History of Mexico

Diaz Porfirio

Came from a poor Indian family Limited education Tried priesthood and law, but failed at both: eager to move up in class, wanted to escape his background...usually leads to political trouble Fought on the liberal side in the War of the Reform Famous for defeating the French in critical battles Lost election for governor of Morelos Elected deputy in 1868 Disastrous carrier in Congress Lost presidential election against Juarez in 1871 Led a rebellion against Juarez's reelection in 1871 Lost in next election to Juarez's successor, Lerdo de Teljada About his own advancement, not the country's Diaz's forces attacked Lerdo when Lerdo announced plan for reelection in 1876 Lerdo fled to U.S. Diaz took power after Lerdo He took power by force because he was unable to win an election His Plan of Tuxtepec: Kill all in opposition of his government Pacification program He became friends with the U.S. He gave the U.S. 4 million dollars in reparations Since he did not 'believe' in reelection, he essentially appointed Gonzalez When Diaz came back he had married a Catholic wife (he was 51, she was 18) and now had a very strong connection to the church He started imposing new ideas, and now believed in reelections Scientist José Limantour felt that Mexico needed Enlightened Despotism At this point he pretty much became a dictator Army officers and soldier were uneasy Army divided and spread across country Rurales-Rural police created, secret police Brutal enforcing Police were given command to kill or arrest any resistance Manufacturing and agriculture grew under Diaz's reign Exporting minerals, coffee, bananas, sugar, and henequen (mostly to U.S.) Economy flourished Only for rich, middle class, and foreign investors Poor suffered Limited the demand, could not go beyond saturation point Brought in scientists and engineers to advance country, but main goal was to advance mining Government suffered No democracy Gave church land, church preached Diaz's opinions Gave land to foreign investors for colonization A lot more money left than came in Elections were a "formality" Diaz appointed all governors (27) Avoided democracy and relied on a dictatorship Didn't think democracy was possible New system could not last, a strong economy needs a strong government U.S. invested more in Mexico Forces brutally enforced rule against Mayas and Yaquis rebellions Millions of immigrants came from South America, U.S., and Europe Authors after Diaz criticized him

Cardenas

Cardenas gave 49 million acres of land to the ejidos, the first big sum of land given to them Integrated the peasants o Closed the gap between the rich and poor o Created consumer demand Cardenas was no puppet Cardenas tried to reform the economy and tried to reform social issues He tries to purge México of its corruption, especially to the Callistas people Didn't do enough training to teach the farmers agricultural skills and workers to make the oil companies run well In the Coahuila-Durango ejido 8 million acres of land was given to 30,000 families The one thing he lacked was a good educational program Oil companies were taken over for nationalistic as well as social reasons, when the companies complain, Mexico said they had already paid (because the companies weren't paying their taxes) CNC - peasants had a voice, albeit minor CTM which eventually replaced CROM; paramilitary organization created (militias) o Paramilitary is when the labor unions have a military unit Militarizing the labor movement/struggles (was quite ominous) Nationalized railroad, and also oil industry (through PEMEX) This made the state very strong, but did not help the people very much However he lacked a professional core in the bureaucracy, he rushed it too much

Ruiz Cortines (1952-1958)

Cleaned the bureaucracy of corruption Social reforms were sacrificed for economic growth Devalued pesos to help stabilize the country temporarily; allowed U.S. money to flow and circulate in Mexico o Product of inflation More pesos created, made value of each peso decrease Did not help people as much as he should have o Ignored the gap between rich and poor o Although, women were given the right to vote Did some school and hospital construction projects, but not enough to be substantial and make an impact on Mexican society Student activism developed

Echeverría (1970-1976)

Either unlucky or a bad ruler; a large wave of violence sweeping through Mexico Reviving a sense of desire to appeal to the masses; public façade of reconciliation, but privately tough on terrorism (but not tough on deficit) Lowered voting age, tried to appeal to youth Released the last of the students arrested at the demonstration Heavily dependent on foreign goods and technology - no self-sustaining economic growth; high unemployment, big gap btw rich and poor By the end of his rule, country was in terrible shape; encourage exploration and improve rural roads; tried to control inflation by tight price control and taxing luxury items but was not very good Was big on military and security, but not on economy Oppressed Visited 36 countries in 6 years Expelled Soviet ambassadors for training Mexican terrorists in North Korea Allowed Chilean exiles from Pinochet regime He made a conscious decision not to join OPEC Sent 10,000 troops to kill the guerillas movement Rural electrification, and road building

Díaz Ordaz (1964-1970)

Extremely conservative, created a lot of opposition from the youth Tlatelolco Plaza massacre - civilians killed and arrested, showing the brutality of the government and its tendency to shore up their weaknesses Decentralization; many intellectuals turned away from PRI and criticized it He had to do something for the people, probably because he was treating them so harshly, so he put 26% of the budget into education The massacre fueled the guerrilla movement, which ultimately was a very big problem for México By being so violent he created a lot of discontent Can be considered the worst, but even he did some good

Alemán (1946-1952)

First non-revolutionary president; reduced military budget, modernized country and invested in other things Very political and businesslike; focused a lot on economic growth Anti-clericalist Created public works projects (not very large)- irrigation, dams, hydroelectric plants His economic program created many jobs, but not for social causes - only for economic growth Helped create Organization of American States (OAS) Mexico joined the UN under Alemán Several pro-Church factions opposed Alemán for not being conservative enough, and while they were anti-U.S., Alemán established a good relation w/ the U.S. o Sinarquistas (Catholic group) grew from opposition to Alemán Bureaucrats in government got more and more corrupt, leading into the next leader Because his regime was so large with so many bureaucrats and corruption, PRI recognized that, after his term, they had to choose a different kind of leader for election Reduced military budget Improved railroads Comparison between economic growth and social development

Gonzalez

González was a corrupt stand-in for Diaz He changed the mining laws, so that the people that owned the land on the surface, also owned the land below the surface Gonzalez was a bad ruler, and the people wanted Diaz back This opened up much of Mexico to many foreign investors and landowners, but also made the country's very poor poorer

Fox (2000-2006)

He was a rancher, very casual and relaxed He is also charismatic He changed the politics of PAN Gained a lot of foreign investments Put a lid on spending, to help stop corruption, and tried to control the deficit He increased loans to the poor, and to small and medium businesses He put money into education Fox gave the people in Mexico the education they needed to modernize agriculture The US is Mexico's most important customer However, Bush did not wanted Fox's Guest Worker program because it might hurt the economy in the short term, and possibly because of the drug trafficking.

Zedillo (1994-2000)

Independent judiciary He distanced the president from the party, and he made it easier for other parties to win Also reformed the way elections were conducted, and set up a system for when there were disputes He put a lot of money into public financing of elections Took away many powers from the president. Also strengthened other part of the government, so the president would not control everything The small part of the economy still owned by the government was monopolistic Ended lobbyist indirect influence on the economy He at least acknowledges problems

Yeltsin/Fox

Leader of the masses Popularity different; Fox's popularity more than Yeltsin, more social reforms Reform started under Salinas; Fox continued it while Yeltsin thought up a new system Very hard to compare situations because they are very different

Francisco Madero (1911-1913)

Led the revolution to dethrone Diaz • Was hailed as a savior after the fall of Diaz's regime and was appointed president • Had not economic program and therefore was unable to properly lead. • Allowed free speech and free press and guaranteed the right of assembly. • His brother led a secret police force that held the real power behind Madero's back • Madero proposed to restore the constitution of 1857 and return the stolen land to the Indians. • As Nepotism and corruption continued to spread throughout the government, Madero began to lose popularity and the commoners began a movement to overthrow him, led by Emiliano Zapata. • Zapata introduced his Plan of Ayala to overthrow the Madero regime after their failure as perceived by Zapata. • The Plan of Ayala called for immediate restoration of lands illegally taken and the seizure of one third of the lands of the hacendados. • Through guerilla warfare, Zapata began distributing lands in Puebla and Morelos. • As they continued fighting, Zapata's reputation continued to grow. • Dislike for Madero also thrived in the government and the military • Ambassador Henry Lane Wilson held discontent for Madero because he was associated with the Guggenheim business family, a family that was in contention with madero's at the time. • Wilson began intervening with every aspect of the Mexican government, and falsely reported to President Taft that Mexico was "seething with discontent" for the U.S, in hopes of building mistrust for Madero. • After the rebellion freed Bernardo Reyes and Diaz from prison, Reyes was killed by Madero's men • Madero assigned Huerta as head of the palace guard. Huerta longed for the position of president and wanted to eliminate Madero.

Lerdo de Teljada

Lerdo worked to improve the condition of the country Constructed railroad from Mexico city to country-U.S. border Built schools Wanted to create a solid base of support, but failed Lost a lot of his original popularity Lacked Juarez's characteristics of charisma and mystique Was unable to communicate with Indians Army officers and soldier were uneasy

Gorbachev/Zedillo

Made reforms where they needed to be made Zedillo tries to steal away from all the corruption, just as Gorbachev makes major changes to the system himself Let other parties gain power; dismantled single-party system, and supported free elections Starts a foundation for Yeltsin/Fox respectively Tried to help economy; both inherited economic crisis, though Zedillo far more Both unsuccessful; Zedillo faced heavy corruptio

Calles (1924-1934)

Not as honest as Obregon and gave more land to the peasants than Obregón o Obregón gave 3 million o Calles gave 8 million Calles started clean; however, as his regime continued, he became more and more corrupt Gave a little more land to the peasants of the ejidos (8 million acres) He was very harsh on his enemies and generously rewarded his friends, much like Diaz Instituted the 'Ley de Suicidio', which said many of his opponents "committed suicide" while in jail He and his puppets tried to implement the Constitution of 1917 much more than Obregon He changed the length of a president's term to 6 years with no reelection He institutionalized the dominance of the revolutionary party, which by 1945 was known as the PRI He controlled Mexico through many puppet presidents

Miguel de la Madrid (1982-1988)

Privatized inefficient state enterprises; economic liberalization Economic liberalization is good, however unemployment grows Many reforms; restructured public sector Major campaign against corruption The US backed IMF required the de la Madrid administration to have an austerity program; ultimately caused many riots Stopped anti-American foreign policy U.S. called for more democratization, less one-sided power, reduction of drug-trafficking and corruption, but not help for the poor Entered General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) He tried to make the economy much less corrupt He sacrificed more rapid growth for more stability The pact for economic stability was just one of his plans to achieve stability

Obregon (1920-24) (1928-1934 through puppets of his successor, Elias Calles)

Rebelled against Carranza, backed by Confederacion Regional de Obreros Mexicanos (CROM, labor support) o Carranza did not do much for peasants Established himself as working for the peasants Worked closely with unions and labor, as well as co-opting peasant groups o Co-opted (giving peasants only a modicum of what they need) to bring them into the mainstream of the larger society -also making an outside group feel that it is part of the larger group Wanted to help peasants, but didn't want to have them rebel against him o "Had to walk a tightrope" with regard to his position on reform and the economic power of the hacendados Tried to keep productivity high (what businessmen wanted) Knew much of the economy depended on hacienda, so was cautious about helping the peasants; gave a bit of land (3 million acres) to ejidos while 300 million stayed in the hands of private owners Strayed dangerously: didn't make peasants happy but also not too unhappy Did not want to undermine the political stability he had created Distribution of land is not enough, just like elections don't equal democracy unless the elections mean something Giving land is very nice, but it doesn't get you very far, especially if the people aren't able to use it to its full advantage Little Land Reform (LLR, necessary when talking about Latin America) Appointed Jose Vasconcelos secretary of education Built thousands of rural schools - "schools to nowhere" (Dr. Maglione) o Education did not help because there were still not enough jobs Worked to the best of his ability to assimilate Indians into the mainstream of society His proposal was, and to quote himself, "contrary to the North American Protestant practice of approaching the teaching of the native as something special and separate from the rest of the population" (p. 121) o In Dr. Maglione's wise observation, Obregon's major flaw was in not investing state funds in educating, especially on agriculture o Instead invested in murals, which encouraged nativism and nationalism, as well as creating cultural identity

José López Portillo (1976-1982)

Similar to Echeverría in a sense; tried to improve the nation, but made it worse Inflation reached 100%, though Portillo focused on industry Tried to act as mediator btw U.S. and Cuba and failed Tried to help in Sandinista dilemma Saw himself as progressive beacon; Mexico a refuge for exiles, but lacked economic discipline to get Mexico going; peso went all the way down Enormous corruption tarnishing Portillo's image Nationalized the banking system in Mexico His policies failed in El Salvador The first half of his presidency, the economy was good; however, once oil industry fell, it dragged the rest of the economy with it

Avila Camacho (1940-1946)

Under Camacho, the ejido ownership decreased and individual private land increased, helping the hacendados gain power (a move towards capitalism) o Getting land made them indebted to the hacendados because of their lack of training Distributed 10 million acres; however, most of this goes to individual landowners (a minority) Started social security system; however, this went to a concentrated portion of society Camacho focused on industrialization Camacho was friendly with America and business flourished with the United States The poor and middle classes only got minor benefits from Camacho, while the rich benefited much more Camacho was Porfirio Diaz Redux Unlike Cardenas, he was Pro-Business, ended period of social/economic reforms Generously rewarded friends, brutally oppressed enemies Accelerated migratory movements o Sent workers to the US- they were treated harshly there Valued and emphasized economic growth over social improvements o Was willing to sacrifice people's well being for economic growth Did not implement price control (during WWII) o Did not try to control inflation

Carlos Salinas de Gortari (1988-1994)

Won on the smallest margin of victory ever for PRI Committed to privatization Advocated free trade in an open market Entered NAFTA in 1993 Savings on debt payments, help Mexico internally Though the economy grew, unemployment grew too Reduced inflation 100%, which help the economy enormously The economy was under state control in a monopolistic way. Sold 85% of government-owned companies Tried to legitimize the election of 1994, most changes were very modest Accused of killing Colosio Pre-election Zapatistas; opposition more out in the open PAN and PRD getting more support vs. PRI Honest election, but PRI still depend on more resources to pull a win Re-evaluated past policies; saw needed to make some reforms to keep popularity PRI candidate Colosio, populist, seemed for a vigorous program reform Colosio assassinated, Zedillo chosen hastily Zedillo lacked Colosio's charisma, was educated in U.

Lopez Mateos (1958-1964)

Younger, charismatic, went back to land distribution; 30 million acres to both ejidos and individuals Flaw: should have distributed not only land and credit but also technical knowledge; "The little guys are not going to know how to do it" -Maglione Really focused on needs of people and not only on economy; eradicated almost all of some diseases, financed housing projects Built thousands of schools and decided to create government approved textbooks issued by the state, which created much controversy; emphasized positive aspects of revolution and neglected negative ones Estrada Doctrine - Against American policy w/ Cuba; Mexico would recognize a country on de jure basis and not de facto, unlike U.S. which, during the Cold War, went against Communism Declared that Roman Catholic Church shouldn't interfere with revolutionary goals

Carranza

• Carranza issued the Plan Of Guadalupe, which called for the overthrow of Huerta and the establishment of a constitutional government. • Carranza issued an uneasy coalition that included Villa and Alvaro Obregon. Zapata was also willing to join the group. • Huerta resigned in 1914 and fled to the U.S. Zapata and Villa formed an alliance to oppose Carranza and Obregon. • Eventually Carranza and Obregon gained the advantage in the battle for supremacy. Villa eventually conceded and, after provoking the United States, fled to his mountain hideouts, where he remained. • Carranza took control and called for a constitutional convention in December 1916 • The constitution allowed for free and compulsory education, conquering of all land previously sold, and recognized worker's rights to organize, strike, and bargain collectively, and to receive adequate compensation. • Carranza was appointed president under the new constitution. Carranza remained neutral during the years of World War I. • Carranza's promise to distribute land remained nothing more than a promise, as well as his policy towards labor. • The first nationwide Union, CROM, was established to overthrow Carranza and appoint Obregon as president. With the backing of CROM, Obregon took the presidency from Carranza and forced him to flee to Mexico City. Carranza was assassinated by one of his own guards.

Huerta

• Madero assigned Huerta as head of the palace guard. Huerta longed for the position of president and wanted to eliminate Madero. • After the Pact of the Embassy was officially agreed upon, Huerta arrested Madero and Wilson urged American leaders to recognize Huerta as new head of Mexico. • Madero's brother, who led the secret police force, was delivered to soldiers who tortured him to death, and the president and vice president were mysteriously killed while being transferred from one prison to another, which went against Huerta's safe conduct pledge for Madero. Huerta • Huerta took the position of head of Mexico, but once Woodrow Wilson took power, he refuses to recognize Huerta as president, and took Ambassador Wilson out of Mexico. • Huerta threw most of the members of Congress in jail, inaugurated a savage military dictatorship, and initiated mild reform programs. He built new schools, increased education budget, and broke with the cientifico tradition. • Had no real social program, and relied heavily on the military to suppress opposition. • "His year and a half in power consisted of an orgy of corruption, drunkenness, and repression." • President Wilson put his support behind an orphaned, uneducated peasant named Poncho Villa. Villa opposed the Diaz regime and joined the Madero forces, where he was given the rank of colonel. After fleeing imprisonment in the U.S, Villa ruined to Mexico to fight Huerta. • Villa commanded an army and became a leader of the people. • Villa imposed a weak reform program in his territories, and gave land to the peons and built schools. Was a very brutish leader, and was a very polarizing figure in Mexico. • After the Tampico incident, Carranza also arose to fight Huerta's reign.