Villa, Carranza and The Constitution of 1917

Venustiano Carranza Carranza was a supporter of Madero and one of the four who rebelled against Huerta after the assassination of Madero. - backed by the US (just wanted a stable government; this enrages Pancho Villa - made president of Mexico with the support of the US (1916), officially declared the constitutional president in 1917. - Constitution of 1917 drafted during his rule (not as liberal as he would have liked) Plan of Guadalupe - issued by Carranza as a call for the overthrow of Huerta (claimed he restored a dictatorship, treason) - his supporters are known as ‘The Constitutionalists’ - no real plan for land reform or attempts to bring about socioeconomic change - called for a ‘war to the death – no compromises’

Francisco “Pancho” Villa Francisco “Pancho” Villa - After Huerta had Madero assassinated, Villa played a large role in the overthrow of Huerta by gaining a large following in the north (Chihuahua). Initially supports Carranza, though will turn against him relatively quickly. - Villa was determined to take down Huerta primarily because: 1. vengeance for Madero’s murder 2. vengeance for being put in front of a firing squad and forced to spend 7 months in prison - recruited by staging major attacks on haciendas and through dramatic redistribution of land (he redistributed land ` from abandoned haciendas to the poor and left alone the ones that were still occupied. He was playing both sides.) - While confiscating and redistributing lands, Villa provided the villagers with extra food, executed all bandits and made a big deal about protecting US property and citizens. US responded by selling arms and ammunition to the villistas.

Villa and Zapata’s fight against Carranza Francisco “Pancho” Villa - In 1914, Villa announced that he no longer recognized Carranza as the leader of Mexico and issued a manifesto that embraced Zapata’s Plan of Ayala (wanted to appeal of Zapatistas and Woodrow Wilson) - The constitutional convention in Aquacalientes was important to gaining this support, but both Villa and Zapata made major mistakes. Alvaro Obregon was the only key figure to attend to convention, and while he was critical of Carranza, he didn’t support either Villa or Zapata as viable options. Villa’s Mistakes 1. not attending the convention and only coming to Aguacalientes sign the final document, which allowed Alvaro Obregon a chance to gain popularity at the convention Zapata’s Mistakes 1. didn’t fully support the convention, but didn’t officially boycott it either 2. worked out badly for him – put him at center of Mexico’s civil war

Missed Opportunities for Villa and Zapata In his struggle against Carranza, Zapata lacked resources and had 4 main problems: 1. too few resources to spread the revolution to the south 2. banditry – bandits looted, robbed, killed in the name of ‘Zapatista’ and this gave the movement a bad name 3. hacienda system – it was oppressive and deprived the Mexicans of their rights and it hurt capitalism, which in turn hurt the national economy – Zapata wouldn’t allow profits over village independency and self-sufficiency 4. An inability to really form an alliance with Pancho Villa

Francisco ‘Pancho’ Villa Villa vs. Zapata Francisco ‘Pancho’ Villa Emiliano Zapata Coalition that transcended class Had several goals (often contradictory) More of a political movement - called for a political revolt and a transfer of national power Wanted a national solution, though very regionalized (Chihuahua) Focused on land reform almost exclusively Didn’t agitate for many of the national goals addressed by Pancho Villa Social movement – primarily concerned with land ownership in Morelos Regionalism

Francisco “Pancho” Villa Villa and Zapata met only one time – December 1914. - agreed that neither wanted to be president, but wanted a president in place that was under their control - wanted a weak central government that would allow them to have complete control in their region - this meeting is seen as the one that sealed their fate – if neither wanted to be president, then it had to be either Carranza or Obregon. “ He who refuses power, through a fatal process of reversion will be destroyed by power.” - Historical reference regarding the missed opportunities of Villa and Zapata

Francisco “Pancho” Villa - What Villa changed the most in Mexico was the mindset of the poor. They no longer perceived obedience, deference and rigid hierarchy as absolute truth (the Church was their initial target). Villa had a large following, which made Carranza jealous. Carranza focused his efforts on promoting Alvaro Obregon (his top general) as opposition to Villa. - US decided to support Carranza (1917) rather than the other 3 revolutionaries because they thought Carranza had the best chance of success among the Mexican people (considered an outstanding general, even in the US) - Villa turned on the US in order to discredit Carranza (attack in NM, train attack in TX). US sent in John Pershing to hunt down Villa (though primarily to stop border raid. They never find him, but do kill some of his most important leaders so it is considered a success by the US.) - Pancho Villa was assassinated (ordered by Obregon) in 1923.