Blog post #3
Would you argue that the Mexican Revolution “has legs” (i.e., still has meaning and power in Mexican politics, culture, and social relations)? Why or why not?
I would argue that the Mexican Revolution still has legs today’s Mexican politics, culture and social relations. First, the reason being is as Morris (2010) points out, “Contemporary Mexican politics have much in common with the post-Revolutionary system. First, and foremost from a legal and intuitional perspective, is the 1917 Constitution. Though the document has undergone revision at the whim of presidents over the years, its main features dating back to the Revolution remain largely intact.” (Morris, 2010, para. 4). Because of this fact, the politics and social relations spoken of by Morris (2010) remain which means that the Mexican Revolution still has meaning today. Aside from this, Morris (2010) points out that through the Constitution of 1917, there remains presidential elections which are still held today because they were established during the time of the Revolution by the government. Workers are also treated better than when Díaz was in office (Morris, 2010). There are also liberties established through the Mexican Constitution of 1917 that previously did not exist (Morris, 2010). What does all of this mean? Without the Constitution of 1917 and the guidelines that are set in place, there would be no liberties, no fair work conditions and there may or may not be fair presidential elections (Morris, 2010).
Aside from all of this, the increase of literature of both the U.S. and Mexico still are produced today as Joseph and Buchenau point out (2013). There is also in Mexican culture with relation to the Mexican Revolution, still those who choose to celebrate or at least remember the monuments that were constructed in remembrance of individuals who fought during the Revolutionary war as Benjamin points out. Benjamin states, “monuments encourage people not simply to remember but to remember together…Not unlike religious temples, certain commemorative monuments transform space so as to manifest sacrality. This transfiguration is effected by various symbolisms that bestow special meaning on the origin, construction, and history of the monument, and by recurrent rituals that stimulate the intersection of sacred time with sacred space, animating the monument and transforming visitors.” (Benjamin, 2010, p. 118). I believe that through these monuments, it allows the visitor to not only remember what happened, but also to get a glimpse at what happened and why the people fought for what they did. This also allows visitors to make a deeper connection through remembering the time of what happened in the past and why it is important. If this is not enough, Anderson (2007) makes me think of how music plays into an aspect of what the past was like (Whether the story is completely accurate or not). Music plays into emotions and when songwriters such as Townes Van Zandt in 1972 wrote the song “Pancho and Lefty”, it causes the individual who is listening to at least ponder or reflect on what happened during the time of the Mexican Revolution. Then popular artist such as Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard sang the song together as a duet which got even more individuals who listened to the song. I believe that no matter what the case, music, literature, television, et cetera. Is something that at least influences how we think of topics such as the Mexican Revolution; nevertheless, whether these influences are accurate completely or not, is causes one to listen and observe what went on during the era of the Mexican Revolution.
References
Anderson, Mark C. (2007). The Mythical Frontier, the Mexican Revolution, and the Press: An Imperial Subplot, Canadian Review of American Studies. Vol 37, (1).
Benjamin, Thomas. (2010). La Revolución. University of Texas Press.
Joseph, Gilbert. M., & Jürgen Buchenau. (2013). Mexico’s Once and Future Revolution Social Upheaval and the Challenge of Rule since the Late Nineteenth Century. Durham; London Duke University Press.
Morris, Stephen D. (2010). Continuity And Change In Mexican Politics: The Legacies Of The Mexican Revolution. Southeastern Council on Latin American Studies and Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
