The independence process in Hispanic America, as highlighted by several scholars, did not bring about deep transformations in the old colonial framework. In Mexico, the eminently agrarian and exclusionary features of its economy gained greater strength during the dictatorship established by Porfírio Diaz. Ruling Mexico from 1876 and 1911, the so-called “porfiriato” had as its main political mission to preserve the privileges of the elite that embraced the independence movement.
During this period, Mexican society was formed by a majority of illiterate people, who added up to a total of 11 million people. A large part of this uninformed and miserable mass was composed of individuals of indigenous origin submitted to the legitimate disobedience of the great landowners. In this context, we will note the formation of a popular movement away from the large circles of ideological and political discussion, marked by its popular and social character.
In the early years of the 20th century, peasants began to mobilize around a demand project that defended greater access to land. In urban centers, opposition to the status quo manifested itself in the occurrence of workers' strikes and newspaper criticism. This entire process of opposition came to a head when Porfirio Diaz announced his resignation in 1911. Soon after, defending the expansion of political rights, Francisco Madero was elected with broad support from a population seduced by promises of social reform and an end to social exclusion.
The expectations of a population stifled by this entire process of segregation surrounded the inauguration of the new Mexican president. The peasants were already mobilizing around agrarian reform, expansion of rights and freedoms, and the valorization of the indigenous element in Mexican society. Under the motto “land and freedom”, rural workers were led by Emiliano Zapata – leader of the southern region – and Pancho Villa, poor peasant in the southern part.
Madero's administration, in a short time, became synonymous with frustration. Peasant dissatisfaction translated into intensified revolts against large estates and direct combat actions. Francisco Madero, living up to his excessively reformist action, did not support peasant action and protected the large landowners. The revolutionary potential soon alerted the industrial powers that, at the time, adopted interventionist actions in the American continent.
The pace of the Mexican revolution intensified when Madero was assassinated at the behest of Army commander Victoriano Huerta. The military tried to cool the revolutionary wave by creating a dictatorial regime. However, the actions of peasants led by Zapata and Villa forced the fall of the Huerta government in 1914. A new constitutional government was established with the election of Venustiano Carranza.
The Mexican revolution gathered strength as the agrarian elites tried to reorganize the national political scene. In 1917, a new constitutional charter was created, legitimizing the Carranza government. The revolutionaries did not support the new president and remained in a situation of struggle. However, the death of Emiliano Zapata, in 1919, and of Pancho Villa, in 1923, caused the dismemberment of the Mexican subordinate class, putting an end to the revolutionary process.
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By Rainer Sousa
Graduated in History
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
SOUSA, Rainer Gonçalves. "Mexican Revolution"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/historiag/revolucao-mexina.htm. Accessed on July 27, 2021.