ib hl history mr. blackmon mexican revolution: the … · · 2018-05-02mexican supreme court...

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IB HL History Mr. Blackmon

Mexican Revolution: The Constructive Phase 1920-40A Brief Sketch

All quotes are from Meyer, Michael C. and Sherman, William L. The Course of Mexican History. 4 Ed. New York: Oxfordth

University Press, 1991. unless otherwise stated

Event Date Significance

Presidency ofAlvaro Obregón

1920-1924 His administration faced the post World War I depression.

Mexico was the 3 largest producer of petroleum in the world. This will certainly not reduce USrd

interest

Obregón:Education

José Vasconcelos institutes a vigorous program of rural education. His purpose (at this time)was to integrate the Indians into mainstream mestizo society, to incorporate them into a razacósmica. (Meyer 572-3)

Vasconcelos andthe Muralists

Vasconcelos employed the Muralists– Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco, and David AlfaroSiqueiros– to decorate buildings with works that would also educate.

Obregón:Education

Obregón could not enforce the complete secularization of education because he lacked theresources to dispense with the Church.

To prevent himself from being perceived as pro-Church, he encouraged Protestant missionaries toenter the country.


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Obregón: Labor Obregón favored CROM over any other union organization. Morones chose to moderate hispositions rather than risk being crushed. Membership rose from 50,000 in 1920 to 1,200,000 in1924. (Meyer 575)

Obregón:Agrarian Reform

Obregón is cautious. He did not wish to disrupt the hacienda system. Redistribution of the landwould result in reduced productivity, and he also wished to avoid that.

Land redistribution is very modest: 3,000,000 acres.

Obregón and theUS

Oil and US property in Mexico dominated relationship. US businessmen, such as Harry Sinclair,Edward L. Doheny, and Secretary of the Interior Albert Fall (all of whom branded in the TeapotDome Scandal that wracked the extremely pro-business Warren G. Harding) were concerned thatUS properties would be seized under Article 27.

As a result of pressure from oil interests, Harding refused to recognize the Obregón governmentuntil 1923.

Obregón’s problem is that he needed oil revenue (especially with the post-war depression) butcould not cave in to US pressure for political reasons.

Mexican Supreme Court decisions provided a compromise, using the principle of “positive acts”prior to 1917.

The principle is then ratified in the Bucareli Agreements in 1923, which obtained Obregóndiplomatic recognition. ((577-79)


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Obregón andRebellion

Villa had been bought off in 1920 with a hacienda, but he is assassinated in 1923.

Obregón chose to support Plutarco Calles for President, which triggered violence fromconservatives and Catholics, who feared Calles might be genuinely radical. However, USrecognition allowed Obregón to crush the opposition. (580)

Obregón “had been slow to implement the reforms promised by the Constitution. . . . [T]hroughshrewd pragmatism he had co-opted the radical thrust of the Revolution, and, while occasionallyyielding to the rhetoric of reform, he had not done much to alter the sustaining structure ofsociety.” (580)

The PlutarcoCalles Years

1924-1934 Calles had a liberal reputation, and inherits a stronger economy than did Obregón. As time wenton, Calles became increasingly domineering and dictatorial. (582-3)

Calles: AgrarianReform

Calles redistributed 8,000,000 acres. Most of this land goes to the ejido rather than toindividuals. Agricultural productivity declined as a result of this, so Calles began irrigationprojects, established agricultural schools, and began to extend agricultural credit to small farmers. (583)

Calles: Labor Like Obregón, Calles favored CROM over all other unions. CROM’s membership continued torise, and members were elected to Congress.

By 1928, Luis Morones was a wealthy man, and it seems evident that the “system” had co-optedhim. (584)


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Calles:Education andHealth

Vasconcelos’ program is continued, with heavy emphasis on the teaching of Spanish to Indians.

Sanitation and health is improved. Vaccination programs are begun, and food vendors (bakeries,butcher shops, dairies, cantinas, etc.) Begin to be inspected. (585)

Calles and theUS

US fears over the expropriation of US companies under Article 27 continued. The USAmbassador was deeply hostile, and convinced that a Bolshevist plot existed to take our property.

Calles responds to pressure by having a bill passed that repeated the Bucareli Agreements, but fora limited period (50 years).

In 1927, Dwight Morrow was sent to Mexico as Ambassador. Morrow was more conciliatory,even learning Spanish. Morrow proves a sensitive negotiator, and is able to receive favorablerulings from Mexican courts while carefully observing Mexico’s “full legal sovereignty, evenwhen the interests of United States citizens were involved.” (587)


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The CristeroRebellion

1926-29 Calles decided to enforce the anti-clerical articles of the Constitution of 1917.

When the archbishop of Mexico told an interviewer that, in all conscience, a Catholic could notaccept the Constitution, Calles replied by deporting foreign priests and nuns, closing churchschools, and ordering all priests to register with civil authorities.

The archbishop ordered a strike. For 3 years, the sacraments could not be obtained in Mexico. (587)

The war that erupted became vicious. The Cristeros rallied to the call of Viva Cristo Rey!

In 1928, with his term coming to an end, Calles supported the election of Alvaro Obregón,thinking Obregón would repay the favor in 1934. Obregón, however, was assassinated by aCristero.

The Maximato 1929-1934 Calles, following Obregón’s death, continued as the power in Mexico, but he chose to be apuppet master–the Jefe Máximo

Calles reorganizes the revolutionary party as the Partido Nacional Revolucionario (PNR) PNRwould change its name but control the government for the rest of the century.

Calles shifts the Revolution strongly to the right.


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The Maximatoand the Military

Calles co-opted the military by giving the generals a larger share in PNR.

Ambassador Morrow helped negotiate an end to the Cristero Rebellion. The government agreedthat it would not attack the integrity of the Church or prohibit religious instruction within theChurch grounds. The archbishop called the strike off.

The Maximatoand AgrarianReform

Land redistribution slows. The Terrazas-Creel Clan was able to re-purchase land previously lost.

Rural education is de-emphasized.

The government withdrew support for CROM.

Morones was exposed as corrupt.

“The anti-Communist hysteria reached its apex in 1930 and 1931, years that witnessed theaberrance of the Gold Shirts, a fascist inspired organization of thugs whose self-appointed taskwas to terrorize all Communists and Jews.” (592)

The Presidencyof LázaroCárdenas

1934-1940 Calles engineered the election of Lázaro Cárdenas, thinking that he would be another puppet.


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Cárdenas andAgrarian Reform

“Agrarian reform more than anything else dominated the administration’s concern during the firstfew years. . . . Cárdenas early made up his to fulfill twenty years of promises. . . . . [B]y the timehis term expired, he had distributed 49 million acres, about twice as much as all his predecessorscombined. By 1940 approximately one third of the Mexican population had received land underthe agrarian reform program. In fact, most of Mexico’s arable land had been redistributed. Onlythe large cattle haciendas on arid or semiarid land remained untouched.

“The vast majority of the land distributed did not go to individuals or even heads of householdsbut rather to the communal ejidos.” (598-9)

The largest ejido was Laguna, with 8,000,000 acres. The complex grew cotton, maize, wheatand alfalfa, provided schools and had a hospital.

Cárdenas created the Banco de Crédito Ejidal to provide loans for the small farmers. Itsperformance is weakened by a population which grew faster than its assets, and by favoritism inits loans. Still, this is a very positive step–agrarian reform must go beyond merely redistributingthe land.

Economically, the ejidos were not as efficient, and agricultural production declined.

However, “Cárdenas’ dedication to agrarian reform spelled the demise of the traditional haciendacomplex in Mexico. Millions of peasants were given a new faith in the revolutionary concept. . .. the type of servitude that had bound hacendado and peón for centuries was broken by 1940. . . .If the ejido system was an economic failure, it was a political and social success.” (600)


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Cárdenas and theChurch

Cárdenas is clearly anti-clerical. He instituted a socialist curriculum into the schools, whichangered the Church. When he added sex education, the Church became still more incensed.

In response, he backed off the sex education, and softened the socialist education by emphasizingpositive attitudes and avoiding anti-religious propaganda.

Another Cristero revolt is avoided.

Cárdenas andEducation

Twice as much money is appropriated for rural education than any previous president.

Rapid population growth and high inflation however meant that the literacy rate actually seems tohave fallen. The government could not keep up.

Cárdenas andLabor

Cárdenas supported the creation of a new labor organization, the Confederación deTrabajadores de México, (CTM) under the leadership of Vicente Lombardo Toledano

CTM set to improve the wage structure in Mexico


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Cárdenas and theNationalizationof the US OilCompanies

1936 In 1936, Mexican workers at US owned fields went on strike. The companies refused tonegotiate with the strikers. The strike began to damage the economy, so Cárdenas orderedarbitration. The arbitration board ruled in favor of the strikers, ordering a 33% increase in payand improvements in the pension and welfare system. The companies appealed to the MexicanSupreme Court. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the arbitrator.

The companies continued to defy the ruling, whereupon Cárdenas ruled that they had defiedMexican sovereignty and nationalized the holdings.

A storm of protest erupted in the US, with the oil companies, led by Standard Oil, urgingintervention to prevent this Communist conspiracy.

But the President is Franklin D. Roosevelt, who has proposed the Good Neighbor Policy. FDRrefused to intervene, and instead insisted that the oil companies seek compensation throughnegotiations. They eventually settled for $24 million.

CárdenasReorganizes theParty

1938 PNR is reorganized as PRM (Partido Revolucionario Mexicano) It consisted of representativesfrom the military, labor, agrarian and popular sectors.

PRM is the official party, and Mexico remained a single party state. (606)


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Cárdenas’ LastYears in Office

1939-1940 Population growth, inflation, and a weak economy made his last years difficult. Social programshad to be cut.

Petróleos Mexicanos (PEMEX) was formed as a government oil company, but its equipmentwas old and US companies would not sell it spare parts.

In 1940, Cárdenas supported a conservative, Manuel Avila Camacho, as president.

“[T]he Cárdenas administration was remarkable . . . for what it had done. It saw the end of oneage and the beginning of another. Cárdenas had finally broken the back of the hacienda system,had fostered an impressive program of rural education, had seen that the labor movement wascleaned up and that it was reorganized into a new, powerful union, and had struck a sharp blowfor Mexican economic nationalism when he failed to be bludgeoned by the oil companies.

“By 1940 most of the goals envisioned by the revolutionaries of 1910 had been reached, and theywould have regarded Cárdenas’s efforts as a vindication of their sacrifices.” (606-7)


The Mexican Revolution: The Military Phase 1910-1920A Brief Sketch



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Election Fraud Election fraud was more than rife, justice a farce.

Díaz began to be referred to as Don Perpetuo or Porfiriopoxtli

Disaffection ofSome Liberals

The Flores Magon brothers (Jésus and Enrique) became outspoken opponents, publishingRegeneración.

They were forced into exile to San Antonio, Texas. An attempted assassination led them to moveto St. Louis.

The LiberalPlan

1906 Published from St. Louis• freedom of speech• freedom of the press• suppression of the jefes politicos• secularization of education• nationalization of church property• abolition of the death penalty (except for treason)• educational reform in favor of the poor• prison reform• * hour work day and a 6 day work week• abolition of the tienda de raya• payment to all workers in legal tender• prohibition of child labor• Redistribution of all uncultivated lands to peasants• an agricultural credit bank• restoration of ejidal lands

CananeaStrike

1906 The strike was against William Greene’s Consolidated Cananea Copper Company. Greene calledin Arizona Rangers, who invaded Mexico who violently broke the strike.


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Rio BlancoTextile Strike

1907 Conditions in the Rio Blanco mills were abysmal. The workers appealed to Díaz in vain. Whenthe tienda de raya refused wives of strikers credit for food, violence broke out. Troops arrived tocrush the strike by violence.

The CreelmanInterview

1908 Díaz granted an interview to an American journalist in which he promised not to run for re-electionand stated that he welcomed an opposition party in Mexico. He doesn’t really mean this, but otherstook him at his word.

FranciscoMadero andthe Anti-Re-electionistCampaign

1910 Madero came from a family of hacendados, and was educated in the France and the US. He isinfluenced by the Progressive movement in the US. As a hacendado, he was noted for the concernhe had for his peones’ welfare.

Madero saw Mexico’s problems as primarily political. Until constitutional and democraticprocesses could be restored, no progress was possible. He is not a revolutionary as much as he is areformer. (464-5)

Madero wrote The Presidential Succession of 1910 to express his opposition

Díaz once again manipulated the election, and was amazingly re-elected again.

The Plan deSan LuisPotosí

1910 “ ‘I declare the last election illegal and accordingly the republic, being without rulers, I assume theprovisional presidency of the republic until designate their rulers pursuant in the law.’” (499)

Madero’s call for rebellion triggered a revolution and civil war.

Rebels:PascualOrozco, Jr.

1910 In Chihuahua, Orozco had clashed with the Terrazas-Creel clanHe attracts another charismatic leader of political bandits, Pancho Villa.

Madero left the military decisions to Orozco, Villa and others.


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Capture ofCiudad Juarez

1911 Orozco and Villa presented Madero with an important victory, but the immediate aftermathrevealed personal tensions among the revolutionaries.

Treaty ofCiudad Juarez

1911 Federal troops began deserting. Díaz chose to arrange for his resignation in a month and sailed offto enjoy his retirement in Europe.

The Porfiriato is over.

The Presidencyof León de laBarra

May toNovember1911

The provisional government was largely made up of Porfiristas.

EmilianoZapata: Tierra yLiberdad!

Zapata’s life was centered in the village of Anenecuilco in Morelos, which had existed since beforethe conquest. The village had been locked in a lawsuit against the local hacendado for a very longtime. (The actual legal case for the village was unassailable; Díaz’ cronies suppressed the evidence,and their delay allowed the hacendado to take concrete actions to illegally seize the village’s land.)

Zapata was literate, charismatic, a magnificent horseman, a notorious womanizer, fearless andeloquent (i.e. he had the machismo to exercise leadership)

Not only did Zapata appeal to villagers in Spanish, but he also addressed them in their nativetongue, Náhuatl. Some idea of his charisma may be gained by his statement, “I prefer to die on myfeet than to live on my knees.” (“Prefiero morir de pie . . . que vivir de robillas.”)

Zapata andMadero

Zapata met Madero to plea for justice for the Indians. Madero insisted that he disband his army,which angered Zapata, since the Federal troops were still led by Porfiristas. Nevertheless, agreed.

The peace was shattered when Gen. Victoriano Huerta’s troops fired on Zapatistas.


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Presidency ofFranciscoMadero

1911-12 Meyer notes that the Mexican Revolution meant different things to different people. Madero wastoo moderate to make many people happy.

He establishes a National Agrarian Commission, which however, accomplished very little.

A Department of Labor was established but put in the hands of a conservative.

Juan Francisco Moncaleano, a Spanish anarchist, organized a union, but strikes were dispersedby troops.

Madero did nothing to increase funding for education.

Revolts AgainstMadero

1911-12 General Bernardo Reyes, a reactionary, led a revolt in the North. Emilio Vázquez Gómez ledanother revolt in Chihuahua, also in the North.. Pascual Orozco defeated the Vazquistas.

Félix Díaz, a nephew of Porfirio’s, led a counter-revolutionary revolt in Veracruz. He wascaptured and brought to Mexico City, where Madero commuted his death sentence toimprisonment.

PlanOrozquista

1912 Orozco now turned against Madero.• 10 hour workday• restrictions on child labor• higher wages• suppression of the tienda de raya• nationalization of railroads• Land illegally seized to be returned• Homestead rights to be applied retroactively• Government owned land to be distributed• Land owned by hacendados but not cultivated to be redistributed


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The Plan deAyala

November1911

Zapata declared revolt against the government.

“ ‘The lands, woods, and water that the landlords, cientificos, or bosses have usurped . . . will beimmediately restored to the villages or citizens who hold the corresponding titles to them . . . .lands, woods, and water are monopolized in a few hands .. . one-third of these properties will beexpropriated, with indemnification, so that the villages and citizens of Mexico may obtain ejidos,town sites and fields.’ ” (514-5)

The DecenaTrágica

February 9,1913

Reactionary military units released Reyes and Díaz from prison. Street fighting broke out. Maderoappointed Victoriano Huerta to defend the government.

The Pact of theEmbassy

February18, 1913

US Ambassador Henry Lane Wilson regarded himself as a servant of American business interests. Wilson brought Reyes, Díaz, and Huerta together

Huerta seized Madero. Madero was then shot.

Victoriano Huerta proclaimed himself president.

VenustianoCarranza

Carranza announces he will oppose Huerta from Coahuila.

Pancho Villa Villa announces he will oppose Huerta from Chihuahua

AlvaroObregón

Obregón announces he will oppose Huerta from Sonora


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The Plan deGuadalupe

Carranza, Obregón and Villa agreed that the Huerta government was illegitimate and recognizedCarranza as Madero’s successor. The plan is entirely political, not social. (524-5)

A Constitutionalist Army is formed.

Huerta dramatically expanded his army by forced levies, and used political assassination. Bittercivil war wracked the country, with the depredations against ordinary citizens increasing.

Huerta must fight the Constitutionalists in the North and the Zapatistas in the South, whichstretched him thin.

WoodrowWilson andHuerta

1913 The new US President, Woodrow Wilson, refused to recognize Huerta’s government, over-rulingthe urging of Henry Lane Wilson. Suspecting Amb. Wilson’s judgement, he sent his own envoy toMexico, but chose a man who did not speak Spanish. Pres. Wilson replaced Amb. Wilson, butchose an ambassador who did not speak Spanish either. The new ambassador was ignorant, ill-informed, and bigoted.

Woodrow Wilson is determined that Huerta must go.


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WilsonSupports theConstitu-tionalists

1913-14 Wilson’s first choice was to allow assistance to the Constitutionalists via the common border.


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US Intervention 1914 A trivial incident involving US sailors at Tampico and Huerta’s forces angered Wilson. His (ratherchildish) demands for an apology spiraled out of control. Wilson ordered the occupation ofVeracruz by the US Navy.

Huerta had to shift forces to face the Americans, who, he feared, would march on Mexico City. The US had no such plans. But US occupation cut off tariff revenue from Huerta, who was also inserious financial difficulty.

The Constitutionalists condemned the US intervention (they didn’t like gringos on their soil either)but used the opportunity put even more pressure on Huerta militarily.

Huerta decides to resign on July 8, 1914. The Constitutionalists have triumphed.

TheConvention ofAguascalientes

1914 Carranza soon found that the revolution was splintered. The Convention of Aguascalientes wascalled to select a new President.

The Convention divided between delegations loyal to Zapata and Villa, on the one hand, andCarranza and Obregón on the other.

“The underlying issue was whether the Revolution was going to follow the politically orientedPlans of San Luis Potosí and Guadalupe or the agrarian Plan de Ayala.” (536)

When the Convention chose Eulalio Gutiérrez, Carranza withdrew to Veracruz.

Villa meetsZapata

December1914

“The Centaur of the North” and the “Attila of the South” met in Mexico City. But they are unableto build a lasting coalition based upon genuine coordination.

Anarchy The Conventionists gave up Mexico City; Carranza governed from Veracruz; Zapata was in theSouth, and Villa claimed to govern the entire nation from Chihuahua.


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The Battle ofCelaya

April 1915 Villa is very badly defeated by Alvaro Obregón at Celaya. Villa charged recklessly with cavalry;Obregón responded with artillery and machine guns.

Wilson now decided to extend recognition to the Constitutionalists (Carranza).

Villa Attacksthe US

March,1916

Villa was furious at Wilson’s decision, and raids the US at Columbus, New Mexico. The town wasdestroyed and 18 Americans killed.

The PershingExpedition

1916-January1917

The political furor led Wilson to despatch a punitive force into Mexico to catch Villa, on thegrounds that Carranza did not control that part of the border. Catching Villa proved impossible; theterrain was rugged, and Villa was a hero.

Skirmishes between Carrancistas and Pershing occurred. Wilson, who was becoming worriedabout a war with Germany, ordered Pershing to withdraw.

TheConstitution of1917

1917 The Querétaro Convention met to write a new constitution. Much of the text was pushed byFrancisco Múgica.

Article 3 Article 3: Free, obligatory, secular education

Other anti-clerical provisions:Marriage is a civil ceremony; religious organizations have no special legal status; priests areconsidered ordinary citizens; worship outside the church is banned;

State legislatures could determine the maximum number of priests in the state; all priests must benative-born; clergy are prohibited from forming political parties;

clergy must register with the government; all new church buildings must be approved by the state.


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Article 27 Article 27: restoration of lands seized illegally.

Private ownership of land no longer seen as a right but as a privilege.

If land did not serve a socially useful function, it may be expropriated by the state.

Article 123 Article 123: • an 8 hour work day, a 6 day workweek, a minimum wage, and equal pay for equal work,

regardless of sex or nationality.• labor and capital have the right to organize.• Labor has the right to bargain collectively and to strike.

The CarranzaPresidency

1917-20 Carranza confused a change in government with a change in society (545)

Despite Article 27, he distributed only 450,000 acres of land. (545)

In 1915 and again in 1916, Carranza used troops to suppress strikes.

With respect to the Constitution, Carranza’s philosophy was Obedezco pero no cumplo. (550)

CROM 1917 Luis Morones founded the first national union, the Confederación Regional Obrera Mexicana

Mexico andWorld War I

1917 Carranza was determined to keep Mexico neutral in the war, and so he rejected AlfredZimmermann’s offer of an alliance.

A wise decision. A very wise decision.


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The Zapatistasin Morelos

“The fighting in Morelos was relentless–perhaps the most terrible of the entire Revolution.”

Zapata: “ ‘you turned the struggle to your own advantage and that of your friends who helped yourise and then shared the booty–riches, honors, businesses, banquets, sumptuous feasts, bacchanals,orgies. . . . It never occurred to you that the Revolution was fought for the benefit of the greatmasses, for the legions of the oppressed whom you motivated by your harangues. It was amagnificent pretext, and a brilliant recourse for you to oppress and deceive. . . . .In the agrarianmatter you have given or rented our haciendas to your favorites. The old land holdings . . . havebeen taken over by new landlords . . . and the people mocked in their hopes.’ “ (548)

Assassinationof Zapata

1919 Carranza decided to lure Zapata into a trap by having a unit offer to mutiny. When Zapata came todiscuss the terms, he was ambushed and murdered.

Death ofCarranza

1920 Carranza attempted to name his own successor in 1920, which led Alvaro Obregón and PlutarcoElías Calles to rebel.

The Plan de Agua Prieta was proclaimed and an army marched on Mexico City. Carranza wasforced to flee, and was murdered by one of his own guards.


Villa and Zapata: A Comparison

Material herein included stolen shamelessly from Krauze and McLynn

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Emiliano Zapata Pancho Villa

Background Born in the village of Anenecuilco in Morelosprovince. He was a mule driver and successfulfarmer before the Revolution.

Personal Qualities Possessed in abundance the machismo needed toexercise leadership. He was handsome,courageous, a superb horseman, a renowned lover,who loved to wear fancy charro outfits.

“I can pardon those who kill or steal becauseperhaps they do it out of greed. But I can neverpardon a traitor.” (McLynn 120)

Also possessed in abundance the machismo needed toexercise leadership. He was a strong, athletic man, asuperb horseman (he did not walk anywhere when hecould ride), a deadly shot with a firearm and a man ofexceptional physical toughness and courage. LikeZapata, he was a compulsive womanizer. “Villa neithersmoked nor drank and used no drugs.” (McLynn 70) Hewas manic-depressive, and capable of abrupt switchesfrom loud friendliness to murderous rages. Witnessesdescribed his eyes as hypnotic.

Like Zapata, he was intensely loyal to his men, and heexpected the same loyalty from them. Betrayal wasunforgivable.


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Influences /Advisers

Otilio Montaño, a teacher who admired the Russiananarchist Peter Kropotkin.

Manuel Palafox, who was a very able administrator

Silvestre Terrazas, Abraham González, Felipe Angeles.Less positively, his feared body guard, Rodolfo Fierro,who was universally considered a psychopath. Fierrodid not use threats or raise his voice, employedrestrained gestures in his speech. Villa’s men called himel Carnicero.

McLynn and Krauze both record an incident in whichFierro had 200 (or 300) prisoners released 10 at a time. They were told that if they could run the 100 yards to thewalls of the prison and scale them, they could live. Using a pistol, he shot 199 (or 299) of them dead. Hesuffered a cramp in his trigger finger which allowed oneto get away. (Krauze 318, McLynn 199)


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The LocalSituation

Morelos was dominated by sugar planters who, inan effort to modernize their holdings, whichrequired expensive machinery, decided to do so bysqueezing the peasants extremely hard.

The Porfirista governor, Pablo “Escandón openly,blatantly and bigotedly favored the planters againstthe villagers . . . . The owners of the sugarplantations were now free to declare open seasonon the villages. . . . In 1909 more and more villageswere deprived of water, their cattle stolen, theirlands fenced off, and all appeals to political orjudicial authorities were ignored. It was now clearthat Escandón aimed to break the pueblos asinstitutions, leaving an almost Marxian divisionbetween the plantocracy and a vast body ofdispossessed ex-villagers who had only their laborto sell.” (McLynn 46-47)

Northern Mexico has a dramatically different economy. Sonora and Chihuahua (where much of the fightingwould take place) have traditions of federalism,opposition to national authority, and of military self-reliance.

Water was the crucial factor in the economy; most of theland is desert. The economy included ranching andmining. Both Sonora and Chihuahua have commonborders with the US, which provided a source ofsupplies, weapons, and ammunition, as well as a refugein need.

Sonora had been wracked by war to the knife against theYaquis, who were fighting for their cultural existence. The Yaquis were formidable fighters, and rebellion stillsimmered in 1900. (McLynn 53-54)

Chihuahua had been terrorized since the 1830's by theApache: Cochise and Mangas Colorado of theChiricahuas, Victorio, Delgadito and Nana of theMimbres, as well as Geronimo. Luis Terrazas hadcemented his leadership role in Chihuahua by trappingand destroying Victorio. The culture of Chihuahua wasmartial. (McLynn 55-58)

Economically, the Terrazas-Creel clan controlled almostall jobs via their great estates and the Banco Minero de


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The Terrazas-Creel clan was either “broker or partner inall foreign investment schemes in the state.” (McLynn64) Diaz coopted them by appointing Enrique Creel asgovernor. “Creel turned on [the villagers and colonists]ruthlessly. He and his family coveted new land so thatthey could make a killing from land speculation. Thekey was the new railways, for the Mexican Northwesternline, the Kansas Orient and the Pacific Railroad were alllaying new track through Chihuahua . In 1904-5 Creelpassed two laws of special moment: the first replacedheads of municipalities with officials appointed by thegovernor; the second . . . so that the state, not the federalgovernment, became the final arbiter in the case ofexpropriation of village lands. Creel’s hatred of the freevillages was noteworthy. . . . In short, Creel was agenuine cientifico ideologue.” (McLynn 66)

First, his expropriations created “a new class of landlesslabourers,” then he refused to acknowledge customaryrights of the military colonies.

The US depression of 1908 hit Chihuahua very hard asmines closed as the price of silver and copper dropped;food prices shot up, and Creel responded by raising taxeson the peasants (but not the hacendados). (McLynn 67)


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Reasons forBecoming aRevolutionary

Zapata is all about land reform. When the peopleof Anenecuilco protested the illegal seizure offields and water belonging to them by the localhacendado, the reply was, “If the people ofAnenecuilco want to sow their seed, let them sow itin a flowerpot, because they will get no land evenon the barren slope of a hill.”

The village reply to the governor was “We arewilling to recognize whoever the owner of saidlands may turn out to be . . . . but we wish to sowon said lands so as not to suffer, because thesowing is what gives us life, from which we drawour livelihood and that of our families.” (Krauze277)

There are three different versions: the Black, White, andEpic Legends. “The black legend makes Villa out as adouble-dyed psychopath, motivated only by hatred andrevenge; the white is that he was a simple man wanting asimple life who was catapulted reluctantly into arevolutionary milieu; and the epic that he was no banditlusting only after loot but a genuine Robin Hood,desirous of righting wrongs, taking from the rich to giveto the poor.” (McLynn 61)

The author of the epic legend is John Reed, the socialistAmerican journalist who would later write Ten DaysThat Shook the World. Reed does concede thatbetween 1901-9, Villa certainly murdered 4 men andparticipated in at least 10 premeditated crimes.

A more sophisticated explanation lies in Villa’srelationship with the Terrazas-Creel clan. Thecourageous journalist Silvestre Terrazas exposed thecorruption in Chihuahua, and Villa met him in 1910. Later that year, he met Madero’s representative inChihuahua, Abraham González, and fell under his spell.

The Terrazas-Creel clan identified Villa as an enemy dueto his connection with Silvestre Terrazas and AbrahamGonzález. At the same time, McLynn notes, Villa hadbecome politicized by these two. (69-70)


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Military Tacticsand Strategy

Zapata fights guerrilla-style war. His bands weresmall, some 30 - 200 men. The commander mightbe a woman, called coronela or capitana. Theirwar was primarily a war of raids.

Fighting in Morelos was brutal, bloody, andextremely destructive. Opponents such asVictoriano Huerta, Juvencio Robles, and PabloGonzález were extremely ruthless. Executions,hostages, resettlement, looting, rape and burningwere common coin.

When pressure was too severe, Zapata wouldwithdraw to the most forbidding territory, and thenreturn when pressure eased.

The inability to easily supply himself with weaponsand ammunition was a critical disadvantage. Morelos had no easy access to supplies from theUS.

He supported his armies by “taxes” on hacendados.

Zapata’s was “an army divided into small units,mindful of its Indian roots and devoted to religion.”(Krauze 296)

Villa’s army was all-cavalry, made up of men who wereaccustomed to weapons and a hard, outdoor life. It wastherefore a very mobile force. He inspired men bypersonal example.

On behalf of the Constitutionalists, Villa’s División delNorte seized the rail hub at Torreón in 1913. Later thatyear, he seized Ciudad Juarez, which gave theConstitutionalists access to the customs post at the USborder. He used the railroads effectively, not only tomove men but also to provide medical care.

“American observers conceded that the fighting spirit,stoicism and endurance of the villistas went beyondanything even the US Marines could match. . . . Thevillista warrior could live off the land, encumbered bynothing more than arms, ammunition, canteen and asingle blanket. Villa’s use of trains impressed allobservers. . . . One of the reasons morale was so highwas that Villa allowed his men to take wives, mistresses,and girlfriends on campaigns with them. . . . Womenalso took up arms and fought as soldaderas.” (McLynn208-9)

Villa cultivated good relations with peasants, payingcash for services. (McLynn 59)


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Men joined Villa “to defend local autonomy; to regainvillage land; out of revenge for previous bad treatmentby hacendados; because of unemployment; as analternative to regular work; or simply to get easypickings of loot, money, drink, and women.” (McLynn206)

Political Policies Plan de Ayala: (1) “restitution to the ‘pueblos orcitizens who hold the proper deeds” of “lands,mountains and waters usurped by the hacendados,cientificos, or caciques.’ (2) “Furthermore, a thirdof the ‘lands, mountains and waters’ monopolizedby these owners would be expropriated–but withcompensation–so that the pueblos and citizenscould make use of them and ‘improve in every way. . . the lack of prosperity and well-being amongMexicans.’ (3) “Those who directly or indirectly‘resisted this program’ would have their holdingsnationalized and two-thirds of their former wealth .. . would then be applied to ‘paying warindemnities–pensions for widows and orphans ofthe victims who fall in the struggle for thisProgram.” (Krauze 288)

Villa was an “effective” governor of Chihuahua from1913-14. (McLynn 190) This is the time period to judgewhat his policies were.


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Tierra yLiberdad!

“The land will be our own possession, it willbelong to all the people–the land our ancestorsheld and that the fingers on paws that crushed ussnatched away from us.” Manifesto issued in Náhuatl by Zapata in 1918

Villa told John Reed that he had three priorities: histroops, children, and the poor. (McLynn 190)

EconomicPolicies

“The dream of Zapatista redemption was to create amosaic of small autonomous holdings whoseowners would be united by a strong sense ofcommunity” (Krauze 288)

While land reform was important, the nature of the landand the economy gave it a different priority andapproach. The pastoral economy and shortage of watermeant that land units had to be very large.


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In 1914, Zapata issued an agrarian decree whichwas more radical than the Plan de Ayala. “Thenationalization of enemy possessions would for thefirst time extend to urban property and–also for thefirst time–forms of ownership wre to be establishedthat recalled the Aztec calpulli (shared communalownership of land). In embryo, this was a call forthe ejido, an institution that would later develop outof the Mexican Revolution and involve thecollective ownership and cultivation of fields. . . . “(Krauze 291)

Villa expropriated the estates of rancheros who fled,selling the cattle to the US, Cuba, and Europe and usingthe money to fund his army and government. Theseconfiscations were not compensated; but McLynn arguesthat, since the rancheros had always undervalued theirlands to evade taxes, that seizure was more a“sequestration” than an “expropriation.” (192)

Rancheros who supported him kept their estates.

Some of the estates were given to his supporters, simplyto keep them loyal and happy. Silvestre Terrazas wasauthorized to distribute land at his discretion, but seizedTerrazas-Creel land was reserved as a military colony.(McLynn 193)

Although he is best known in the US for his later attacksin New Mexico, in this period he was scrupulous toprotect the persons and property of foreigners, especiallyUS citizens. US support was important to him. And infact, he did not definitively lose that support until theBattle of Celayo proved to Woodrow Wilson that Villawould be the loser in the civil war.

So far as personal wealth was concerned, Villa’s regimewas noted for little corruption, in contrast to Carranza’s.


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Zapata’s land distribution would lead to moresubsistence agriculture.

McLynn argues that under Zapata, the state inMorelos was “withering away”

Villa’s land program “enjoying the proximity to theUSA, both exported and redistributed the profits awayfrom the peasantry.” (McLynn 194)

McLynn argues that in Chihuahua, the state was“stronger than ever, intervening at all points in economicand social life.” (194)

Religious Policies “Religious devotion was another vital aspect ofZapatismo.” (Krauze 297) The Virgin ofGuadalupe was displayed on their banners. Priestswere not persecuted, and many supported therevolutionaries.

Villa was very anti-clerical. Priests were beaten up,arrested, and shot. Churches were desecrated.


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Social Policies “Another notable feature of that war of wanderingvillages was its bias toward indigenous values andconsequent respect for the Indians.” (Krauze 296)

Zapata frequently addressed village in Náhuatl.

“He provided pensions [for widows and orphans], freefood and cheap mat for his followers and their families. He cut the cost of food and other basics, organizeddistribution and rationing, punished all abuses by deathand set his army to work on infrastructureprojects–repairing railways, telephones and telegraphlines, running electrification projects, streetcars, thewater supply and even slaughterhouses. He also sent hismen south to harvest the cotton crop in Durango.”(McLynn 190; cf also Krauze 315-6)

Villa loved children and was intensely committed toeducation. He built 100 schools, decreed there should bea school for each hacienda, increased teacher salaries[now there’s a hero!] built a military college, anddecreed that all homeless children should be found ahome and a school. (McLynn 190)

Social groups which suffered severely under Villaincluded Spaniards and Chinese.

Villa’s men engaged in considerable looting, arson andrape.

Attitude towardland reform

From a conversation between Villa and Zapata in1914: “They feel so much love for the land.” (Krauze 294-5)

From a conversation between Villa and Zapata in 1914: “Well, we should give the people these bits of land theywant.”


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Attitude towardpower

Conversation on the occasion of the famousphotograph in Mexico City, when Villa sat in thePresident’s chair. Villa: “Now it’s your turn.” Zapata: “I didn’t fight for that. I fought to get thelands back. I don’t care about politics.” (Krauze295)

IntellectualInfluences

Conversation between Zapata and Enrique Villa:“Emiliano, what do you think of communism?”“Explain to me what that is.”“For example, all of the people of a village farm . . .their lands together and then they distribute theharvest equally.”“Who makes the distribution?”“A representative, or a council elected by thecommunity.”“”Well, look, as far as I am concerned, if any‘somebody’ . . . would try to dispose of the fruits ofmy own labor in that way . . . I would fill him fullof bullets.” (Krauze 298)

Villa to John Reed: “Socialism, is it a thing?” (Krauze315)

Works Cited

Krauze, Enrique. Mexico: Biography of Power: A History of Modern Mexico 1810-1996. Translated Hank Heifetz. New York: Harper Perennial, 1997.

McLynn, Frank. Villa and Zapata: A History of the Mexican Revolution. New York: Carroll and Graf Publishers. 2000.

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Mexican Revolution: The Constructive Phase 1920-40A Brief Sketch




Presidency ofAlvaro Obregón

1920-1924 His administration faced the post World War I depression.

Mexico was the 3 largest producer of petroleum in the world. This will certainly not reduce USrd

interest

Obregón:Education

José Vasconcelos institutes a vigorous program of rural education. His purpose (at this time)was to integrate the Indians into mainstream mestizo society, to incorporate them into a razacósmica. (Meyer 572-3)

Vasconcelos andthe Muralists

Vasconcelos employed the Muralists– Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco, and David AlfaroSiqueiros– to decorate buildings with works that would also educate.

Obregón:Education

Obregón could not enforce the complete secularization of education because he lacked theresources to dispense with the Church.

To prevent himself from being perceived as pro-Church, he encouraged Protestant missionaries toenter the country.