Mexican Revolution(Revolución Mexicana)

1910 - 1920

The end of the Porfiriato

• In 1910, Porfirio Diaz was nearing 80 years old.

• He wanted to become reelected one last time and then pass on the presidency to his nephew Felix Diaz

Francisco I. Madero

• From the northern state of Coahuila

• Family was wealthy landowners

• Opposed Diaz regime• Promised agrarian

reforms which attracted peasants to his cause

Francisco I. Madero

• Ran against Diaz in the 1910 election and promised to “meet force with force.”

• He was arrested by Diaz and sent to prison in San Luis Potosi

• His father used his influence and he escaped his prison guards

• He was smuggled across the U.S. border and set up shop in San Antonio, TX

Madero: Beginning the Revolution

• On Nov. 20th, 1910 he planned to meet his uncle across the border with 400 men

• His uncle showed up with 10• He fled to New Orleans.

• In Feb of 1911 Madero attacked Casas Grandes, Chihuahua with 130 troops

• By April the revolution had spread to 18 states and included such revolutionaries as Villa and Zapata

Madero: Treaty of Ciudad Juárez • Diaz, old and tired

understood his dictatorship was coming to an end

• Pascal Orozco and Francisco Villa defeated Diaz’ forces at the Battle of Ciudad Juárez forcing Diaz into exile in Europe

• Madero entered Mexico City on June 7th, 1911 with cheers of "¡Viva Madero!” The Porfiriato was officially over.

Victoriano Huerta: Madero’s Fall and Execution

• In early 1913, after only 14 months in office, Madero was assassinated

• Madero asked Huerta for “protection” from Felix Diaz and a rival general Bernardo Reyes

• Huerta agreed but then had Madero, Madero’s brother Gustavo and Madero’s vice president assassinated and assumed the presidency

• Madero was decapitatedVictoriano Huerta

Victoriano Huerta• Many Mexicans and the

U.S. president Woodrow Wilson refused to recognize Huerta as president

• Supported by the U.S., Venustiano Carranza, a farmer and politician from Northern Mexico, Zapata and Villa led their armies against Huerta

• In March of 1913, Huerta vacated the presidency and flees the country.

Venustiano Carranza

• Eventually Venustiano Carranza is elected president.

• Carranza attempted to enact many of the revolution’s goals of land reform, fair labor practices, foreign investors, and the role of the Catholic Church

• Carranza along with the “Constitutionalists” enacted many of these reforms in the Constitution of 1917

• For Zapata and Villa, he didn’t go far enough or fast enough with his reforms

• In May of 1920, his own generals, Obregon, Calles and De la Huerta had him ambushed and assassinated while he was attempting to flee the country

Venustiano Carranza

Francisco “Pancho” Villa(José Doroteo Arango Arámbula)

• Born in the state of Durango

• Allied (at times) with Madero, Zapata and even Carranza

• Commander of the División del Norte (Division of the North)

• Seized hacienda land for distribution mainly to individuals

• He robbed trains to pay for his expenses

• Villa had a great ability to recruit and was loved by the men and women who fought with him

• He was defeated in the Battle of Celaya by Carranza forces led by General Obregon

• The battle was one of the bloodiest in the revolution

Francisco “Pancho” Villa

• Angered that the U.S. supported Carranza as president, and to seek revenge upon the arms dealer that sold Villa useless ammunition, Villa launched an attack on Columbus, NM

• 17 U.S. citizens were killed or wounded

• However, 100 of his men were killed and over 600 captured.

• Villa avoided U.S. capture when President Wilson sent in troops to track him down in Mexico

Francisco “Pancho” Villa

• In 1920, Villa signed an agreement with Obregon and retired from military and political life

• In 1923 he was assassinated

• He was thought to have been killed by allies of Obregon because he feared Villa returning to politics and running for president in the 1924 elections

Francisco “Pancho” Villa

Emiliano Zapata• Born in 1879 in the village

of Anenecuilco • For decades prior to the

revolution, Zapata fought to retain land rights for the people of his village

• Allied himself very early on with Madero (although their relationship was strained) because he believed Madero was genuine in his desires to enact land reform

• After the overthrow of Diaz, Zapata became disillusioned with how slowly Madero was moving towards land reform – the only real demand Zapata wanted

• Issued the Plan of Ayala: The return of ALL lands taken from the people by the haciendados

• "Tierra y Libertad!" “Land and Freedom!"

Emiliano Zapata

• The Plan of Ayala gained Zapata a large amount of peasant support and made him a genuine man of the people

• Peasants joined his Ejército Libertador del Sur ("Liberation Army of the South") by the tens of thousands

Emiliano Zapata

Zapata and Villa• Both agreed that

the revolutionary leaders did not enact land reforms

• Fought against them all: Madero, Carranza, Huerta, Obregon

• His only true ally was Villa and at times their alliance was strained

The assassination of Zapata• April 10, 1919 • Met with one of

Carranza’s generals who told Zapata he wanted to defect to the Zapatistas

• Was ambushed by a group of pro-Carranza soldiers

• After his death, the Liberation Army of the South fell apart

Zapatistas• Those loyal to Zapata

• Fought for “communal land rights” of the indigenous

• Socialist reforms• Most Zapatistas

were poor Indian peasants

• The Zapatistas renewed fighting for land reform in 1994 after the signing of NAFTA

Soldaderas

• Women played a significant role in the revolution

• 15% of the Zapatistas are thought to have been women

• Many more women followed Villa’s army in the North

• Many joined to avenge the death of a family member

Soldaderas• Different from women

soldiers, Soldaderas were wives, daughters and girlfriends who were allowed to follow the army

• They cooked, cleaned, smuggled goods, spied on the enemy, and foraged for food

• A major reason for allowing soldaderas was it discouraged soldiers from deserting the army

Compare/Contrast Point: Land Reform Both wanted redistribution Both desired land taken from the Haciendados Both believed that a revolution was required Both were not satisfied with the reforms of

revolutionary leaders

Zapata: #1 priority; Villa: several reasons for fighting the revolution

Zapata: Communal Land Villa: Individual ownership of land

Compare/Contrast Point: As Revolutionary Generals Strong leaders Loved by their men Similar aims and goals

Villa: Fought a more traditional war (armies facing one another on the battlefield)

Zapata: Fought a guerrilla style war (small, mobile fighting force that attacks and retreats)

Villa: Outfitted his army with uniforms, bandoleer, etc. (more traditional)

Zapata: a peasant army (machetes, sombreros, etc.)

Compare/Contrast Point: Armies (Villistas / Zapatistas) Both armies took on the personalities of their leaders:

Villa – brash, individualistic; Zapata – reserved, polite, communal

Both had soldaderas

15% of Zapatistas were women (about 1 in 6). Most Villista women were not soldaderas but rather nurses,

cooks, foragers of food, etc.

Compare/Contrast Point: Desired a Weak Central Government Both saw the devastation that a strong central

government had on the people (the Porfiriato) Both were fearful of political power and refused to

assume power during the revolution Both continued to fight against revolutionary leaders

who refused to fully enact revolutionary reforms (Madero, Huerta, Carranza, etc.)

Villa cared mainly for the Northern states Zapata cared only for Morelos and even more specifically for

his village

Alvaro Obregon (1920-1924)• Very capable leader who

enacted some of the ideals of the Revolution:– Land reforms– Political reforms– Balanced both “Left” and

“Right” on the political spectrum on economic and religious issues

• First caudillo to reduce the military budget

• He was assassinated in 1924 when he planned to run for the presidency again.

Plutarco Elias Calles (1924-1928)• Another general in the

Revolution (caudillo)• Enforced articles 3 and

130 of the Constitution of 1917 – both reduced the power of the Catholic Church.

• This led to the Church calling for an economic boycott and eventually the Cristero Rebellion.

• The Cristiada lasted from 1926-1929. The “Maximato”

• Halted many of the agrarian reforms (land redistribution that had started under the Constitution of 1917.

• Was a believer in the political philosophy of fascism (Mussolini in Italy, Hitler in Germany).

• Stepped down in 1928, but ran the “puppet” presidencies from behind the scenes until Cardenas’ presidency in 1932.

Plutarco Elias Calles and the puppet governments (1928-1934)

• Entered the Revolution on the side of the Constitutionalists and fought against Villa and Zapata.

• Brought an end to the Maximato – had him exiled to the U.S.

• He was a populist president (man of the people) – spent much of his time touring the country hearing from the people.

• Many historians view him as one who “fulfilled the revolutionary promises.” (land reform, end of foreign influence, etc.)

Lazaro Cardenas (1934-40)

• Supported labor reform – improvement of worker conditions, pay, etc.

• Nationalized (also called expropriation) oil companies – Foreign oil companies no longer

had ownership of Mexican oil.

• Redistributed 70,000 square miles of land throughout Mexico during his presidency.

• Cardenas steps down from the presidency – most historians mark this as the official “end” to the Mexican Revolution.

Lazaro Cardenas (1934-40)