Reginald Lewis II EVALUATION OF SOURCES: Gonzales, Michael J.. The Mexican Revolution, 1910-1940.

The image of a somewhat cohesive revolutionary party working towards peace put forth by Womack draws a stark line between the “bandit” enemy described by General Huerta and the Zapatistas. Brunk, in his writings on Zapata, challenges this narrative by exploring the gray space that does not allow for easy delineation between revolutionaries and bandits. Rather than existing as an arbitrary offshoot of Zapatismo, “banditry represented the pursuit of local political (and economic) goals” (Brunk, 349). Womack does acknowledge the “insoluble village rivalries that only compromise could ease”, but does not relate them directly to feuds involving bandits (Womack, 233). The nature of local politics was arguably defined by the multiplicity of intrinsic power struggles over local democratization.

To what extent was Mexico’s independence from Spain a “full-scale assault on dependency”? This essay will investigate how the Mexican independence from Spain was only slightly a “full-scale assault on dependency”, due to several political and social conflicts. Firstly, Mexico remained a monarchy (but not under the control of Spain) after the insurgency. Secondly, there was still an official state religion in Mexico. Another reason is because social conflicts reduced the desire for independence .On the other hand, it assaulted dependency because there were some changes within the social hierarchy, and because Mexico was free from Spain.

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.

Another huge aspect of Mexican political culture is the Constitution of 1917. Many Mexicans attribute the origins of the political system in Mexico to the Revolution of 1910-1920 and it’s Constitution of 1917. Unlike their American neighbors, the people of Mexico focus and look to the past, not the future, to there missed dreams and hopes. Many people of Mexico support and have faith and pride in the Constitution of 1917, agree with the goals of the Revolution and support their political institutions. (McCormick p.333) The Constitution is seen more as an outline of the goals Mexico has aspired for. Their believe in the Constitution but recognize it as a work in progress as it still contains

The Mexican Revolution began as a movement of the middle class protesting against the long-standing dictatorship of Porfirio Diaz. Diaz was an army officer who had came to power after a coup against former president Benito Juárez. Unlike Juárez, Diaz established a stable political system, in which the Constitution of 1857 was bypassed, local political bosses (caciques) controlled elections, political opposition, and public order, while a handful of powerful families and their clients monopolized economic and political power in the provinces.

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.

“A call to arms by Francisco Madero, a leader of the prodemocracy forces, united the disparate groups opposed to Diaz which succeeded in overthrowing the Porfirian government and forcing Diaz into exile” (Vanden & Prevost 319).

This report provides data on Mexico which includes the economy, geography, its society, and government. It also discusses how Mexico’s economy is becoming orientated toward manufacturing. In addition, it shows that the GDP rate is not growing. The report explores the transnational issues facing the country which are international conflicts, refugees and domestically displaced persons, and drug trafficking. This source will contribute to my final project because it provides facts on the measures I am using to determine the development of a country.

In the early sixteenth century, Spain conquered Mexico and turned it into one of their most lucrative colonies. In the search for land, labor and natural resources, Spain found everything they were looking for in Mexico. During the colonial period, Mexico was simply another kingdom of the vast Spanish Empire. As Spain largely benefited, the indigenous civilizations of Mexico were ravaged and left to be entirely dependent on their foreign counterpart. It wasn’t until the independence movement in the early nineteenth century that Mexico seemed to have some hope of being released from the hands of imperialism. Unfortunately, following independence, Mexico suffered from a half a century of economic

Porfirio Diaz was the president of Mexico who was responsible for the modernization and industrialization that took place in the country. His motto was paz, orden y progresso, he didn’t want there to be wars in Mexico like there had been in prior years. He wanted there to be change and progress. In order to accomplish paz y orden he was known to be ruthless and crude. Diaz was not going to tolerate disloyalty or disobedience and for those who chose to do it anyways suffered the consequences. For some it would be exile and for others it would be going to work in the haciendas as peones. Furthermore for the first time Mexico had shown its potential and had begun to catch up with a rapidly changing world. The nation’s achievements in technology and culture went on display around the globe at world fairs and expositions in Europe and the United States (Deeds, Meyer & Sherman, p. 347).

The first elements Zuloaga points out is that “the protection of the Mexican cultural industry never came up”. (Zuolaga,2001) Indeed, the NAFTA agreements made between major world powers, it is expected that many will question the validity of these agreements on an equality scale for Mexico, known as a weak country on many levels.

An interview given by Diaz in 1908 was read by Francisco I. Madero and he was inspired to gather supporters to defeat Diaz in the 1910 election. In the interview Diaz said that he thought Mexico could handle free elections by 1910 (Summary 4). Madero was a strong believer in democracy and realized that Diaz had a monopoly with the government. Madero thought that Diaz should step down from office (Consul General 1-2). By the time 1910 came around Madero had inspired many citizens and had quite a group of followers. His chances for election were very good and Diaz got scared. Right before the elections in 1910, Diaz falsely accused Madero and had him thrown in jail. Diaz is once again elected as president. Madero was soon released and, learning of Diaz’s reelection, he fled to Texas (Summary 4). While there he stated that the elections were illegitimate and that he was the President Pro-Temp until new elections could be held (Consul General 2). He also wrote a document, which called for a revolt on November 20, 1910 which marks the start of the Mexican Revolution (Summary 5).

For centuries, people have been fighting for their rights; the American revolution is a great example of this. The American Revolution started when King George began to tighten imperial reigns,[i] this definitely created financial hardship on Americans which over time, caused American colonists to protest and revolt. The recipe for a revolution had not really changed since the 1700s; however, the ingredients may be different depending on the context. In fact, a similar situation is occurring for the farm workers in San Quintin, Mexico. Throughout the comparative analysis of the events leading up to the American Revolution and these being experienced by the Mexican farmers, it becomes clear that unjust financial policies may lead up to Revolution.

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:

Ferraro, Carlo (compilador) (2011). Apoyando a las PYMES. Políticas de fomento en América Latina y El Caribe. Santiago de Chile: CEPAL-AECID.