When the Mexican Revolution was in its initial stage, an eclectic group of people banded together to overthrow Porfirio Diaz. The group ranged from small landowners, landless peasants, factory workers, and others (Wasserman, 2012). Whatever the case, the movement’s standard-bearer would be an haciendado from northern Mexico, Francisco Madero. Although Madero saw himself as the voice of the revolution, it was more complicated than that.
The reality was that Madero and his middle-class supporters had specific goals in mind that differed from the other coalition groups. For instance, in his Plan of San Luis Potosi, Madero clarifies that he desired to avoid upheavals by keeping laws that were already in place and modifying some of them “in due time” (Wasserman, 2012). In other words, he preferred political stability by opting “to only tinker with the system rather than to overthrow it” (Gonzalez, 2002). The mentioned belief is also evident when Madero eventually appoints Porfirians to political posts (Gonzalez, 2002). Meanwhile, another aspect in which Madero differed from other rebel groups of the Mexican Revolution was land redistribution. According to Madero, land reform was an issue that was not urgent and that, with time, would get resolved (Gonzalez, 2002).
On the other hand, a group that had initially joined Madero to overthrow Diaz were the campesinos. They, in turn, had one specific goal in mind that Madero was not fully committed to, land redistribution. The mentioned goal was explicitly outlined in the Plan of Ayala. In such a document, the Zapatistas stated how land redistribution should take place, which included disposing haciendados and cientificos from their land (Wasserman, 2012). On top of that, the Zapatistas demanded that one-third of “lands, woods, and water” be expropriated from the rich (Wasserman, 2012).
Ultimately, a rift began to appear between Madero and other groups such as campesinos for the newly elected president. For instance, when the Morelos peasants under Emiliano Zapata’s leadership demanded immediate land reform from Madero, who did not fully comply with their request, the Zapatistas rebelled (Gonzalez, 2002). Meanwhile, another figure who rebelled due to his discontent with Madero was a northern revolutionary by the name of Pascual Orozco (Gonzalez, 2002). In essence, Madero not keeping up to his promises and not changing the status quo resulted in many supporters rebelling against him.
I believe that his early period of revolution and counterrevolution was relevant because it laid out the pattern that would take place in Mexico for the duration of the revolution. It included how a significant portion of the population would detest the central political figure in Mexico. This resulting in distinct factions bonding together for a limited time because at the end they would turn against each other. In essence, the Mexican Revolution consisted of friends becoming enemies depending on the situation and interests.
References
Gonzales, Michael J. The Mexican Revolution, 1910–1940. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2002.
Wasserman, Mark. The Mexican Revolution: A Brief History with Documents. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012.
