The Voice that the Revolution Left Behind
Ricardo Flores Magon, one of the earliest voices and writers on behalf of the rights of the Mexican commoner, would in the end fail for two reasons: he never placed himself personally in danger by leading followers into battle against his arch enemy, President Porfirio Diaz, as did Presidents Francisco Madero, Victoriano Huerta, Alvaro Obregon, Plutarco Calles, Lázaro Cárdenas, among others. Secondly, the author Kelly Lytle Hernandez in her book “Bad Mexicans,” a term coined by President Diaz himself, never discusses the existence of a detailed outline of what he would put in place to replace the government that he railed against, other than to advocate for “the total abolition of the dark trinity: private property, the state, and the church” (Hernandez, p 294). We learned that President Francisco Madero published a book detailing his thoughts for the future of Mexico, providing followers with his blueprint for Mexican society. Likewise, Emiliano Zapata has his Plan of Ayala, as did other revolutionaries who drafted their respective “Plans,” but not Magon. He had a Party Manifesto, but is that a Plan? I do not believe so.
Ricardo Flores Magon
As a publisher of the newspaper entitled “Regeneracion”, Magon would gather a large following through his printed agitations that boldly attacked the government. “The journalists would also establish a political party, the Partido Liberal Mexicano (PLM)” (Hernandez, p 113). As his writings portray, Magon’s criticisms of the government were countless: criticisms that served to stir up people to oppose the government of President Diaz. As such he was a professional agitator. He however totally lacked any sense of military operations and associated logistics. One of his confidents, Praxedis Guerrero, had some training, but he too was to be found lacking when he attacked Palomas. The PLM attack on Mexicali, which was an opportunity for Ricardo Magon to lead on the battlefield, was also a fiasco. When his insurgents at Mexicali requested much needed supplies, Magon “sent two boxes of Peter Kropotkin’s book The Conquest of Bread” (Hernandez, p 285). He and his followers were doomed to failure because of such ineptitude. As the author writes, “This almost comical gesture of ideological propaganda was an irrefutable sign of his inability to shift from ideas to deeds as the revolution began” (Hernandez, p 285). Given the involvement of Anglo-Americans in the Mexicali raid and their adjoining attack on Algodones, Mexicans could easily have been viewed this as an American invasion rather than a PLM strategic attack!
Librado Rivera (left) and Ricardo Flores Magon
How can Mexican’s consider him a hero of the Revolution? Had he risen to the presidency the result would have been catastrophic for the nation. Yet because of his anarchist-socialist beliefs, he is elevated by progressives into the pantheon of Mexican heroes. Many of his closest associates would spurn and abandon him to which he chastised them on the printed page. Many of former colleagues would go on to make contributions to the Revolution, such as his mentor Camilo Arriaga, who would serve as Secretary of Interior under President Madero and along with Antonio Villareal hold office under President Obregon.
Maybe it is that he was repeatedly incarcerated for his beliefs, both in Mexico and the United States, that Mexicans empathize with him. I however reflect on the poor Mexicans that died because of his agitations. The ill-considered Plan of San Diego against US territory being the worst example, created by others but fashioned after Magon’s beliefs, would trigger reprisals known as La Matanza in the United States that cost the lives of over 5,000 Mexican Americans by lynching and burning at the stake. How must history judge his complicity and praise of the raid on US soil that triggered that? He was indeed a Bad Mexican as President Diaz foretold.
Did the Revolution have legs? Yes. Fortunately for Mexico it did not include Ricardo Flores Magon. He would die imprisioned at Fort Leavenwoth, Kansas.
