The Mexican Revolution of 1911 reflected a divide between two opposing forces: those who had the power, money, and influence; and those who were powerless, poor, and forgotten. Madero was originally seen as a liberal whose actions against Diaz sparked the revolution. In his 1910 “The Plan of San Luis Potosi,” Madero wrote, “In abuse of the law on public lands numerous proprietors of small holdings, in their greater part Indian, have been dispossessed of their lands by rulings and the department of public development” (Wasserman, Document 3). Madero went on to call for the restoration of lands “to their former owners the lands of which they were dispossessed in such an arbitrary manner” (Wasserman, Document 3).
Men like Zapata and Villa were champions of the poor and disenfranchised Mexicans. When Madera became president of Mexico after the end of Diaz’ dictatorship, the promises that the revolution were ignored. Zapata and Villa broke away from Madero because of the treacherous actions of Madero. Zapata wrote in 1911 that “Francisco I. Madero [was] unfit to realize the promises of the Revolution of which he is the author, because he is a traitor to the principles…” (Wasserman, Document 4)
Zapala and Villa both saw the promise of returning land back to the peasant class. Zapala also accused Madero of seeking out those who were part of the more privileged classes “the cientificos, hacendados, and caciques who enslave us, he [Madero} has crushed with fire and blood those Mexicans who seek liberties” (Wasserman, Document 4).
Franciso “Pancho” Villa dreamed of a better society for all Mexicans. Like Zapata, he championed the rights of the poor and improvised. Wasserman includes Zapata’s 1913 “Dreams for a Future Mexico” which spelled out his wishes for Mexico’s future, “Oh, if life will only permit me to live long enough to see this dream realized! . . . The true army of the people, which I loved so much, dispersed through the entire land, plowing the soil, making it respectable and respected!” (Wasserman, Document 5).
Madero and his supporters began a revolution to overthrow the Diaz dictatorship. However, money, power, and influence are hard to ignore. The promise of a fair society for all Mexicans from lower to upper class failed under Madero. Being from the upper class, Madero was out of touch with the average citizen and the struggles they faced. As Gonzales writes in his book, “Mexico-s peasants held the strongest grievances against the Díaz regime” (Gonzales, 61). These grievances were escalated under Madero’s leadership which led to the split between Madero and both Zapata and Villa.
The leadership in Mexico was unwilling to do the right thing by helping the poor and land reform. Had Madero (and later Huerta) fulfilled the promise of land reform, the peasants of Mexico would have given him far more support and the Mexican Revolution could have come to a conclusion. Instead, Madero’s choices prolonged the war until the Carranza presidency and the passing of the 1917 Mexican Constitution.
Works Cited:
Michael J. Gonzales. (2002) The Mexican Revolution, 1910–1940 (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press) ISBN: 978–0826327802
Mark Wasserman. (2012) The Mexican Revolution: A Brief History with Documents (New York: Bedford) ISBN: 978–0312535049
