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!Mexico, la patria!: Modernity, national unity, and propaganda during World War II Item Type text; Dissertation-Reproduction (electronic) Authors Rankin, Monica Ann Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 04/10/2021 08:33:12 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/280531 /•MEXICO, LA PATRIA! MODERNITY, NATIONAL UNITY, AND PROPAGANDA DURING WORLD WAR II by Monica Ann Rankin A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 2004 UMI Number: 3131633 INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMI UMI Microform 3131633 Copyright 2004 by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 2 The University of Arizona ® Graduate College As members of the Final Examination Committee, we certify that we have read the dissertation prepared by Monica A. Rankin entitled Mexico la pabria! Modernity, National Unity, and Propaganda during World War II and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Wi],liam Beezley (J ^ date ~ „ • ^. t) _ "t^ Bar ickman date z s. 7 • "7 Kevin Gosner date tHAc/uJ icLklli^ oi Michael Schaller date date Final approval and acceptance of this dissertation is contingent upon the candidate's submission of the final copies of the dissertation to the Graduate College. I hereby certify that I have read this dissertation prepared under my direction and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement. Dissertation Director: WilliariJBee^ley uate 3 STATEMENT BY AUTHOR This dissertation has been submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for an advanced degree at The University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Library. Brief quotations from this dissertation are allowable without special permission, provided that accurate acknowledgment of source is made. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the head of the major department or the Dean of the Graduate College when in his or her judgment the proposed use of the material is in the interest of scholarship. In all other instances, however, permission must be obtained from the author. SIGNED: 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation would not have been possible without the support and assistance of many people and institutions. My advisor, William Beezley, has provided crucial support and has helped me to mature as a scholar during my tenure at the University of Arizona. I wish to acknowledge Bert Barickman, Kevin Gosner, and Michael Schaller, who provided valuable feedback during the dissertation process. I also thank my peers in the History Department at the University of Arizona for their contribution to my development as an academic. My research was funded by a Fulbright-Garcia Robles Fellowship from the United States government. Additional funding and support institutions include the University of Arizona Ramenofsky Fellowship, the Hewlitt Foundation, and the Engel Scholar in Residence Program. I am indebted to the staff of the various archives that I consulted, including the Archivo General de la Nacion in Mexico City, the Museo Nacional de Mexico in Mexico City, the Hemeroteca and the Centro de Estudios sobre la Universidad at the UNAM in Mexico City, the U.S. National Archive and Records Administration in College Park, MD, and the U.S. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division in Washington D.C. Finally, I wish to thank my family and friends for their unwavering support during my studies and research. I especially owe a debt of gratitude to my daughter, who as an infant accompanied me on my research trips, and to my husband, who allowed her to go. While I acknowledge the contributions of many, I take responsibility for any shortcomings in the following pages. Monica A. Rankin Tucson, May 4, 2004 DEDICATION To Brian and Kyla, My inspiration and my priorities 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures 7 List of Tables 8 Abstract 9 Introduction 11 Chapter 1: A PROPAGANDA PHOTOMONTAGE OF THE WORLD IN MINIATURE (1933-1940) 21 Chapter 2: A BLUEPRINT FOR PROPAGANDA: DIPLOMACY AND THE OIAA (1940-1941) 79 Chapter 3: A REVOLUTIONARY MURAL OF PROPAGANDA 138 Chapter 4: SOUP CAN PROPAGANDA: THE OIAA AND THE AMERICAN WAY OF LIFE (1942-1943) 202 Chapter 5: A PROPAGANDA CHALKBOARD: TEACHING MEXICO THE OFFICIAL STORY (1943-1944) 268 Chapter 6: A PROPAGANDA BILLBOARD: HEROES, VICTIMS, AND A VIEW TO THE POSTWAR ERA 329 Conclusion: WORLD WAR II IN A MEXICAN DECK OF CARDS 374 References 382 7 LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE 1.1 TGP Poster: Calles and Swastika 35 FIGURE 1.2 TGP Poster: Week of Help to Spain 42 FIGURE 1.3 TGP Poster: Week of Help to Spain 43 FIGURE 1.4 TGP Poster: Bombardment 51 FIGURE 1.5 TGP Poster: How to Fight Fascism 62 FIGURE 1.6 TGP Poster: The Tragedy of the Countryside 66 FIGURE 1.7 TGP Poster: Lost Youth 68 FIGURE 1.8 TGP Poster: Cross and Swastika 69 FIGURE 3.1 Propaganda Poster: The Call to War 165 FIGURE 3.2 Propaganda Poster: Remember May 13,1942 166 FIGURE 3.3 Propaganda Poster: Mexicans! Mexico for Freedom 168 FIGURE 3.4 Propaganda Poster: Eagle and Swastika, Mexico for Freedom . 169 FIGURE 3.5 Propaganda Poster: And You, What Are You Making/Doing for Your Patria? 171 FIGURE 3.6 Propaganda Poster: Work, the Strength of our Borders 173 FIGURE 3.7 Propaganda Poster: At Their Posts 174 FIGURE 3.8 Corrido Illustration: "Corrido de la Guerra" 198 FIGURE 4.1 En guardia U.S. Factory Cafeteria 237 FIGURE 4.2 En guardia U.S. Woman Factory Worker 238 FIGURE 4.3 En guardia U.S. Child Aiding War Effort 240 FIGURE 4.4 En guardia U.S. Coffee Consumption 241 FIGURE 4.5 OIAA/Arias Bemal Poster: Mexican versus Nazis 245 FIGURE 4.6 OIAA/Arias Bemal Poster: United for Victory 246 FIGURE 4.7 OIAA/Arias Bemal Poster: Union is Strength 248 FIGURE 4.8 OIAA/Arias Bemal Poster: Hitler Caged 250 FIGURE 4.9 OIAA Poster: Good Neighbor, Good Friends 251 FIGURE 4.10 OIAA Poster: As One Man 253 FIGURE 5.1 SEP Poster: Knowledge Would Cormpt My Youth 300 FIGURE 5.2 SEP Poster: Mexico United against Aggression 302 FIGURE 5.3 SEP Poster: Ready! 303 FIGURE 5.4 SEP Poster: La patria Mexicana 305 FIGURE 5.5 SEP Poster: Why Do We Fight? 306 FIGURE 5.6 SEP Poster: Present! 308 FIGURE 5.7 SEP Poster: National Campaign against Illiteracy 312 8 LIST OF FIGURES - Continued FIGURE 5.8 SEP Poster: National Campaign against Illiteracy 313 FIGURE 5.9 SEP Poster: National Campaign against Illiteracy 314 FIGURE 5.10 SEP Poster: Maestro: Tell the Campesino 321 FIGURE 7.1 Arias Bemal Print; Peace Table Joker Card 374 LIST OF TABLES TABLE 4.1 OIAA Posters Distributed in Mexico July 1,1943-Julyl, 1944 254 TABLE 4.2 OIAA Pamphlets Distributed in Mexico July 1,1943-Julyl, 1944 256 9 ABSTRACT During the 1930s, Mexico was in the middle of a healing process after three decades of revolutionary turmoil and reform. The outbreak of revolution in 1910 had created friction between various interest groups such as the Church, the labor movement, peasants, industrialists, and politicians. In the following decades, divisions among those groups intensified as the country struggled to resolve revolutionary conflict and, in the process, looked for someone to blame. As World War II approached, divisive domestic conditions prompted Mexican government officials to develop their own internal wartime agenda. World War II became a major turning point in the legacy of the Mexican Revolution. It gave the country an opportunity, for the first time since the revolution, to unite against a common external enemy, and to militarize as a united nation against that enemy. The government-sponsored propaganda campaign became an important tool for reuniting Mexicans. The government took advantage of the unity achieved during World War II to promote a modernization and industrialization program during and after the war. A close examination of wartime propaganda reveals aggressive calls to unity mixed with a subtle promotion of modernity and industrialization. In contrast to outside propaganda produced primarily by the United States, the Mexican government's wartime messages used nationalist rhetoric and symbols to defend 10 the country's internal interests during and after the war. U.S. propaganda promoted the idea of the "American Way of Life," a concept which glorified a middle-class consumer lifestyle, led by the United States. While U.S. wartime messages frequently provoked resentment among Mexicans, they also largely succeeded in creating a demand for the consumer goods advertised in the propaganda campaign.