The Mexican Revolution

The Mexican revolution

Throughout the Mexican Revolution many people lives were affected and violated. It was a brutal and important downfall to Mexico due to the dictatorship in the country. This revolution was led by four leaders which were, Porfirio Diaz, Francisco Madero, Emiliano Zapata, and Francisco "Pancho" Villa. These four leaders contributed with different ideas and power which destroyed Mexico. Laura Esquivel's novel Like Water For chocolate symbolizes the Mexican Revolution, and how power was given to those who did not deserve it and was taken from those who did. Mexico has had many revolutions throughout history. The most famous is the Mexican Revolution from 1910- 1920. The Mexican Revolution changed many people lives. It started with the dictatorship of a President name Porfirio Diaz, the people of Mexico were tired of the way they were being treated and wanted freedom. There were many disagreements amongst them. Power was giving to only a selected few who did not deserve it. The People did not have the power to express their opinions or to even select their presidents; they were not giving any freedom, especially the middle class and the poor. The people of Mexico had a lot of ideas but could not express themselves. It was all about who had the power to speak for the people and President Diaz was the cause of it all. Not many people had the opportunity to wealth. People of the working class and the poor had different factors. There were poor working conditions, bad housing conditions and low wages. Men, women and children were fighting amongst themselves. Children also wanted to join the army of these leaders. Can you imagine a child holding a gun and killing people far from their age? It was all about favoritism. Land companies were fighting amongst each other. Most land companies had the right and the power to take control of many parts of the Mexican land. The government gave more favoritism to the wealthy than any other class. (Knight 28) President Porfirio Diaz was in office for 30 years since 1976. He was eighty years of age in 1910. Although Diaz had the country in control and grew the economy he also loved power and ruling. With that being said he became one of the notorious dictators. President Diaz took everything from the Mexican people such as their freedom "He worked with strong will and penetrating intellect first attaining national security through long years of fighting in campaigns full of romantic daring..."(Johnston 3). During the election between President Diaz and Francisco Madero, Diaz promised the people of Mexico their freedom to vote. It was eventually supposed to be an open vote to the people. After Diaz felt threaten that he might lose his president seat he accused Madero of false accusation. Madero was then arrested and imprisoned in San Luis Potosi. Diaz disregards his promise to his people and cheated his way into winning. The people were tired of him having power to control them and taking everything they own. The people were very disappointed and wanted him out of office. He did not want to renounce his power so they wanted to force him out which started the Mexican Revolution. (Johnston 3) Francisco Madero was one person who believed in President Diaz renouncing his power. Madero supported the democracy in which the government is strict to the laws of the people. That made him more successful in winning the vote of the Mexican people. His movement was strong and powerful and was a threat to President Diaz. According to the New York Time (1852-1922) he was arrested at the office of assistant district attorney. After Madero was bailed out of jail he escaped to San Antonio, Texas, and disguised himself as a railway worker, where he issued a document called "Plan of San Luis Potosi," Madero declared a revolution and surrounded himself with men who shared the same opinions and wanted President Diaz out of office. They then came back to Mexico for war. The date he issued the plan was the beginning of the Mexican Revolution. The Revolution begins with insurrections in several states in northern Mexico. Madero was successful in removing President Diaz of the president seat and was Elected President in 1911. Being in the president seat became one of the hardest responsibilities for Madero. Many groups became tired with the way Madero was handling problems that Mexico was having, and so the people went against him and wanted him out of the office. He was then killed on February 22, 1913 under the orders of General Victoriano Huerta, who became the next President of Mexico. (Madero 1) Emiliano Zapata was one of the most important men in the Mexican Revolution. He was the village leader and a farmer. On March 1911 Zapata sided with Madero to get Diaz to renounce his presidency. With other revolutionary leaders, they joined armies to defeat Victoriano Huerta and his army. Madero and Zapata led the poor to whom they claim their rights over their land and water. While Zapata continued to fight for his rights and freedom of his land, a battle began in many other parts of the country. The "Maderista" troops (which was the name given to the army of Francisco Madero), began fighting federal forces in southern states. The alliance between Zapata and Madero did not last because Madero did not really believe in land reforms. Zapata basically was the only one who cared about it. After Zapata captured Cuautla in May of 1911, Diaz knew his time was up and went into escape. When Madero's promises failed, Zapata went to the extreme. In November of 1911, Zapata wrote his famous plan of Ayala. The plan declared Madero a traitor. Zapata fought different federal forces in the south and near the city of Mexico. Before he could get Madero off the seat, General Victoriano Huerta had already made the lead to do so on Febuary of 1913. He orders Madero to be arrested and executed. Zapata hated Victoriano Huerta mainly because he was bitter and he was basically responsible for many problems in southern Mexico. Zapata was not alone in the north; Pancho Villa who had supported Madero also went after Huerta. Together they made success in removing Heurta out of the president seat. During the war Huerta's military kept losing to the four leaders of the Revolution. Huerta resigned in June of 1914. Zapata army was very different from the other generals. He allowed women to join and serve as combatants. Zapata's army had a large numbers of women combatants. Some of them were even officers. He allowed them to fight in the battles and to lead the army with him. Although other revolutionary armies had many women followers, in general, they did not fight. Zapata was open and he had many good ideas and was not afraid to express his thoughts. His ideas on land reform became one of the bases of the Revolution. Zapata had a problem with anyone who