Mexico's Changing Society

this section of CH 29 in the old book states that Americans were made to think that after the Mexican American war the United States had become a world power when in reality they did not but one thing that the war did bring to the United States was add more prestige to the nation in the eyes of the Europeans this gave America more respect in the world stage. Another thing that the chapter stated was that America did not enter the war with imperialistic motivations but eventually they fell into imperialism and that America's new friend the British were happy with their new friendship but America's rival Germany was jealous of the advances America was making and the South Americans were suspicious of the American advances. When America took the

I will be applying the three major sociological perspectives, which include functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism to the experiences of Hispanic Americans. No ethnic group attracts more public attention than the Hispanic people do due to their large numbers, their residential clustering, and bilingual programs and signs associated with them making them a recognizable ethnic group. Hispanic people who live in poverty or the small number involved in gangs, drugs, or other criminal activity get more attention and generate negative stereotypes, but most of them live as members of the middle class.

a city where an eagle with a snake in its beak rested on a cactus. This

I. Attention Getter: (Spoken text starts here) Mexico is a very diverse country, and is extremely different from others. Throughout history, Mexico has faced a very bloody and violent history that has been known around the world. As a result, their society is somewhat different from anything that has been seen before and is in itself unique compared to societies such as the United States

The country of Mexico won its independence from Spain in 1821 and over the coming decades would see serious political strife while leaders fought for control of the country. In 1876 General Porfirio Diaz seized control of the country and held power for the next thirty-four years. Diaz was a no nonsense sort of leader, who did not allow any opposition to his policies. Diaz promoted investment into Mexico’s natural resources from foreign companies and improved the wages of many of his supporters, while at the same time ignoring the lower classes who saw their wages shrink and their livelihood suffer.

Judas at the Jockey Club written by William H. Beezley provides an accurate description of a struggling and developing Mexico while during the rule of president Porfirio Diaz up until 1910. Being divided into three sections such as Sport & Recreation (elite class), Rocks & Rawhide in Rural Society (lower class) and the title itself Judas at the Jockey Club. Beezley covers the changing class of Mexico through the view of sports and leisure activities. I believe Porfirio Diaz allowed the social tensions to occur causing Mexicans to separate from unity even though destruction and chaos reigned much of Mexico before him. During the presidency of Porfirio Diaz its often remembered as a period of oppression and social degradation of freedoms in Mexico. Diaz has also been associated with the general decline of quality of life of an average Mexican and the decline of social welfare institutions. Diaz was a liberal whose sole goal was to modernize Mexico and put a stop to any ethnic uncivilized actions. Mexico during that time was in a crossroads of two very different cultures: the industrial and the traditional.

During the years of the Great Depression, Asian and Mexican immigrants had to take up the agricultural jobs in the United States. These immigrants made up the majority of the poor and faced problems with immigration, taxes, and the labor system, along with racial discrimination and a sense of inequality within society (Tejada-Flores, “The United”) Workers were surviving on 90 cents per hour with an addition of 10 cents per basket gathered for working in the fields and worked in poor environments and conditions. There were no toilets in the fields and no electricity or a plumbing system in the metal shacks that they were forced to pay two dollars or more per day for (“Fighting For Farm”). People then created and joined labor unions such as The United Farmworkers Union, which was established by the Mexican-American, Ceasar Chavez, to fight against injustice without violence for all farm workers. Chavez took all his important values, life lessons, and work experience to make a difference in the United States (Tejada-Flores, “Cesar Chavez”). Although he faces opposing opinions, he still managed to successfully lead the Delano grape strike and boycott and even help create the nation as we know it today.

is best known for establishing a strong centralized state during his term, but some say “Diaz reigned using a campigne of bullying, intimidating citizen into supporting him.” Also, people said “he was seen as a weak ruler who failed to deliver on land reform promises made to Mexican citizens.”

Even after the Spaniards left Mexico, while the casta was said to be abolished, fundamental ideas stuck, making it difficult for Mexico to form a democracy. At the top of the Caste, prior to Mexico gaining its independence, were “Peninsulares,” which consisted of people born in the Iberian Peninsula. Since Hernán Cortés colonized Mexico, he established himself as a “Caudillo,” making himself on top of the casta as well. As a Caudillo, Cortés saw himself as a strong man, fit to rule alone. The theory of one-man rule can be traced back to the Colonial period. Other legislative bodies simply went along with the Caudillo’s decisions, (Reading Mexico City 1). The second class citizens were known as “Criollos,” which were people born in the Americas. Criollos had a limit to the amount of power they could attain, preventing them from overthrowing the Peninsulares. Lastly, the Mestizos were at the bottom of the caste, where there were many varieties of them, (Reading Mexico City 2). “To Iberians (peninsulares), mixture was generally viewed as contamination” (20, Reading Mexico City 2). Eventually, the Criollos fought against the Peninsulares because they wanted more power, while the Mestizos fought against independence. The Mestizos felt as though the

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

Texas in it self is a highly diverse multicultural society. It takes on many aspects of many different cultures. One very noticeable culture that has a great impact on Texas would be that of the Mexican culture. Because Mexican culture is so apparent in Texas, that it is easy to compare and contrast some cultural aspects between Mexican and American cultures. This attempt to compare and contrast these two different yet similar cultures will increase awareness and acceptance of cultural differentiation. In order to examine these two cultures closely, I will use Hofstede's

Diaz built the railroads that tied the nation together and provided the vision and the reality of modern economic development (Wasserman, p. 166). In addition to the railroads, two technological innovations spurred mining: the general use of electricity provided light, but more important, powered pumps, trams, and other crucial equipment (Wasserman, p. 175). Mexico was finally becoming the modern, industrialized country that people had envisioned. The railroad and mining brought jobs to Mexico so there were employment opportunities for those who wanted to work. For many Mexicans it meant leaving

The people in power became rich along with the nation, however, the majority of the population in the cities and the countryside remained poor. Along with those people, rich and poor Mexicans began to resent their trust on foreign investments. More importantly, the new generation of Mexicans was full of political ambition, and the Diaz era had such control of the government that no one new was able to enter their league. This combination of factors was what sparked the revolution of 1910. In 1908 US journalist James Creelman interviewed Porfirio Diaz. In the interview Diaz

Alongside job losses and the increase of the dependence of Mexico on the United States, Mexico has deeply been affected on a cultural aspect after the NAFTA was put in place. Indeed, Zuloaga explains in her article that “The internal imbalances caused the Mexican people to question their independence and national identity”. (Zuolaga,2001) By these words, the author once again shows that cultural identity is well affected by economic integration measures, and thus, globalization. Further on, she also mentions the asymmetry of power among NAFTA’s member states, which is undeniably palpable looking at the lack of affirmation Mexico is offered to deliver, here in the cultural

The Mexican Revolution was one of the great revolutionary upheavals of the twentieth century and had a profound impact on the development of Mexico well into the modern day. The revolutionary period itself can be split into three distinct stages: First, several factions united behind Francisco Madero in order to overthrow the dictatorial government of Porfirio Diaz. When Madero’s government appeared to maintain the status quo set forth during the Porfiriato period, however, the same forces that brought Madero to power rose up once again to remove him. Finally, the remaining factions, no longer possessing a common goal to unite them, turned on one another in a fight to establish dominance. At the end of this bloody period emerged a new triumvirate: