Mexican Revolution

Mexico was building up to its revolution long before activists like Francisco Madero and Emiliano Zapata. From 1840 to 1910; Mexico went from a war-torn and newly freed nation to a nation on the brink of civil war. How did it get there? Through a series of wars, leaders, and policies, which proved causation politically, socially, and economically to the Mexican Revolution.

All of the aforementioned factors contributed to the independence movement of Mexico. However, the main steps towards independence came because of Napoleon’s invasion of Spain in 1808. The monarchy was greatly weakened when Napoleon gave the crown to his brother causing the people of Madrid to revolt. With Spain’s back turned, the leaders of New Spain began to argue amongst themselves. The viceroy was forced to allow the Criollos to participate in administration. Then, a group of Peninsulares, those who had been placed in many of the administrative positions, did not like that the Criollos were gaining any influence in the government. They staged a coup d’etat and overthrew the viceregal government.

The Mexican Revolution involved many bloody conflicts, which covered two decades, and the loss of 900,000 lives. The Revolution began on November 20, 1910, to overthrow the current ruler and dictator Porfirio Díaz Mori. Díaz was one determined president and wanted to develop Mexico into an industrial and modernized country. While he worked on implementing a capitalist society building factories, roads, dams which had many rural and peasant’s workers suffered greatly.

Different groups had very different goals for what the Mexican revolution would accomplish. The rural peasants and indigenous people wanted the land to be taken out of the hands of the aristocracy or the elite and have the land be evenly divided between the rural towns. They wanted the territory of their ancestors back because it had been stripped from them during the regime of Porfirio Diaz. They also wanted to be taken out of poverty and to have farming available to them again so that they could sustain their lives and work for their living. Therefore, because the peasants were suffering under the regime of Diaz, they wholeheartedly supported the revolution and everything that came with it. The Roman Catholic Church,

My Thesis is, the Mexican Revolution was important because the people were getting fed up and something needed to be done about the corruption and the possibility of a free-market. This kind of “opportunity” would help the rich but the poor would only have a larger gap into the steps of economical and political society. People were unsatisfied with the Diaz Regime and it had now effected much larger groups. Liberals and radicals wanting democracy, owners of land not wanting foreign control, and people suffering for regulated pay and healthy working environments. Several landowners lost their land to landowner takeovers.

During the Mexican Revolution there were many prominent figures that emerged during the long struggle. Some of the figures had a positive impact on the region, and some others a very negative impact on the people of Mexico and their quest for an uncorrupted government. One figure that stands out in the border region between Mexico and The United States during this time is General Francisco “Pancho” Villa. To understand Pancho Villa’s significant role during this uprising it is important to understand who Villa was prior to the revolution, and what acts lead to his rise to power.

1857 and the Laws of the Reform. With Benito Juarez’s victory over Emperor Maximiliano and

José de la Cruz Porfirio Diaz Mori, the 29th president of Mexico, opened Mexico to foreign investors and companies who exploited Mexico’s resources such as land, copper, gold, silver, water, and cheap labor for corporate gain. This caused economic instability in the way that Mexico placed power in the hands of large corporations and Mexican politicians.

The Mexican Revolution began as a protest against the dictatorship and policies of Porfirio Díaz. He ran a 34 year dictatorship and his policies favored the wealthy families that monopolized economic and political power in Mexico. There were very few wealthy Mexicans and they were typically the politicians of cities, landowners, and foreign investors. Diaz suppressed the press and all the worker strikes that asked for better wages and better treatment. In the state of Veracruz, textile workers rioted in January 1907 at the huge Río Blanco factory which was at the time the largest in the world, protesting against their unfair

     The earliest start to the Mexican Revolution of 1910 happened one hundred years earlier when two priests, Miguel Hidalgo and Jose Morelos, led a stand against the Spanish colonial officials who were

The bourgeoisie, the Mexican middle class, thought of this was unfair for the farming class and protested against the country’s dictator, Porfirio Diaz. Diaz had made some positive contributions to Mexico, such as allowing for a greater educated class and encouraged new economic opportunities. However, Diaz also had most of the wealthy and land controlled by a tyranny that he favored and not caring for the farmers who are doing most of the work to keep the country from starving. So northern landowner and crusading leader, Francisco Madero, supported the bourgeoisie because he wanted more even distribution of opportunity and lessen military and make the Constitution republic. Not only this, but Madero felt that Diaz was a weak leader and broke his promise of improving the land. He had called the Mexican people to have an armed revolt against Diaz. Unfortunately, about 900,000 people lost their lives in the span of the two decades of rebellion. Diaz was replaced by General Victoriano Huerta and had Diaz executed and declared for the Spanish Civil War to be over. This caused the Catholic Church to gain more power and privilege because Huerta abolished the Republican measures that determined the Church’s spiritual and social roles.Huerta became the dictator, but was overthrown by Venustiano Carranza in 1914. Afterwards in 1917, Carranza

Mexico suffered ten years of war, suffering, and turmoil. Mexican leaders during 1910-1920 were unable to hold the country together and a revolution consumed the nation. The Mexican people grew tired of political greed, lack of support, and unequal treatment. Several leaders such as President Diaz would prove to be a man of one interest, himself. Others would quickly rise against him and attempt to claim the presidency. General Huerta and Francisco

The Reform War was a civil war between the Mexican people, the conservatives vs. the liberals.  With the unhappy reaction of the liberals chaos broke out and Comonfort resigned and Benito Juarez became president. “Comonfort died in an ambush in 1863”(Biography in context) With Juarez President the Reform War ended. The liberals considered this a political victory over the conservatives, having one of their own in office. “Juarez would free Mexico from the most flagrant remnants of neocolonialism.”(Scholes) After the Liberals defeated the conservatives, President Juarez had more to worry about. Some European countries were very upset with Mexico and their unpaid debt with them. They sent troops to Mexico but, they all withdrew themselves when they saw that French dictator Napoleon was planning to overthrow Juarez’s government. The overthrow of the Juarez government started the French Intervention in Mexico in 1862. With the help of the United states Juarez managed to gain back control, he became a hero in the eyes of most liberal Mexican’s for not backing down and running out the French.

Throughout its history Mexico has had many revolutions. The most famous perhaps is the Mexican Revolution from 1910-1920. The people of Mexico were getting tired of the dictator rule of President Porfino Diaz. People of all classes were fighting in the revolution. The middle and upper classes were dissatisfied with the President’s ways. The lower and working class people had many factors such as poor working conditions, inflation, inferior housing, low wages, and deficient social services. Within the classes everyone was fighting; men, women, and children all contributed to the fight for freedom from Diaz (Baxman 2). This revolution proved to be the rise and fall of many leaders.

Carlos Fuentes was involved in the government asspets of Mexico as well, so he was aware of the economies state back in the Mexican Revolution War.