REVOLUTION IN MEXICO
2/8/2010
Notes
Class materials, including PowerPoints and readings, may now be found at: http://www.reginanockerts.com/polmktslatam.htmI will still use BlackBoard to send email announcements and you may still use Digital Dropbox.
The most recent edition of the Chasteen book has different chapter numbering than what is listed on the syllabus. Please make sure that you are reading the chapters titled "Nationalism" and "Revolution."
What is Revolution?
Political Revolution: “a movement that brings about the (violent) overthrow of a government, after which the revolutionary forces take power, at least for a time. …[and] a major social and/or political-ideological change must also take place…”
Keddie, Debating Revolutions, 1995
Profound change in basic existing power structures Power-holders Political organization Social structures
Questions Speed Duration Pervasiveness Violence
When do Revolutions Happen?In Latin America revolutions happen when… … a structurally weak regime…
the regime engenders cross-class opposition the ruling class is distant from civil society and cannot mobilize
social support Highly personalized rule cannot mobilize nationalist or patriotic
imagery to reinforce solidarity and morale … meets a guerilla opposition force …
has sufficient military power to endure and outlast military repression
has sufficient power to achieve a confrontational transfer of power … which garners popular support:
the opposition garners widespread social support – which, in Latin America, must include peasant support
cross-class opposition is usually based on nationalism or patriotism
There is no guaranteeWickham-Crowley, 1992
Guerrillas and Revolution in Latin America
The Porfiriato
A weak regime Highly personalized rule Distance from civil society and
cannot mobilize social support Accommodation with foreign
corporations, the Catholic Church, and large landowners were unpopular
Economic diversification led to rising food costs and even food shortages as resources were shifted away from subsistence agriculture
Cross-class opposition Díaz frequently ignored the 1857
Constitution Wildly fraudulent elections in 1910
The Revolutionary Oppositionguerilla opposition force has sufficient military
power to endure and outlast military repression
has sufficient power to achieve a confrontational transfer of power
The Leaders Francisco Madero Pancho Villa Emiliano Zapata Venustiano Carranza
The Revolutionary Opposition Early Presidents
Francisco Madero, 1911-1913 Victoriano Huerta, 1913-1914 Venustiano Carranza, 1914-1920 Alvaro Obregón, 1920-1924
Revolutionary Mexico
The state offers the minimum necessary reform to ensure the legitimacy of the “revolutionary” state.
Political Enfranchisement Universal male suffrage, 1912 The Mexican Constitution of 1917
Mode of Production and Property Land reform
The amount of land held in independent farms of 1,000 or more hectares dropped from 82% in 1923 to 32% in 1970
Modernization was in tension with revolutionary land reform
Revolutionary Mexico
Class Relations Tensions between lower class demands for social
justice and elite desire for social and political stability
The revolution ties popular identity to the state instead of village or patron
State control over social reform led to general acceptance of the ideals and rhetoric of social justice
Foreign Relations FDR’s "Good Neighbor" policy and public
commitment to refrain from military intervention When Mexico nationalized its oil industry1938, the
US forebear to intervene despite industry pressure Mexico's fear of incurring US displeasure by
supporting leftist governments in Latin America
¿Viva la Revolución?
The mixed goals of the government ultimately limited its ability to succeed at either social justice or stability
The descent: 1934-1940, Cárdenas 1940-1946, Manuel Avila Camacho 1946-1952, Miguel Alemán
1968, The Tlatelolco massacre 1982, Bankruptcy 1994, The Zapatista Army of National Liberation 2000-2006, Vicente Fox
¿Viva la Revolución?
Does the idea of the revolution still hold legitimizing power?
Zapatismo: Struggle for land, peasant rights, local autonomy, and self government
Poncho Villa: Patriotic sentiment attached to the idea of Villa as warlord, macho, successfully invaded the US
Cárdenas: nationalization and national pride attached to his actions as President - nationalization of the oil industry, recognition of indigenous identity and its incorporation into a new national identity, reform and modernization (ex land reform and education)
HOWEVER, polls show that the PRI was no longer popularly perceived as revolutionary by the 1960s.
Questions
What are the major factors shaping revolutionary outcomes?
Is revolution a good thing?
Is revolution possible in Latin America today? Probable?