STRIVING FOR INDEPENDENCE: MEXICO, ARGENTINA AND BRAZIL 1900-1949 A P W O R L D H I S T O R Y C H A P T E R 2 8 C
THE MEXICAN REVOLUTION, 1910 1940
MEXICO IN 1910 Mexico s geographical location made it subject to numerous foreign invasions and interventions. Upon independence in 1821 Mexican society was deeply divided; a few wealthy families of Spanish origin owned 85 percent of the land, while the majority of Indians and mestizos were poor peasants. Divided into persons of Spanish, Indian and mixed ancestry
SOCIAL ORDER Concentration of land ownership increased after independence as wealthy families and American companies used bribery and force to acquire millions of acres of good agricultural land in southern Mexico, forcing peasants into wage labor, debt, and relocation. In northern Mexico, American purchase of land, the harsh living conditions, and the unequal distribution of wealth also caused popular resentment.
Less than 1% of the population owned 85% of Mexico's land in huge haciendas (estates) Mestizos (mixed Indian and European ancestry) were in the middle and worked on the haciendas Indians who did not speak Spanish were at the bottom of the social ladder General Diaz discriminated against the nonwhite majority of Mexicans and tried to eradicate Mexico's rustic traditions In the upper class: French cuisine replaced traditional Mexican dishes, sombreros and ponchos were replaced with European clothes To the middle class: this became a sign of Diaz failing to defend against foreign influences to protect national interests
CAUSES OF THE MEXICAN REVOLUTION Porfirio Díaz (1876-1910) Reign of Porfirio Díaz Ruled as a dictator New Creoles Modernized Mexico Masses suppressed Working class wages declined 95% of rural population did not own any land Mestizo population grew rapidly after 1850
GENERAL PORFIRIO DIAZ (1830 1915) In 1910, had ruled for thirty-four years. Diaz s policies had made Mexico City a modernized showplace and brought wealth to a small number of businessmen, but his rule was also characterized by discrimination against the nonwhite majority of Mexicans and a decline in the average Mexican s standard of living. Ruled Mexico under the motto "Liberty, Order, Progress
REVOLUTION AND CIVIL WAR, 1911 1920 The Mexican Revolution was not the work of one party with a well-defined ideology; it developed haphazardly, led by a series of ambitious but limited men, each representing a different segment of Mexican society. Zapata (Indian farmer) was leading a revolt in the south of Mexico City while Francisco "Pancho" Villa (former ranch hand, mule driver, and bandit) organized an army of 3,000 men in the north
Francisco I. Madero, Emiliano Zapata in Cuernavaca
PANIC OF 1907 The American Panic of 1907 was an economic downturn that caused a sudden drop in demand for Mexican copper, silver, gold, zinc, and other metals. Mexico in turn cut its imports of horses and mules, mining machinery, and railroad supplies. The result was an economic depression in Mexico in 1908 09 that soured optimism and raised the level of discontent with the Diaz regime, thus helping to set the stage for revolution in 1910
FRANCISCO I MADERO (1873 1913) Overthrew Diaz in 1911, only to be overthrown in turn by General Victoriana Huerta in 1913. The Constitutionalists Venustiano Carranza and Alvaro Obregon emerged as leaders of the disaffected middle class and industrial workers and they organized armies that overthrew Huerta in 1914.
START OF THE REVOLUTION Election of 1910 Francisco Madero ran against Díaz Díaz had Madero arrested on election day Madero called for Díaz to be overthrown Movement supported by peasants and the middle class Díaz forced to resign in May 1911 Francisco Madero (1911-1913)
THE REVOLUTION SPREADS Madero was unprepared Lack of land reforms led to open rebellion Emiliano Zapata Land and Liberty Pancho Villa Madero was overthrown by General Victoriano Huerta in February 1913 Madero was eventually assassinated Pancho Villa Emiliano Zapata Mural to Zapata in Cuba
REVOLTS Emiliano Zapata (1879 1919) led a peasant revolt in Morelos, south of Mexico City, while Francisco (Pancho) Villa organized an army in northern Mexico. Neither man was able to rise above his regional and peasant origins to lead a national revolution Zapata was defeated and killed by the Constitutionalists in 1919, and Villa was assassinated in 1923.
CONSTITUTIONALIST The Constitutionalists took over Mexico after years of fighting, an estimated 2 million casualties, and tremendous damage. In the process, the Constitutionalists adopted many of their rivals agrarian reforms and proposed a number of social programs designed to appeal to workers and the middle class.
WORLD WAR I The Zimmermann Telegram January 19, 1917 from the German foreign minister to attack the United States and reclaim land Was intercepted by the US and helped lead to a declaration of war in early April against Germany
WOMEN IN THE REVOLUTION Intellectuals Called for equal rights, women s suffrage, and other reforms Often endured threats, imprisonment, etc. Soldaderas Served as nurses, cooks, foraged for food, washed clothes and other services Served in the rebel army & federal army Women Soldiers
WOMEN IN THE REVOLUTION
THE REVOLUTION INSTITUTIONALIZED, 1920 1940 The Mexican Revolution lost momentum in the 1920s, after 20 years It had given representatives of rural communities, unionized workers, and public employees a voice in government.
MEXICAN REVOLUTIONARY PARTY After President Obregon s assassination in 1928 his successor Plutarco Elias Calles founded the National Revolutionary Party, which was renamed the Mexican Revolutionary Party (PRM) by President Lazaro Cardenas in 1934. Cardenas removed generals from government, redistributed land, replaced church-run schools with government schools, and expropriated the foreign-owned oil companies that had dominated Mexico s petroleum industry.
LAZARO CARDENAS PRESIDENCY When his term ended in 1940 Mexico was still a land of poor farmers with a small industrial base. He brought major charges to Mexican life by distributing millions of acres of land to the peasants, bringing representatives of works and farmers into the inner circles of politics, replacing church-run schools with government schools, nationalizing the railroads, and nationalizing the oil industry - basically he implemented the reforms promised in the Constitution of 1917.
AFTERMATH OF REVOLUTION Over one million people died Revolution lacked a plan, a philosophy, intellectual leadership, or political parties Farming, ranching, and mining economies were destroyed Oil industry improved during revolution No major bank or newspaper survived
CONSTITUTION OF 1917 Conferred strong powers to the president Laid basis for land reform No major redistribution until 1934 Government ownership of mineral and water resources New labor laws No major labor laws until 1931 Placed restrictions on the church and clergy Church went on strike in 1926
AFTERMATH Alvaro Obregón (1920-1924) Built schools and encouraged nationalism Diego Rivera Mexico becomes a single-party system Party of Revolutionary Institutions (PRI) Dominated politics until 2000 Lázaro Cárdenas (1934-1940) Redistributed 45 million acres of land 253 million would be redistributed by 1984 Promoted economic nationalism Nationalized railroads (1937) and oil (1938)
INTELLECTUAL/TECHNOLOGY During "the Diaz years", Mexico City had paved streets, streetcar lines, electric street lighting, and public parks and new telegraph and railroad lines connected cities and town throughout Mexico However, this new technology was only available to the elite
TRADE/ECONOMICS In 1938 President Lazaro Cardenas seized the foreign-owned oil industry from the American and British oil companies Leon Trotsky in Mexico, 1938
PAINTER AND MURALIST DIEGO RIVERA SOUGHT TO MAKE ART THAT REFLECTED THE LIVES OF THE WORKING CLASS AND NATIVE PEOPLES OF MEXICO.
WORLD WAR II Although most Latin American countries eventually entered the war on the Allies' side, Mexico and Brazil were the only Latin American nations that sent troops to fight overseas during World War II Loss of oil ships in the Gulf by German u-boats, the Mexican government declared war on May 30, 1942 Did help the United States with the Bracero Program which gave the opportunity for 290,000 of Mexicans to work temporarily on American farms, especially in Texas.
THE FIRST BRACEROS ARRIVE IN LOS ANGELES BY TRAIN IN 1942
ARGENTINA AND BRAZIL, 1900 1949
BRAZIL AND ARGENTINA TO 1929 Brazil s elite of coffee and cacao planters and rubber exporters resembled the Argentine elite: they used their wealth to support a lavish lifestyle, allowed the British to build railroads, harbors, and other infrastructure, and imported all manufactured goods. Both Argentina and Brazil had small but outspoken middle classes that demanded a share in government and looked to Europe as a model.
INTELLECTUAL/TECHNOLOGY The disruption of European industry and world trade in World War I weakened the land-owning classes in Argentina and Brazil so that the urban middle class and the wealthy landowners shared power at the expense of the landless peasants and urban workers Aviation reached them after WWI - airmail service was introduced between Latin America and with US and Europe Radio became popular
TRADE/ECONOMICS During the 1920s peace and high prices for agricultural exports allowed both Argentina and Brazil to industrialize, but the introduction of new technologies left them again dependent on the advanced industrial countries. Post WW1 was a period of prosperity Used profits accumulated during the war to industrialize and improve their transportation systems and public utilities
THE DEPRESSION The Depression hit Latin America very hard and marks a significant turning point for the region. As the value of their exports plummeted and their economies collapsed, Argentina and Brazil, like many European countries, turned to authoritarian regimes that promised to solve their economic problems.
BRAZIL - SOCIAL Small but outspoken middle class that demanded a share in government and looked to Europe as a model Beneath the middle class was the poor - sharecroppers and plantation workers who were mainly descendants of slaves Postwar was a time of social turmoil and workers and middle class professionals demanded social reforms and larger voices in politics The urban middle class failed to take power away from the wealthy landowners
GETULIO VARGAS (1883 1953) In Brazil he staged a coup and practiced a policy called import substitution industrialization. Rules 1930-1945 Increased import duties and promotion of national firms and state-owned enterprises brought industrialization Had all of the usual environmental consequences: mines, urbanization, slums, the conversion of scrubland to pasture, and deforestation.
GETULIO VARGAS Vargas instituted reforms that were beneficial to urban workers, but because he did nothing to help the landless peasants, the benefits of the economic recovery were unequally distributed. In 1938 Vargas staged a second coup, abolished his previous constitution, made Brazil a fascist state, and thus infected not only Brazil but also all of South America with the temptations of political violence. He was overthrown in a military coup in 1954.
ENVIRONMENT With Vargas's industrialization: Reopening of coal mines and digging of new ones Cities grew and poor peasants looking for work arrived from the countryside Scrubland turned into pasture or planted in wheat, corn, and sugar cane In 1930 Henry Ford began to clear the Tapajos River for rubber plantation - eventually had to abandon project but still cleared 3 million acres of trees
ARGENTINA AFTER 1930 Economically, the Depression hurt Argentina almost as badly as it did Brazil, but the political consequences were delayed for years. In 1930 General Jose Uriburu overthrew the popularly elected president and initiated thirteen years of rule by generals and the oligarquia.
THE TRANSFORMATION OF ARGENTINA At the end of the nineteenth century the introduction of railroads and refrigerator ships transformed Argentina from an exporter of hides and wool to an exporter of meat. The introduction of Lincoln sheep and Hereford cattle for meat production led Argentine farmers to fence, plow, and cultivate the pampas, transforming pampas into farmland which, like the North American Midwest, became one of the worlds great producers of meat and wheat.
Argentina s government represented the interests of the oligarquia, a small group of wealthy landowners. This elite had little interest in any business other than farming; they were content to let foreign companies, mainly British, build the railroads, processing plants, and public utilities. Export agricultural goods cattle, sheep & wheat Import manufactured goods
COLONEL JUAN PERON (1895 1974) In 1943 he led another coup against General Jose Uriburu who ruled 1930-1943 As World War II turned against the Nazis, Peron and his wife Eva Duarte Peron appealed to urban workers to create a new base of support that allowed Peron to win the presidency in 1946 and to establish a populist dictatorship.
PRESIDENT JUAN PERON In 1943 Colonel Juan Peron government that modeled Nazi Germany Populist dictatorship Rapid industrialization Lavish spending Depleted capital gained during war Failure to create a stable government
DOWNFALL OF JUAN PERON Juan Peron s government sponsored rapid industrialization and spent lavishly on social welfare projects, depleting capital that Argentina had earned during the war. Peron was unable to create a stable government and soon after his wife died in 1952 he was overthrown in a military coup. Does become president again in 1973-1974
ARGENTINA ENVIRONMENT Most of Argentina consists of pampas which is flat, fertile land that is easy to till - it is much like the prairies of the Midwestern US and Canada In the end of the 19th century Argentina was a main place for exports of Lincoln sheep and Hereford cattle The pampas were divided up and turned into farmland in order to feed the animals The pampas therefore became one of the world's great producers of wheat and meat
MEXICO, ARGENTINA, AND BRAZIL: A COMPARISON Until 1910 Mexico, Argentina, and Brazil shared a common history and similar cultures. In the first half of the twentieth century their economies followed parallel trajectories, but their political histories diverged radically.
Mexico underwent a traumatic and profound social revolution. Argentina and Brazil remained under the leadership of conservative regimes that were devoted to the interests of the wealthy landowners and which were periodically overturned by military coups and populist demagogues.