From the Plan de Agua Prieta to the Bucareli Accords: The Obregón Presidency
President Venustiano Carranza’s political control in Mexico began to dwindle with the rise of the Sonoran elites at the onset of 1920. With the ousting and subsequent assassination of Carranza in that same year, General Alvaro Obregón was almost guaranteed the presidency. When election-time rolled around, he became president with over 1.1 million votes, while his opponent garnered less than 50,000. Obregón’s presidency faced numerous issues from its inception. His administration was tasked with the reconstruction of Mexico as a result of the Revolution.
Obregón, a Constitutionalist who had once allied with Carranza, sought to appease factions that had risen in the years prior. In The Mexican Revolution, 1910–1940, Michael Gonzales suggests just how he was able to so. He writes, “Obregón used money, political patronage, and personalism to create alliances with important individuals and interest groups” (Gonzales 2002, 184). His strategic approach to rebuilding the nation would help stabilize both domestic and foreign relations during his presidency.
Obregón’s relationship-building stretched from labor unions to the once powerful hacendados. For instance, the president supported the Confederación Regional de Obreros Mexicanos (CROM), an organized labor confederation. By supporting CROM, Obregón garnered the support of laborers while simultaneously thwarting off more radical associations like the Casa del Obrero Mundial (Gonzales 2002, 186). On the other hand, he also supported hacendados — at least indirectly. For instance, the Terrazas family was able to get back land they had once lost during the Revolution as Obregón looked the other way.
Despite the prominence of hacendados, land reformation did occur in at least some parts of the country as well. In order to appease the Zapatistas that had once challenged the Carranza administration, Obregón created ejidos that allowed Zapatistas in Morelos to farm land. As a result of the reformed policy, Obregón’s presidency gained Zapatista support. Oil rights proved to be a paramount issue to the Obregón administration. The president, in an attempt to appease foreign nations (notably the United States and Britain), agreed to pay back Mexico’s debts. How would he acquire the money to pay them — taxes on oil.
Oil was extremely important to the Mexican economy as 1/5 of the oil imported into the United States was from Mexico and a quarter of the world’s oil supply came from the nation (195–196). Obregón faced a double-edged sword, on one hand he needed to raise taxes on oil exports, but on the other, he needed to ameliorate foreign ties. The answer: The Bucareli Accords. The Accords gave Obregón recognition and diplomatic ties to the U.S. and provided foreign oil companies subsoil rights if they were in good standing with the Mexican government prior to the Constitution of 1917. The Accords, by no means perfect, would temporarily patch the oil issue.
Sources:
Gonzales, Michael J. 2002. The Mexican Revolution, 1910–1940. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press.
“The Mexican Revolution and the United States in the Collections of the Library of Congress Álvaro Obregón’s Vision for Mexico.” Library of Congress. Accessed July 16, 2022. https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/mexican-revolution-and-the-united-states/obregons-vision-for-mexico.html.
Wasserman, Mark. 2012. The Mexican Revolution: A Brief History with Documents. Boston/New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s.
