1. Mexican Revolution (Revolución Mexicana)

2. The end of the Porfiriato
In 1910, Porfirio Diaz was nearing 80 years old.
He wanted to become reelected one last time and then pass on the presidency to his nephew Felix Diaz

3. Francisco I. Madero From the northern state of Coahuila
Family was wealthy landowners
Opposed Diaz regime
Promised agrarian reforms which attracted peasants to his cause

4. Francisco I. Madero
Ran against Diaz in the 1910 election and promised to “meet force with force.”
He was arrested by Diaz and sent to prison in San Luis Potosi
His father used his influence and he escaped his prison guards
He was smuggled across the U.S. border and set up shop in San Antonio, TX

5. Madero: Beginning the Revolution
On Nov. 20th, 1910 he planned to meet his uncle across the border with 400 men
His uncle showed up with 10
He fled to New Orleans.
In Feb of 1911 Madero attacked Casas Grandes, Chihuahua with 130 troops
By April the revolution had spread to 18 states and included such revolutionaries as Villa and Zapata

6. Madero: Treaty of Ciudad Juárez
Diaz, old and tired understood his dictatorship was coming to an end
Pascal Orozco and Francisco Villa defeated Diaz’ forces at the Battle of Ciudad Juárez forcing Diaz into exile in Europe
Madero entered Mexico City on June 7th, 1911 with cheers of "¡Viva Madero!” The Porfiriato was officially over.

7. Victoriano Huerta: Madero’s Fall and Execution
In early 1913, after only 14 months in office, Madero was assassinated
Madero asked Huerta for “protection” from Felix Diaz and a rival general Bernardo Reyes
Huerta agreed but then had Madero, Madero’s brother Gustavo and Madero’s vice president assassinated and assumed the presidency
Madero was decapitated
Victoriano Huerta

8. Victoriano Huerta
Many Mexicans and the U.S. president Woodrow Wilson refused to recognize Huerta as president
Supported by the U.S., Venustiano Carranza, a farmer and politician from Northern Mexico, Zapata and Villa led their armies against Huerta
In March of 1913, Huerta vacated the presidency and flees the country.

9. Venustiano Carranza
Eventually Venustiano Carranza is elected president.
Carranza attempted to enact many of the revolution’s goals of land reform, fair labor practices, foreign investors, and the role of the Catholic Church

10. Venustiano Carranza
Carranza along with the “Constitutionalists” enacted many of these reforms in the Constitution of 1917
For Zapata and Villa, he didn’t go far enough or fast enough with his reforms
In May of 1920, his own generals, Obregon, Calles and De la Huerta had him ambushed and assassinated while he was attempting to flee the country

11. Francisco “Pancho” Villa (José Doroteo Arango Arámbula)
Born in the state of Durango
Allied (at times) with Madero, Zapata and even Carranza
Commander of the División del Norte (Division of the North)
Seized hacienda land for distribution mainly to individuals
He robbed trains to pay for his expenses

12. Francisco “Pancho” Villa
Villa had a great ability to recruit and was loved by the men and women who fought with him
He was defeated in the Battle of Celaya by Carranza forces led by General Obregon
The battle was one of the bloodiest in the revolution

13. Francisco “Pancho” Villa
Angered that the U.S. supported Carranza as president, and to seek revenge upon the arms dealer that sold Villa useless ammunition, Villa launched an attack on Columbus, NM
17 U.S. citizens were killed or wounded
However, 100 of his men were killed and over 600 captured.
Villa avoided U.S. capture when President Wilson sent in troops to track him down in Mexico

14. Francisco “Pancho” Villa
In 1920, Villa signed an agreement with Obregon and retired from military and political life
In 1923 he was assassinated
He was thought to have been killed by allies of Obregon because he feared Villa returning to politics and running for president in the 1924 elections

15. Emiliano Zapata Born in 1879 in the village of Anenecuilco
For decades prior to the revolution, Zapata fought to retain land rights for the people of his village
Allied himself very early on with Madero (although their relationship was strained) because he believed Madero was genuine in his desires to enact land reform

16. Emiliano Zapata
After the overthrow of Diaz, Zapata became disillusioned with how slowly Madero was moving towards land reform – the only real demand Zapata wanted
Issued the Plan of Ayala: The return of ALL lands taken from the people by the haciendados
"Tierra y Libertad!" “Land and Freedom!"

17. Emiliano Zapata
The Plan of Ayala gained Zapata a large amount of peasant support and made him a genuine man of the people
Peasants joined his Ejército Libertador del Sur ("Liberation Army of the South") by the tens of thousands

18. Zapata and Villa
Both agreed that the revolutionary leaders did not enact land reforms
Fought against them all: Madero, Carranza, Huerta, Obregon
His only true ally was Villa and at times their alliance was strained

19. The assassination of Zapata
April 10, 1919
Met with one of Carranza’s generals who told Zapata he wanted to defect to the Zapatistas
Was ambushed by a group of pro-Carranza soldiers
After his death, the Liberation Army of the South fell apart

20. Zapatistas Those loyal to Zapata
Fought for “communal land rights” of the indigenous
Socialist reforms
Most Zapatistas were poor Indian peasants
The Zapatistas renewed fighting for land reform in 1994 after the signing of NAFTA

21. Soldaderas Women played a significant role in the revolution
15% of the Zapatistas are thought to have been women
Many more women followed Villa’s army in the North
Many joined to avenge the death of a family member

22. Soldaderas
Different from women soldiers, Soldaderas were wives, daughters and girlfriends who were allowed to follow the army
They cooked, cleaned, smuggled goods, spied on the enemy, and foraged for food
A major reason for allowing soldaderas was it discouraged soldiers from deserting the army

23. Compare/Contrast Point: Land Reform Both wanted redistribution
Both desired land taken from the Haciendados
Both believed that a revolution was required
Both were not satisfied with the reforms of revolutionary leaders
Zapata: #1 priority; Villa: several reasons for fighting the revolution
Zapata: Communal Land
Villa: Individual ownership of land
Compare/Contrast Point: As Revolutionary Generals
Strong leaders
Loved by their men
Similar aims and goals
Villa: Fought a more traditional war (armies facing one another on the battlefield)
Zapata: Fought a guerrilla style war (small, mobile fighting force that attacks and retreats)
Villa: Outfitted his army with uniforms, bandoleer, etc. (more traditional)
Zapata: a peasant army (machetes, sombreros, etc.)
Compare/Contrast Point: Armies (Villistas / Zapatistas)
Both armies took on the personalities of their leaders: Villa – brash, individualistic; Zapata – reserved, polite, communal
Both had soldaderas
15% of Zapatistas were women (about 1 in 6).
Most Villista women were not soldaderas but rather nurses, cooks, foragers of food, etc.
Compare/Contrast Point: Desired a Weak Central Government
Both saw the devastation that a strong central government had on the people (the Porfiriato)
Both were fearful of political power and refused to assume power during the revolution
Both continued to fight against revolutionary leaders who refused to fully enact revolutionary reforms (Madero, Huerta, Carranza, etc.)
Villa cared mainly for the Northern states
Zapata cared only for Morelos and even more specifically for his village

24. Alvaro Obregon ( )
Very capable leader who enacted some of the ideals of the Revolution:
Land reforms
Political reforms
Balanced both “Left” and “Right” on the political spectrum on economic and religious issues
First caudillo to reduce the military budget
He was assassinated in 1924 when he planned to run for the presidency again.

25. Plutarco Elias Calles (1924-1928)
Another general in the Revolution (caudillo)
Enforced articles 3 and 130 of the Constitution of 1917 – both reduced the power of the Catholic Church.
This led to the Church calling for an economic boycott and eventually the Cristero Rebellion.
The Cristiada lasted from
The “Maximato”

26. Plutarco Elias Calles and the puppet governments (1928-1934)
Halted many of the agrarian reforms (land redistribution that had started under the Constitution of 1917.
Was a believer in the political philosophy of fascism (Mussolini in Italy, Hitler in Germany).
Stepped down in 1928, but ran the “puppet” presidencies from behind the scenes until Cardenas’ presidency in 1932.

27. Lazaro Cardenas ( )
Entered the Revolution on the side of the Constitutionalists and fought against Villa and Zapata.
Brought an end to the Maximato – had him exiled to the U.S.
He was a populist president (man of the people) – spent much of his time touring the country hearing from the people.
Many historians view him as one who “fulfilled the revolutionary promises.” (land reform, end of foreign influence, etc.)

28. Lazaro Cardenas ( )
Supported labor reform – improvement of worker conditions, pay, etc.
Nationalized (also called expropriation) oil companies
Foreign oil companies no longer had ownership of Mexican oil.
Redistributed 70,000 square miles of land throughout Mexico during his presidency.
Cardenas steps down from the presidency – most historians mark this as the official “end” to the Mexican Revolution.