REVOLUCION

After Benito Juárez's death in 1872, Porfirio Díaz took over as Mexico's leader. As allies the two men had fought against the French in the Battle of Puebla, but once Juárez rose to power Díaz tried to unseat him. Díaz began his tenure as president in 1876 and ruled until May 1911[4] when Francisco I. Madero succeeded him, taking office in November.[5] Díaz's regime is remembered for the advances he brought in industry and modernization, at the expense of human rights and liberal reforms.

Díaz's rule from 1876 to 1911 has become known as the Porfiriato era. Díaz had a strict "No Re-election" policy whereby presidents could not serve consecutive terms in office.[citation needed] He followed this rule when he stepped down (1880) after his first term and was succeeded by Manuel González Flores.[citation needed] Gonzalez was controlled by Diaz and was commonly known as Diaz's puppet.[citation needed] The new president's period in office was marred by political corruption and official incompetence.[citation needed] When Díaz ran in the next election (1884), he was a welcome replacement. In future elections Díaz conveniently put aside his "No Re-election" slogan and ran for president in every election.[citation needed]

Diaz was an early liberal, but changed his views after Juarez took office. He became the dictator against whom he had warned the people. Through the army, the Rurales—a paramilitary force that kept order in the countryside—and gangs of thugs, Diaz frightened people into voting for him. When bullying citizens into voting for him failed, he simply rigged the votes in his favor.[6] He justified his stay in office by claiming that Mexico was not yet ready to govern itself;[citation needed] only he knew what was best for his country and he enforced his belief with a strong hand. "Order followed by Progress" were the watchwords of his rule.[citation needed]

Leaders of the 1910 revolt pose for a photo after the First Battle of Juárez. Present are José María Pino Suárez, Venustiano Carranza, Francisco I. Madero (and his father), Pascual Orozco, Pancho Villa, Gustavo Madero, Raul Madero, Abraham González, and Giuseppe Garibaldi Jr.

While Díaz's presidency was characterized by promotion of industry and the pacification of the country, it came at the expense of the working class. Farmers and peasants both complained of oppression and exploitation. The economy took a great leap during the Porfiriato, as he encouraged the construction of factories, roads, dams, industries and better farms. This resulted in the rise of an urban proletariat and the influx of foreign capital (principally from the United States).

Part of his success in maintaining power came from mitigating U.S. influence through European investments—primarily from Great Britain and Imperial Germany. Progress came at a price, however, as basic rights such as freedom of the press were suspended under the Porfiriato.[7] The growing influence of the U.S. was a constant problem for Díaz.[citation needed]

Wealth, political power and access to education were concentrated among a handful of families, overwhelmingly of European descent, known as hacendados, who controlled vast swaths of the country by virtue of their huge estates (one family, the Terrazas, had one estate in Sonora alone that comprised more than a million acres). Most people in Mexico were landless, laboring on the vast estates or in the mines for little more than slave wages. Foreign companies, mostly from the United Kingdom, France and the U.S., also exercised power in Mexico.

"Manifestación antireeleccionista" by José Guadalupe Posada

Díaz changed land reform efforts that were begun under previous leaders. His new "reforms" virtually undid all the work by leaders such as Juárez. No peasant or farmer could claim the land he occupied without formal legal title. Helpless and angry small farmers and landless peasants saw no hope for themselves and their families under a Diaz regime, and came to the conclusion that a change of leadership would be the only route that offered any hope for themselves and their country. Such famous figures in Mexican history as Francisco I. Madero, Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata would launch a rebellion against Díaz, all of which eventually coalesced into what became known as the Mexican Revolution. More than 95% of Mexico's land was owned by less than 5% of the population. This vastly unequal distribution of land—and, therefore, wealth—had plagued Mexico for many years, to the anger and dismay of the working classes. Workers on the vast "haciendas" were often treated like slaves, being beaten for the slightest infraction—real or imagined—and murders of workers by their "masters" were common. Another way to ensure that farmers and workers were kept under the thumb of the wealthy classes was to make sure that any debt incurred was passed down from generation to generation, thereby ensuring that it would never be paid off and the farmers would be kept in perpetual debt bondage.

Most historians mark the end of the Porfiriato in 1911 as the beginning of the Mexican Revolution. In a 1908 interview with U.S. journalist James Creelman, Díaz stated that Mexico was ready for democracy and elections and that he would step down to allow other candidates to compete for the presidency.[8][9][10] Growing "old and careless", Díaz figured he would retire to Europe and allow a younger man to take over his presidency. Because of the turmoil this caused, Díaz decided to run again in 1910 for the last time, with an eye toward arranging a succession in the middle of his term.

Madero ran against Díaz in 1910. Diaz thought he could control this election as he had the previous seven.[11] Although similar overall to Díaz in his ideology,[citation needed] Madero hoped for other elites to rule alongside the president. Díaz did not approve of Madero and had him jailed on election day in 1910. Díaz was announced the winner of the election by a "landslide", providing the initial impetus for the outbreak of the Revolution. When it became obvious that the election was fixed, Madero supporter Toribio Ortega took up arms with a group of followers at Cuchillo Parado, Chihuahua on November 10, 1910.

Francisco I. Madero[edit source | editbeta]

Main article: Francisco I. Madero

1903. The banner reads: "The Constitution has died" (La Constitución ha muerto).

In 1910 Francisco I. Madero, a young man from a wealthy family in the northern state of Coahuila, stated that he would be running against Díaz for the presidency in the next election. To ensure Madero did not win, Díaz had him thrown in jail, then declared himself the winner. Madero soon escaped and fled for a short period of time to San Antonio, Texas, United States. On October 5, 1910, Madero issued a "letter from jail" called the Plan de San Luis Potosí, with its main slogan Sufragio Efectivo, No re-elección ("free suffrage and no re-election"). It declared the Díaz regime illegal and called for revolt against Díaz, starting on November 20. Though Madero's letter was not a plan for major socioeconomic revolution, it offered the hope of change for many disadvantaged Mexicans.[11]

Madero's vague promises of agrarian reforms attracted many peasants throughout Mexico. He received the support from them that he needed to remove Díaz from power and raised an army consisting mostly of ordinary farmers, miners, and other working-class Mexicans, along with much of the country's Indian population. Madero's army fought Diaz's forces with some success, and he attracted the forces of other rebel leaders like Pancho Villa, Ricardo Flores Magón, Emiliano Zapata and Venustiano Carranza, and they eventually joined together to fight Diaz. Diaz's army suffered several major defeats, and his administration started to fall apart..

Troops of Francisco Madero's revolutionary army.

In late 1910 revolutionary movements broke out in response to Madero's letter. Pascual Orozco, along with governor Abraham González, formed a powerful military union in the north, and took Mexicali and Chihuahua City, although they were not especially committed to Madero. These victories encouraged alliances with other revolutionary leaders, including Pancho Villa. Against Madero's wishes, Orozco and Villa fought for and won Ciudad Juárez, bordering El Paso, Texas, along the Rio Grande. Madero's action also mobilized revolutionary organization and opened up the way for the Baja California Rebellion, against his intentions.

After Madero defeated the Mexican federal army, on May 21, 1911 he signed the Treaty of Ciudad Juárez with Diaz. It stated that Díaz would abdicate his rule and be replaced by Madero. Insisting on a new election, Madero won overwhelmingly in late 1911. Some supporters criticized him for appearing weak by not assuming the presidency and failing to pass immediate reforms, but Madero established a liberal democracy and received support from the United States and popular leaders such as Orozco, Villa and Zapata.

Madero was a weak leader and quickly lost much of his support while in power. He angered both the more radical revolutionists and the conservative counter-revolutionists, including the unpopular Congress elected during Díaz's rule. His refusal to enact land reforms caused a break with Zapata, who announced the Plan de Ayala, which called for the return of lands "usurped by the hacendados" (hacienda owners) and demanded armed conflict against the government.

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