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The people fought through the revolution from 1910-1920, to earn their rights. The Revolution was increasingly corrupt, inflexible, and had a violent dictatorship. President Diaz oversaw the broadcast and most rapid period of economic expansion which led to mass loss of land. Porfirio Diaz (Background) Although the Mexican Revolution officially started in 1910, you have to go back a few decades to understand why the Revolution happened. During that time, former military general Porfirio Diaz was viewed by some as a national hero because he had helped expel French soldiers who were attacking Mexico. But don’t be fooled! In today’s Mexico, Diaz is far from being considered a national hero. In 1870, Diaz ran for president of Mexico. He used a no-re-election slogan during the campaign that said no president should serve more than one term. In 1876, Diaz assumed the presidency. Although he stepped down after one term, Diaz maintained complete control over his successor, Manuel Gonzales Flores. It was as if Diaz was a puppeteer controlling Flores’ commands as president.
After Flores was president for four years, Diaz decided to forget his no-re-election policy. Diaz had the country’s constitution amended to remove all restrictions on re-elections. Diaz said, ‘I lied. I’m going to be president from now on.’ Diaz continued to be president for 35 years. The 35-year era from 1876-1911, in which Diaz led the government as President, is known as the Porfiriato in Mexico. Diaz brought about economic improvement and was able to draw foreign investors to Mexico to help build the nation’s railroad infrastructure, mining industry, and overall economy. Under Diaz, the economy grew at an average rate of 2.5%. Diaz also made improvements to the Mexican military, giving Mexicans a sense of pride nationwide. But as I said earlier, Diaz is not known as a national hero these days in Mexico. That is because the growth experienced under Diaz was not shared by all. Mexican Indians, in particular, were most hurt under Diaz, who took over native lands, divided them up, and sold them to private companies. So, while Mexico experienced significant growth overall, Mexican Indians – who made up a significant portion of the Mexican population – were hurt under Diaz.
Today, Diaz’s presidency is known as a dictatorship because the country was ruled by one person with total power. Diaz went to great lengths to ensure that he was re-elected every term. He used violence and intimidation to get his desired election results. People who criticized the government were viciously beaten. When that didn’t work, he would just lie and make up the election results. Generally, the combination of this ruthless dictatorship and the high levels of inequality in the country is cited by scholars as the main long-term causes of the Mexican Revolution. (Britanica – “Porfirio Diaz”) Challenger Suddenly, Mexicans began to think that Diaz’s reign was coming to an end and challengers began to appear. Mexico became a pot of boiling water. Diaz tried to put a lid on the revolutionary fever, but doing that increased the pressure leading to massive boiling over. Mexico was ready for a revolution.
By 1910, a clear challenger came to Diaz in the form of Fransisco Madero. Madero organized and led the Anti-Re-election Party, essentially promising to never let a dictator like Diaz gain re-election. To try and control Madero, Diaz had him jailed and created a mock election, in which, not surprisingly, Diaz won re-election. Many Mexicans were furious about how fake this election was! Madero was released from jail and exiled to San Antonio in the United States. There, Madero wrote the “Plan de San Luis Potosi”, a political document that called for an end to Diaz’s reign and the re-institution of democracy in Mexico. He called for all Mexicans to rebel against on November 20th, 1910, against Diaz’s government. Madero’s plot didn’t work as planned, but it did lead to a rise of a new group of revolutionaries in Mexico. A common proverb says that “an enemy of my enemy is my friend”. And this was the truth in the Mexican Revolution. Porfirio Diaz became so unpopular that a new set of characters united together in their mutual hate of Diaz. Learning about the leaders of the Mexican Revolution, in many ways, is like learning about the cast of a tv show. I say this because the Mexican Revolution is full of a bunch of bizarre and intriguing characters.
Two revolutionaries from the north of Mexico for their ruthless style of fighting: were Pancho Villa and Pascual Orozco. In one famous instance, Villa and Orozco defeated soldiers loyal to President Diaz. Orozco ordered the dead soldiers of Diaz’s army to be stripped. Orozco sent the uniforms to Diaz with a note, “Here are the wrappers, now send me more tamales.” As for Pancho Villa, he became known as the Mexican Robin Hood. He was legendary for robbing trains, seizing land from rich businessmen, and redistributing wealth to poor peasants. In the south, the Mexican Revolution was led by Emiliano Zapata. Zapata represented the several Native Americans who suffered under Diaz’s policy of allowing a small elite group of landowners to control Mexican peasants. Zapata led the peasants in the South against the Diaz regime. Zapata’s group railed along with the slogan, “Justicia, Tierra, Libertad”, which translates as Justice, Land, Liberty: the three main cries of the Native Americans in Southern Mexico. Between the armies of Madero, Zapata, Villa, and Orozco, the group was able to rally around their hatred of Porfirio Diaz. After a series of military victories, they were finally able to expel Diaz, who fled to Europe in exile, ending his dictatorship of 35 years. (Britannica – “Mexican Revolution”) Causes and Effects Social/Economic Mexico created resentment among the lower/working classes who began to call for a revolution. Diaz’s land alliances with non-Mexican foreigners that took land away from the Mexican people led to distrust towards foreign investments. Anger towards the government about working conditions. Wealth and power were concentrated in the hands of the few.
The people of Mexico were getting tired of the dictatorial rule of president Porfirio Diaz. The middle and upper class were tired of the president’s way and the lower class was tired of poor working conditions and low wages. The Mexican Revolution destroyed the old government and army of the dictator Porfirio Diaz, and eventually changed the country’s economic and social system. Within the classes, everyone was fighting for their freedom from Diaz. A new, less-traditional party was emerging (democracy). Political Before the Mexican Revolution, the president was Porfirio Diaz. He industrialized and modernized Mexico, and angered his people by not improving conditions. Francisco Madero tried to run against Diaz. Diaz imprisoned Madero before the election. Mexicans felt their government was extremely oppressive. Madero became president and tried to please everyone. Madero was murdered by Victoriano Huerta soon after becoming president, despite Diaz’s attempts to industrialize and modernize. (History.com – “Mexican Revolution”) Is it a Revolution?
Works Cited
- Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Mexican Revolution.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., www.britannica.com/event/Mexican-Revolution.
- Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Porfirio Díaz.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 11 Sept. 2019, www.britannica.com/biography/Porfirio-Diaz.
- Greenspan, Jesse. “6 Things You May Not Know About the Mexican Revolution.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 20 Nov. 2012, www.history.com/news/6-things-you-may-not-know-about-the-Mexican-revolution.
- History.com Editors. “Mexican Revolution.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 9 Nov. 2009, www.history.com/topics/mexico/mexican-revolution.
- “Mexican Revolution.” New Articles RSS, encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/mexican_revolution.
- “Mexican Revolution.” Revolutionary Movements in World History: from 1750 to Present, pp. 560-569, by James DeFronzo, ABC-CLIO, 2006. https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwj31b38gbPlAhVBjp4KHcaiD1wQjRx6BAgBEAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.britannica.com%2Fevent%2FMexican-Revolution&psig=AOvVaw32pqXXuu5xt6lzvSjOvGuO&ust=1571941857781451
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