the UC Berkeley Department of History, the UC Berkeley Graduate Division, and the Berkeley Connect Fellowship Program. I must also thank UC MEXUS, which provided a Dissertation Research Grant that funded my activities in 2013 and 2014. Fortunately for me, I have an incredible group of friends who helped keep me grounded and sane, and I would be remiss if I did not dedicate some words to them. Marcus Johnson has been like a brother to me since we were undergraduates at UC Davis, and I am thankful that we have remained close during our respective graduate school careers. At Berkeley, Olivia Benowitz has been my partner-in-crime for all things Marvel and science fiction. Eric Johnson and Lauren Chiarulli have made watching Game of Thrones and True Detective even more enjoyable experiences. Elliot Blair and Rachel Cajigas can spin a yarn with the best of them. I met Elliot through Bobby Lee, who always had a joke or humorous anecdote in hand for the rough times. Bobby’s partner Dorothee Unger-Lee has also been an invaluable friend and confidant. Javier Cikota and Irina Popescu have been nothing short of amazing, especially during those moments when I was at my worst. Chris Bovbjerg and Giuliana Perrone have been, iv in a word, fantastic. Here’s to more football, potato chips, and Simpsons’ marathons in the years to come, and here’s also to some day learning if the call was indeed about our cube. Last, but certainly not least, Zoe Griffith, who made this dissertation better by reading every word of it, has always been there no matter how many time zones separated us, and who has been a far better friend than I deserve. Finally, I must thank my family. My parents, Francisco García Maldonado and Amparo Maldonado Fuentes, migrated to this country when they were young and worked countless hours in the fields, orchards, and packing plants of the Sacramento Valley so that my siblings and I would have more opportunities than they did. They have encouraged my educational pursuits since I was a young boy, and the countless sacrifices they made helped this dissertation become a reality. My siblings, Lucila and Javier, have been my most stalwart supporters since they helped me learn to read and write before I started kindergarten. My siblings-in-law, Jesús Escamilla and Kristen Long, have also been unwavering cheerleaders. My niece, Julia Escamilla,