Monday November 2nd, 2015
Revolution and Nationalism in
Latin America
OBJECTIVES: Identify causes and effects
of the Mexican Revolution.
Analyze the effects of economic and
political nationalism on Latin America
The Mexican Revolution
• Porfirio Diaz ruled Mexico for almost 35 years,
winning re-election as president again and again.
• Mexico enjoyed peace and economic growth.
Seeds of Discontent
• Unhappiness rippled through Mexico.
• The country’s prosperity benefited only a small
group.
• Majority of Mexicans were mestizos or Indian
peasants who lived in poverty.
– Worked on haciendas
– Meager wages.
Continued…
• 1910, Francisco Madero, demanded free elections.
– Imprisoned by Diaz.
– Revolutionaries all across Mexico joined his cause.
– In 1911, Diaz resigned.
A Complex Struggle
• Madero was murdered in 1913, by military dictator.
• Several leaders emerged.
– Emiliano Zapata = led peasant revolt.
• Called, “Zapatistas” cried for land and freedom.
– Francisco “Pancho” Villa
– Venustiano Carranza = Rich land owner, wanted political
reform but did not want social change.
Continued…
• A million Mexicans died in fighting that lasted 10
years.
– Peasants, small farmers, ranchers, and urban workers.
– Soldaderas, women soldiers, cooked, tended the
wounded, and even fought alongside men.
– In 1917, Carranza was elected president of Mexico.
• That year he signed a constitution.
Economic and Social Reforms
• 1917, Constitution not instituted.
• 1920, Carranza is assassinated by rival
revolutionaries.
• Constitution is still in effect today.
– Addresses three major issues:
• Land (Allowed nationalization = government takeover)
• Religion “Church land = property of nation”
• Labor (minimum wage, protected workers’ right to strike)
The PRI Takes Control
• 1929, Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI)
– Made political choices to accommodate many groups in
Mexican society, including business and military leaders,
peasants, and workers.
Social and Economic Reforms
• Lazaro Cardenas, made decision to redistribute
millions of acres of land to peasants under a
communal land program.
– Mexico began implementing reforms from Constitution
of 1917.
– Supported labor unions
– Combated illiteracy (schools and libraries)
Nationalism Spreads in Latin America
• Economic Nationalism
– Emphasis on home control of the economy.
– To end dependence on outside industrial powers.
• Took over oil resources from outsiders like USA and Britain.
• Cultural Nationalism
– Pride in one’s own national culture, was reflected in
revival of mural painting, major art form of Aztecs and
Maya.
Good Neighbor Policy
• United States agreed to stop interfering in the
affairs of Latin American nations.
• US withdrew troops.
• Lasted until 1945.