Mexican Revolution: Causes And Conclusions

Events must be placed into context in order to understand the continuum that is history. Millions of moments in time co-create events that occur and build upon one another, culminating in major historical occurrences. Revolutions and other swift (or labored) changes, often arise from the ashes of many seemingly insignificant moments. A knowledge of the underlying reasons that have brought about some major events, can help us to understand why some notable figures of the past have been immortalized. The background to the Mexican Revolution is just such a case, where a little awareness of local turmoil can shed light on the sweeping changes that eventually came to pass.

This is the main thing to know about post-colonial Mexico: from the very moment it was granted freedom from Spain in 1821, there was intense disagreement between liberal and conservative factions. Failed attempts at monarchy and republics occurred, because over a ninety year period, the two sides ruled the land by their separate values, without co-operation. In 1872, several years after the locals had overthrown Napoleon III's invading forces and shown Europe that they weren't to be trifled with, a man named Porfirio Diaz became the president of the country.

Diaz quickly became a conservative-leaning dictator (reigning 30 years!) even though he was prominent in the rebellion against France, and the friend of the previous President.. During that time, which became known as the Porfiriato, the Mexican economy boomed, but at the expense of the working poor, whose lands were taken away from them by force. They faced brutal violence by Porfirio's thuggish police force if they resisted, and the entire land was in a constant state of uncertainty.

The locals were obviously unhappy with this arrangement, but the corrupt government meant that Diaz was re-elected, year after year. Then, in 1910 the President claimed that he would be retiring; Francisco Madero, a young man with idealistic tendencies, had plans to challenge him in the election that year. This new face was a refreshing change for the masses, and he was extremely popular with a majority of voters.

Madero appeared to be a force to contend with, and rather than actually lose the election, he had him jailed instead. The fraud on display was incredibly obvious, and the public was outraged. The beginning of the Mexican Revolution was ignited when Francisco called for revolt against the government.

While Diaz fled to Europe, the fight was only just beginning, as Madero's own presidency would collapse in less than two years and more chaos was to follow. It would be nearly ten years before the dust would settle and a stable new reign could begin to rebuild; as this was happening there was corruption, helpless political villains, murderous folk heroes and bloodshed..

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