CAIMUN 2021 HISTORICAL JOINT CRISIS COMMITTEE Background Guide CANADA INTERNATIONAL MODEL UNITED NATIONS Tenth Annual Session | May 28-30, 2021 Dear Delegates, Othman Mekhlouf Welcome to this year’s Joint Crisis Committee on The Mexican Secretary-General Revolution, 1910. My name is William Tsai, and I have the distinct honour of serving as the Crisis Director of the Historical Joint Crisis Committee (HJCC) at CAIMUN 2021. This is a crisis committee in which delegates will represent the secretaries, revolutionaries, and Angel Yuan generals of the United States of Mexico during this tumultuous period. I Director-General believe that crisis committees provide an excellent means for delegates to experience not only the many facets needed to manage a government Nikki Wu effciently and effectively but also the struggles in decision-making that Chief of Staff confronted these historical fgures. Unlike other Model UN committees, crisis committees allow delegates to see the positive and negative consequences of their decisions and challenge them to engage in personal diplomacy—balancing individual agendas with collective compromise. Matthew Leung Director of Logistics Within this committee, you and your fellow delegates must decide the future of Mexico, fght for political dominance, make compelling Madeline Kim arguments for your plans, and act solely for your interests. I encourage USG of General Assemblies you to research your role thoroughly and brainstorm possible solutions that suit your character’s ideology and ideals. Be prepared to play your role and make snap judgments on whatever topics crop up during the Mikael Borres committee. USG of Specialized Agencies As for your other amazing staff members, the Porfrian Bloc is led by Alec Yang Vivian Gu as the Bloc Director and Joyce Chen and Chris Shojania as USG of Delegate Affairs chairs. On the other hand, the Revolutionary Bloc includes Richard Chen as the Bloc Director with Peter Zhang and Tienlan Sun as chairs. Caitlin Adams I, along with the other staff members, hope you all have a wonderful USG of Delegate Affairs experience at CAIMUN 2021. Sincerely, Emily Hu USG of Media William Tsai Table of Contents The Mexican Revolution, 1910 ................................................................................................................... 2 Committee Description ................................................................................................................................. 2 Topic Overview ............................................................................................................................................. 3 Timeline ........................................................................................................................................................ 4 Historical Analysis ........................................................................................................................................ 6 Current Situation ........................................................................................................................................... 7 Mexican Politics ........................................................................................................................................ 8 Mexican Society/Economy ....................................................................................................................... 8 The United States of America ................................................................................................................. 10 Initiating Crisis ........................................................................................................................................ 11 Bloc Positions ............................................................................................................................................. 11 Porfirian Bloc .......................................................................................................................................... 11 Revolutionary Bloc ................................................................................................................................. 14 Discussion Questions .................................................................................................................................. 15 Bibliography ................................................................................................................................................ 16 Canada International Model United Nations 2021 1 The Mexican Revolution, 1910 Committee Description The Historical Joint Crisis Committee (HJCC) stands as one of the most diverse, challenging, and rewarding Model UN experiences in existence—where every decision, delegate, and directive affects not only one, but two committee bloc environments. The two blocs of the HJCC will officially be the Porfirian Bloc and the Revolutionary Bloc. These two opposing committee blocs, representing the most prominent Mexican political figures during the 1910 revolution, will have to face the same historical challenges, disagreements, and pitfalls that these nations faced more than one hundred years ago. The HJCC will be made up of two separate committees, or blocs, whose directives and decisions affect the shared world of both. For delegates new to crisis committees, directives serve as your delegation’s way of interacting with the crisis itself. Updates, either in response to yofu-ur directives or informing you of new information, will be given to each bloc regularly. These updates will only contain information that the cabinet itself is realistically aware of. Due to the regularity of these updates and how they may change the crisis entirely, directives need to be written swiftly in response to these updates, but not without a clear intention, an understanding of the potential consequences, and other opinions from your bloc. Directives can be designated as either public or private directives. Public directives use the entirety of your bloc’s shared power as a cabinet and require a public vote to put into place. Private directives utilize your delegation’s powers as stated later in the backgrounder and remain confidential from the rest of your bloc. However, private directives are not always employed for subversive purposes; it may be much more efficient to immediately submit a directive in lieu of waiting for your directive to be properly read out and voted upon. Instead of representing a country, delegates will be representing a historical figure, with their own motivations, beliefs, and ideology. Adhering to the character’s interests, even when they contradict those of fellow committee members, will be vital in creating a dynamic and intriguing committee environment. As such, not only should delegates research the historical context behind this topic, but also their characters as well. As a reminder, neither the delegate nor their delegation should be affected by the historical events after the initiating crisis. From that point on, you, the delegate, are in full control. The world in which this committee inhabits will be constantly changing due to the actions of both blocs, and strictly adhering to the historical events of the past will be near impossible. Any historical event, treaty, or idea that occurred after January 1st, 1910 cannot be referenced or used as justification for a delegation’s actions. Canada International Model United Nations 2021 2 This HJCC will be different than any HJCC in years past. Once or if a new Mexican government is declared, the leader of said government will have the ability to decide who is and is not a member of this new administration. Members of the past administration not chosen, alongside fellow revolutionaries not chosen to serve alongside the leader, will then be grouped into a “revolutionary” bloc while those chosen will make up the new government bloc. Plans in Mexican history are declarations of one’s reasoning behind revolting against the Mexican government. Accordingly, “Plan” directives will need to be submitted, approved, and shared publicly by the dais before a revolution can begin. These Plan directives will have the same formatting as a normal public or private directive but will be expected to be much more detailed and ideologically-focused. Plans will not be needed for coup attempts as plans are needed for revolutions against the central government, whereas a coup replaces who is in charge of the central government. I heavily suggest all delegates see the full Crisis Rules of Procedure available on the CAIMUN website. Topic Overview It is January 1st, 1910. Supposedly in the last year of Porfirio Díaz’s 30-year-long presidential reign, it was announced in a foreign interview that this year’s election would mark the beginning of Mexico’s return to democracy. An exact century after the Mexican revolutionary, in which Miguel Hidalgo first led Mexico into popular revolt against their Spanish overlords, revolution again appeared on the horizon. Porfirio Díaz’s long tenure as president, which may even be extended this year, has been marked with unprecedented economic growth and political stability, both juxtaposed with wealth inequality and personal corruption. Many outside the authoritarian regime see the upcoming promised democratic election as a stepping stone to reform, or at the very least, a flashpoint to revolution. The most prominent of which is Francisco Ignacio Madero. He leads the coalition Anti-Reelectionist Party, whose reach has recently