The Mexican Revolution

The Mexican Revolution

The Mexican Revolution was the culmination of a mass of political, economic, and social tension that accompanied the regime of the dictator Porfirio Diaz. The Revolution began with the aims to overthrow Diaz, but the Revolution had a pronounced effect on the organization of Mexico's government, economy, and society.

Porfirio Diaz was the president of Mexico when the Revolution broke out. He was elected in 1877, and although he swore to step down in 1880, he continued to be reelected until 1910. He claimed that he was justified in this because he brought stability to Mexico. However, this was hardly the case. Diaz's regime aimed to industrialize Mexico, and foreign investors such as the United States and Britain were eager to support the industrialization. Diaz's policies were so accommodating to foreigners that it angered the Mexican people. While the foreign investments were a source of heated debate, Diaz's land policy was even more questionable. There was a concentration of land power in the hands of the elite, and there was a huge disparity between the poor and wealthy in Mexico during Diaz's regime. Also, a law passed in 1883 allowed private companies to survey the land, and these companies controlled nearly 20 percent of the land in Mexico. Also, Diaz was allowing foreign people to take the communal land away from the indigenous peoples. The indigenous people were poverty-stricken and had less land than ever. The one good thing was that Mexico was exporting industries like sugar and coffee to overseas trading partners, yet Mexico could not feed itself; it needed to import many foods like corn. The money in the hands of the elite was a major cause of the revolution in Mexico.

The election of 1910 was the controversy that marked the beginning of the Mexican Revolution. Francisco I. Madero decided to run against Diaz as a candidate in the election. Diaz allowed Madero to run, thinking that it would make the process look more democratic. However, when Madero became popular and the rallying point for many anti-Diaz forces, Diaz had Madero thrown into jail until the elections were over. After Diaz had won by a landslide, he released Madero from prison. Madero promptly fled to San Antonio, Texas to plan a revolution. There he wrote the Plan of St. Luis Potosi, which said that the election was fraudulent and that he was the provisional president of Mexico. The plan was purely political and Madero planned to have a completely democratic government. The plan said nothing about changing the situation for farmers and peasants. However, rural peasants latched onto the plan, thinking that Madero would also reform the country economically and socially. There were many revolutions carried out under Madero's flag, specifically revolutions carried out by Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata.

Different groups had very different goals for what the Mexican revolution would accomplish. The rural peasants and indigenous people wanted the land to be taken out of the hands of the aristocracy or the elite and have the land be evenly divided between the rural towns. They wanted the territory of their ancestors back because it had been stripped from them during the regime of Porfirio Diaz. They also wanted to be taken out of poverty and to have farming available to them again so that they could sustain their lives and work for their living. Therefore, because the peasants were suffering under the regime of Diaz, they wholeheartedly supported the revolution and everything that came with it. The Roman Catholic Church, however, did not see the revolution as a good thing. Diaz had strong government ties to the Catholic Church, and their goals were to keep their influence widespread, improve catholic education in Mexico, expansion of the Catholic press, and many more. However, while Madero kept the Catholic Church close, the Constitutionalists that succeeded Madero denounced the Catholic faith and in the Constitution of 1917, there were specific articles that had restraining effects on the expansion of the Catholic Church. The Church did not benefit from the revolution at all.

The Mexican Revolution caused major changes in Mexico; its impact was far-reaching and drastic. The old political elite had been brushed aside, and a new revolutionary elite had taken power. The revolution advocated the centralization of power in Mexico, particularly in the president. The role of the military had been substantially reduced. Also, there was the establishment of a formal political party, which helped to stabilize the political situation in Mexico. There were also great social reforms as a result of the revolution. Peasants and workers now had more of a