Cardenas- Oil Industry

Cardenas & the Oil Industry

IF YOU WERE NOT PRESENT, PLEASE COMPLETE THIS WHILE READING PAGES 106-107

Open Ended

What city and nation was in for this picture?

Labor Unrest

• Despite Recovery, oil workers were not seeing wage increases

• Workers went on strike

• This disrupted Mexico's primary means to gain foreign revenue

• Cardenas supported the strike

Open Ended

Why would Cardenas support the strike even though it hurt the economy?

Mexican Nationalism

• The industry was domintated by British and the U.S.

• This made the strike a nationalist symbol

• Cardenas decided he had to intervene

• He discovered the companies could affort to pay the increases

Poll

What do you think would have been the best strategy in this dispute for the companies?

• Refuse to pay the increased wages

• Negotiate a lower wage increase

• Abandon the oil wells

• Get the U.S. government to intervene?

The Conflict Comes to a Head

• The companies refused to consider an increase

• FDR refused to intervene

• Cardenas decides to nationalize the oil industry

• Mexico paid only $130M of the $450M demanded

The Conflict Ends

• The companies made the transition difficult

• Cardenas formed a state-run company- PEMEX to

• Mexicans overwhelmingly supported this venture

• Eventually, PEMEX was successful and survives

• Conflict ends as FDR wants harmony

Multiple Choice

Why do you think FDR wanted the conflict to end for both countries?

• WWII was coming

• His Good Neighbor Policy

• He had Mexican family

• FDR wanted hemispheric harmony

The Mexican Revolutionary Party

• Cardenas was more popular than ever

• He dispands the old PNR & forms a new party

• The PRM cemented a relationship between the government & the workers

• This popular era became known as the Cardenismo

Open Ended

After reading about the Cardenismo on page 107, discuss why you believe Cardenas was successful with his presidency, when so many others had failed?