HISTORY OF MEXICO: Two uprisings, a century apart

Mexico began with an uprising against Spanish rule. The War of Independence started in 1810 and lasted 11 years, when the country finally gained independence in 1821. The next one hundred years, however, were a parade of numerous governments—changing from liberal to conservative, from emperors to presidents, the drafting of various constitutions, settling on a federal, republican model. The entire century that began with sovereignty was fraught with bloody wars—both civil and foreign.

In 1876, General Porfirio Diaz, a supporter of progressive ideals enacted by Ignacio Ramirez and Benito Juárez, became the president-elect and changed the cycle. He was welcomed by the liberals of Mexico who felt that he would carry their banner forward and lead the nation to prosperity and social well-being, respecting the laws and the constitution. And during his first four-year term, Diaz maintained his promise to the nation.

In 1880, Diaz did not seek election as the law that he himself promoted did not allow consecutive presidential terms. For the next four years, he kept a low profile. But in 1884, he ran again and won the presidency. Once in power, he chose to never abandon the presidency again and, for the next 26 years held power as a dictator.

One could liken Diaz’s regime—a total of 30 years, when we include the first term—to a minimalist Pax Romana; a period of two hundred years during which Rome enjoyed peace and prosperity under the rule of emperors. Similarly, the rule of Porfirio Diaz, referred to as the Porfiriato, brought relative peace, political and financial stability, expansion of industry and infrastructure, modernization of cities, and foreign investments. But there are stark differences. Unlike the Pax Romana, which came about when Rome gained superiority over other territories, the “Pax Porfiriana,” was built on suppression of political opposition in Mexico.

There were other, gravely negative aspects of Diaz’s rule. As a dictator, intent on maintaining his political hold—some said he was drunk with power—he did what is typical of such leaders. There was political repression and a disregard for civil liberties: muzzling of the press and outright prohibition against protests. The economic effects did not filter down; instead, modernization such as railroad construction led to a wealth gap with the enrichment of a small circle of elites while the majority of Mexicans remained impoverished. The rural communities suffered the most, especially the indigenous people, with dispossession of land, widespread poverty and debt peonage for many.

In 1908, in an interview with an American journalist, Diaz said he would not seek reelection in 1910, and a movement for a candidate gained momentum. Francisco Madero toured the country promoting the selection of a national assembly to select candidates for the upcoming election. But Diaz apparently changed his mind about running again and had Madero arrested for sedition. While Madero was in jail, elections were held, and Diaz won the presidency again.

Madero escaped from prison and fled to San Antonio, Texas, from where he proclaimed the start of an uprising against Diaz on November 20, 1910—one hundred years after the War of Independence. The armed conflict began in the north of the country and spread to other parts of the national territory. On May 25, 1911, Porfirio Diaz resigned from the presidency and went into exile in France. The choice for his expatriation was no surprise; he had been a life-long Francophile with evidence of this in many of the buildings, plazas, and parks he had built around Mexico with a definite French touch. One example is our own Parque Juarez, built during the Porfiriato, which was often called “jardin frances,” the French garden.

In November 1911, new elections were held, and Francisco Madero was elected president. He did not last long. In 1913, a revolutionary movement led to his assassination, after which Victoriano Huerta, one of the leaders of the revolt, assumed the presidency. The struggle between factions became ever more violent

The 1910 Mexican Revolution was fundamentally agrarian in nature. The Diaz policies of land consolidation and foreign investment led to the widespread disenfranchisement of rural peasants, making agrarian unrest a central driver of the conflict. The land was held in large, foreign-owned estates known as haciendas, and policies during the Porfiriato encouraged wealthy landowners to seize communal lands, displacing peasants and indigenous peoples. By 1910, 90% of agricultural laborers had no land rights.

Magnificent mural representing the agrarian revolution by David Alfaro Siqueiros

There was also a shift toward cultivating sugar and coffee on these large estates, replacing the subsistence crops that peasants relied on for food. Landless peasants were forced to work on the haciendas for low wages and often fell into debt, trapping in a system of servitude akin to feudalism, where their human rights were ignored. A severe drought between 1907 and 1909 exacerbated the widespread desperation and pushed many to the breaking point.

Several powerful revolutionary leaders arose; Emiliano Zapata and Pancho Villa are the two most famous populists. Both of them fought for the rights of the peasants and the indigenous population, demanding reform to land laws. Emiliano Zapata was first on the scene and supported Madero’s quest for the presidency, because of the Madero’s promises about land reform. Zapata led a successful military campaign that made Diaz realize he could no longer hold on to power.

But Madero was not ready to implement radical land reforms and Zapata vowed to continue fighting until the peasants’ goals were met. He did not share Madero's vision of democracy built on particular freedoms and guarantees he found meaningless: “Freedom of the press for those who cannot read; free elections for those who do not know the candidates; proper legal [representation] for those who have anything to do with an attorney. All those democratic principles…have lost their magic for the people,” he said. Zapata broke with Madero, and became an independent guerilla leader with a strong following.

Pancho Villa was another powerful leader who was strongly in favor of land reforms. He served as governor of Chihuahua from 1913 to 1914, and he and Zapata became formal allies during this period. Their alliance, however, was fragile because they had different visions for the revolution. For Zapata, the central issue was land reform for the peasants, while Villa was more focused on a national military strategy and the broader struggle for power.

Pancho Villa

When we think of the Mexican Revolution, Emiliano Zapata and Pancho Villa are two figures most remembered, the most colorful and outspoken. They were fierce fighters and warriors, and died as such—both of them assassinated—Zapata in 1919, and Pancho Villa in 1923. They are the two most remembered in popular literature and movies.

So when did the Mexican Revolution finally come to an end? If we are to gauge that by the implementation of land reforms as fought for by Zapata and Villa, then the revolution dragged on until the 1940s. Some agrarian laws were implemented in 1915 and enshrined in the constitution of 1917, but the most aggressive changes came during the presidency of Lazaro Cardenas (1934-1940) when the remaining haciendas were dismantled.

Now we have a better understanding of what Mexico commemorates on November 20. But the official date for the federal holiday does not take place on the 20^th; it is on the Monday closest to it, which this year falls on November 17.