Mexican Revolution

The Mexican Revolution

By Patricia Salgado

When Diaz ran for reelection in 1910, Francisco Madero, a member of one of the wealthiest families in Mexico, denounced the regime and launched the Anti-Re-electionist Party.

Diaz imprisoned Madero, but he escaped to the United States.

​

From Texas, Madero devised the "Plan of San Luis" and issued a call for revolution in the name of land reform and political freedom. He set the date for November 20, 1910. Supporters of all different socioeconomic classes emerged all over Mexico, and Diaz was unable to contain them.

​

By May 25, 1911, Diaz was on a boat, headed for exile in France. At the age of 38, Madero was elected president in a landslide. His administration promised a return to democracy and liberty. But political liberty was only part of what sparked the revolution.

Multiple Choice

When did the Revolution start?

• November 20, 1920

• November 20, 1910

• November 20, 1810

Multiple Choice

What political party was founded by Madero?

• The Reelectionist Party

• The Socialist Party

• The Utopic Party

• The Anti-Reelectionist Party

Madero's main concern was liberal democratic reform, not social transformation. But he led a diverse coalition. In addition to more conservative elites, he was also joined by social revolutionaries like Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata.

​

Villa and Zapata supported peasant and indigenous communities and believed in radically transforming Mexican society by redistributing land from wealthy landowners to peasants and indigenous groups. In the southern state of Morelos, Zapata waged a guerrilla war, and in the north, Villa led the División del Norte, the largest revolutionary army, on a series of successful—and often very brutal—military campaigns.

Multiple Choice

Madero's main concern was liberal democratic reform, while Villa and Zapata believed in:

• They believed in a political reform that would allow them to lead an army of peasants and indigenous groups.

• They believed in an economic transformation through the formation of unions and syndicates.

• They believed in redistributing land from wealthy landowners to peasants and indigenous groups.

Madero's presidency was brief. His policies were too radical for conservatives and too moderate for social revolutionaries. For example, he was too slow to follow through on land reform, and he maintained some elements of Diaz's rule. When he was challenged by regional rebellions, Madero used the federal army, which had supported Diaz, against his former allies (Zapata and Villa). After fifteen months in office, Madero was overthrown. He was executed in February 1913 during the "Ten Tragic Days," the name historians give to the ten days from the beginning of the coup to Madero's death. Madero had been betrayed by general Victoriano Huerta, who seized power and declared himself military dictator with support from the United States.

Ten tragic days, February 1913

Multiple Choice

Why did Zapata and Villa stopped supporting Madero?

• His policies were too radical even for the social revolutionaries.

• He was too slow to follow through on land reform, and he maintained some elements of Diaz's rule

• He betrayed Villa and Zapata using the force to put them in jail.

Open Ended

Who betrayed Madero?

The fight to define the revolution, 1913-1920

Madero's policies had certainly displeased revolutionaries, but they were far more united against Huerta. Pancho Villa and Zapata allied with liberals and defeated Huerta in July 1914. But soon after their victory, the revolutionaries again split into opposed camps.

The Conventionistas—including Pancho Villa and Zapata—sought big economic and social reforms. The Constitutionalistas—led by Venustiano Carranza and Álvaro Obregón—wanted to establish a liberal democracy, but were less willing to return land to peasant and indigenous villages. The two sides were unable to resolve their differences, and the civil war that followed was the most violent period of the revolution. From 1915 to 1917, one million civilians and soldiers died in the fighting.

Multiple Choice

Who defeated Huerta in July 1914?

• Venustiano Carranza

• Pancho Villa

• Emiliano Zapata

• Pancho Villa and Zapata allied with liberals

Multiple Choice

Who were the Constitutionalistas?

• An army led by Pancho Villa and Zapata

• An army led by Alvaro Obregón

• An army led by Venustiano Carranza and Álvaro Obregón

Multiple Choice

Why did the Conventionistas (Zapata and Villa) disagree with the Constitutionalistas (Carranza and Obregon)?

• They were not really willing to return land to peasant and indigenous villages.

• They wanted to bring Huerta back to the presidency.

The Constiutionalistas emerged victorious. They passed a constitution and elected Carranza president. The Mexican Constitution of 1917 enshrined legal and political rights, but it also called for economic rights and social justice. The document called for land reform, nationalization of resources, and workers' rights. In practice, however, the post-revolutionary government ignored many of these promises.

​

Multiple Choice

Who was elected the provisional president of Mexico after Huerta was defeted?

• Pancho Villa

• Alvaro Obregon

• Venustiano Carranza

• Emiliano Zapata