Second Half of the Mexican Revolution

* 3-way fight in the Revolution

- Death of Madero in 1913, defeat of Huerta in 1914, and the rise of Carranza

- in the north, the Villistas

-> wanted labor reforms, nationalist approach to Americans

-> had control of key railroads, industrial cities, access to American arms markets

-> plenty of “proletarians,” railroad workers, and ranch hands to fill the ranks

- in Morelos, south of Mexico D.F., the Zapatistas

-> wanted land reform that approached agrarian anarchism

-> very committed soldiers fighting on home ground, but poorly armed

-> had sympathy from rural people throughout the country

- in the center, Mexico D.F., and Veracruz, the Constitutionalists

-> Carranza had become President after Huerta left, so some legitimacy on his side

-> had support of the Americans and access to high-quality arms

-> the capital, key ports, and foreign trade were in their hands

* The Convention at Aguascalientes, 1914

- Carranza’s moderation/conservatism and ties to the Americans meant revolution would continue

- Villistas and Zapatistas called for a convention and met in Aquascalientes

-> Zapata rarely left Morelos, but the threat of Carranza led him to work with Villa

-> despite revolutionary sympathies and hatred of Carranza, Villistas and Zapatistas had little common ground

- Villa’s forces followed up by seizing Mexico D.F., but he proved unable to provide a political platform to guarantee sufficient support to hold the city

-> many Mexicans found him and his supporters too radical

-> Zapatistas unwilling to move beyond armed peasant land reform

* War 1915-1919

- Villa retreated to the North and a series of battles with the Constitutionalists commenced

-> Álvaro Obregón was the key Constitutionalist general

-> Villa’s movement lived and died on his rail lines

-> the battle of Celaya in April solidified the Constitutionalist position

= Obregón proved thoughtful on the new weapons of machine gun and artillery

-> Villa actually raided Columbus, New Mexico after the loss at Celaya

=> US sent an expeditionary force under Pershing to hunt Villa down, but failed

=> Villa reduced to guerrilla in the canyons of northern Mexico

- Constitutionalist adoption of some working class demands improved their military position

-> more recruits and less people willing to fight against them

-> labor unions provided battalions of troops

- The Zapatistas proved a tough nut to crack

-> Obregón quickly pushed Zapatista forces out of anywhere but Morelos

-> fighting in Morelos proved far too costly to be undertaken easily by the Constitutionalists

-> peasants throughout Mexico looked to Morelos as a model of land reform, creating problems of propaganda for the Constitutionalists

-> despite holding out, the Zapatista movement posed no larger threat

* The Constitution of 1917

- Carranza and the Constitutionalists needed a compromise document to end the revolution

- Carranza was very leery of the Constitution’s radical elements, but Obregón supported them

- key contents of the Constitution

-> created a legal basis for unions

-> eight-hour day and other labor rights

-> guaranteed freedom of religion

-> reduced the role of the Catholic Church in education and politics

-> provided legal basis for land reform

=> limited foreign land ownership

-> made Mexican oil a national resource

-> formal equality for all people, including women

-> free speech and press

* Assassinations

- April 10, 1919, Zapata tricked, ambushed, and assassinated

-> the Zapatista movement (Morelos commune) slowly fell apart

=> some forces continued fighting, but many defected to Obregón

- Obregón assassinated Carranza on May 21, 1920

-> a power play, but also a move towards more social radicalism

-> ending the revolution by making many of the demands law

- Villa assassinated in 1923 at his ranch after having agreed to retire

-> he had remained a political threat to Obregón

- Obregón himself assassinated after serving his term in office by a Catholic assassin