The Mexican Revolution (I)

Origins and Causes

Origins of the Revolution: The regime of
Porfirio Díaz
- Profound social revolutions are rare. They involve a transformation of politics
and values, the restructuring of the economy and the redistribution of wealth,
status and opportunities. The Mexican Revolution includes many of these
characteristics.

Key questions for Diaz regime

- What were the main characteristics of Mexico in the early twentieth century?
- How did Porfi rio Díaz consolidate his power in Mexico?
- How did various social groups relate to the Díaz regime?
- What were the effects of the Díaz regime’s emphasis on economic progress?
 Social characteristics of Mexico
● By 1910 there were almost 15 millions
people living in Mexico. From them:
● 60 per cent mestizo, 30 per cent Indian, 9
per cent European, and 1 per cent other.
● Mostly of mexican speaks Spanish, about
a third of the population also speaks
Náhuatl, Maya, or other Indian languages.
● Nearly 90 per cent of the population is
Roman Catholic.
● The majority of them were poor.
Peasants, miners, soldiers, factory
workers and beggars
Economic development in the 20th century
● At the beginning of the twentieth century
Mexico was primarily a rural and agrarian
nation producing cash crops for export:
cotton and rubber, sugar cane in Morelos,
henequén in the Yucatán peninsula, and
tobacco in Oaxaca.
● Also had valuable mineral resources in the
north:silver, copper and gold, as well as oil
in the Gulf of Mexico area.
● Industry was a growing economic sector,
employing 600,000 workers by 1910. The
cotton textile industry was the most
important → Worked in harsh conditions
 Porfirio Díaz rise to power
Before the elections of 1876:

● Chief Justice Lerdo de Tejada had not treated the

army and the Church well, so they turned to Díaz.
● Díaz had gathered monetary and armaments support
in the USA while organizing an army in Texas.
● Díaz also appealed to entrepreneurs and caudillos
who supported him in return for favors
● Díaz staged a military revolt against Lerdo’s
government that forced Lerdo’s resignation. Called to
elections on 1876, which he won unopposed as a
military hero. Thus began his increasingly
authoritarian government of Mexico for the next 34
years
Porfirio Díaz Mandates
He is responsible of the industrialization, economic
growth, modernization (mostly in communication) and
for having little regard for human rights.

● 1876-1880: First government

● 1880-1884: Manuel González is president. He
owed his position to Díaz. With him, Díaz
continued to rule from the Cabinet. He was
particularly keen on improving Mexican Manuel Gonzáles
infrastructure: railroads between Mexico and the
USA.
● 1884-1910: Díaz returned to the presidency in
1884 and amended the constitution to allow
consecutive re-election
Díaz methods
● Used rigged elections and clientelism to
control individual state political machines, such
as governorships
● “Peace, order and progress”: Used the army
and rurales to control the population in the early
1900s. “Pan o Palo”.
● He crushed any opposition and controlled
elections to ensure he would stay President
● Appointed governors, members of Congress,
and “jefes políticos”, all of whom could
purchase public lands
● Controlled the press
● Land, wealth and education was limited to a
socio-economic elite.
The Creelman interview
● As Mexican presidential elections loomed in
1910, all eyes were on the aging Díaz. He
would be 80 years old in 1910. Would he step
down?
● In 1908 he gave an interview to James
Creelman , in which he stated that Mexico was
now ready for a Democracy. He said he would
step up and allow others to compete for the
presidency.
● He changed his mind and ran again in 1910.
● He was sure he could control the election as in
the past.
Social and Economic balance of Porfiria Díaz
Mandate

● Porfirio Díaz felt that social repression and political manipulation were
necessary in order to modernize Mexico.
● By availing himself of the científicos (entrepreneurs, landowners and
technocrats who believed in positivism), he privileged economic development
by encouraging foreign investment in building railroads, ports and the mining
and oil industries.
● This foreign investment was mostly from the US which owned a big part of the
railroads.
● After 34 years, from 1876 to 1911, the long dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz
created an unbalanced Mexico.
Causes of the Mexican Revolution
● 30 years of dictatorship. People were tired of Porfirio and his figure got old.
● Porfiriato: Dictatorship and human rights abuse. Opposition was growing in
different parts of the society. They were beaten up, arrested or murdered.
● “New creoles”
● Modernized México:
● Masses suppressed working class-wages declined/600 000 industrial workers
● Huge social gap: 95% of rural population excluded. Didn´t own any land and
other privileges of the middle (cientificos) and wealthier classes (hacendados
and urban elites).
● Mestizo population growth
Sources
● Benson, P and Berliner, Y. (2018). The Mexican Revolution 1910–40. London:
Hodder Education.
● Mr. Turner IB slides: https://slideplayer.com/slide/7279160/