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""It is easier to run a revolution than a government" (Ferdinand E. Marcos (1917 - 81), Filipino politician, president. Time (New York, 6 June 1977). ) Websters dictionary defines the word revolution as an overthrowing of government [and / or ] radical change (Websters). The usual goal of a revolution is to change something that the populace does not like. The Mexican Revolution of 1910 was just that.
The changes made in the Mexican government during the first half of the twentieth century bear many resemblances to changes made during the French Revolution. According to Brinton, there are four stages to every revolution. The preliminary stage was when both Mexico and France set up the problems to come in the future due to the leadership at that time. The preliminary stage then led up to the first stage where frequent uprisings occurred against the government and sometimes even the people.
The third and perhaps most turbulent of the four stages was the crisis stage, where some streets ran red with blood, and order ran amuck. The final stage is the recovery stage, where the governments agreed upon a plan that would benefit the people who worked so hard for the changes to see the fruits of their labor. The preliminary stage of the Mexican Revolution was much like that of the French Revolution. President Porifirio Diaz was a prosperous President of Mexico for thirty-one years and ran the country much like Louis XVI of France.
Diaz gave most of the power to a select few, while the majority of the country did not have the right to vote for the officials they wanted or to express their own opinions, limitations that are similar to the third estate of the Ancien Regime. With such conditions, wealth was likewise concentrated in the hands of the few, and injustice was everywhere, in the cities and the countryside alike (Mex Connect). With these similarities however, there came many differences. While the monarchs of France of the Ancien Regime were generally absolutist monarchs ruling as the centralized power, Porifirio Diaz was a president in name, but acted like a despot or a dictator. President Diaz had the best intentions for Mexico's future, and established a stable government that rid the nation of crime (Summary). He improved the method of training military and police forces, making them a much more dominating force.
This of course, led to a nation that had a great deal less crime than in the past. Although Diaz did improve the quality of life, he only improved the quality of life and living conditions for the upper class. This group of elitists was much like the aristocracy or second class of France and held most of the power. However, the middle and lower classes of Mexico were subject to some wretched living conditions. For example, they had land stolen by foreign investors, which Diaz had brought in to help boost the economy, no food, and lack of money due to high inflation.
The problems of the middle and lower classes were just like the ones of the French Revolution because of the bread shortage and price increase in France. The price increases was marked by the ascension in, the price of bread, which had been rising gradually since 1785, [which then] began to soar (Buckler 703). The French Revolution was marked by the problems that the different classes had with each other. For example, the upper class was upset because they had lost much of their power during the reign of Louis XIV and the middle class was angry because some of their people were gaining great wealth, but they were not allowed to behold any titles of nobility. The urban workers had always thought that they were mistreated, and felt like this until the revolution. Because of Louis Xvi's inept ruling, France went into war against England to help the Americas.
This depleted Frances resources and so Louis could not stop or control the revolution. The events marked by the first stage had the same results, just the degree of the pre-rebellion was different. Though the first stages of the Mexican Revolution and French Revolution had their similarities, they also had some differences. In the Mexican Revolution, many important events occurred. The first of the events was when Francisco Madero challenged President Porifirio Diaz to an election. Diaz did not want to have the election so he rigged it so he would win.
Diaz then had Francisco Madero arrested and so he won the election because it was rigged in his favor. Before Madero was arrested in Monterrey and taken to the San Luis Potosi, he organized the ''Anti-reeleccionista'' party, which roughly translates to Anti Re-election meaning that he felt President Diaz should step down. When Madero found out that Diaz had been re-elected he issued the 'Plan of San Luis, ' a manifesto which declared that the elections had been a fraud and that he would not recognize Porifirio Diaz as the legitimate President of the Republic (Mex Connect). Madero then went to claim to the peasants that their land would be returned to them and a set of universal laws would be set for all. During the same time, he inspired a farmer by the name of Pancho Villa and a middle class man called Pascual Orozco to lead a revolutionary motion in northern Mexico.
These two had no military experience but did quite well against the abusive ranchers and landlords who ran the North (Mex Connect). Villa gathered a small army that went around to small towns and attacked federal officers. The government tried to put a stop to these attacks by sending out the army, but Villa evaded them and managed to capture Ciudad Juarez, a fairly large Mexican city at that time. Shortly after, Madero gained power in Mexico and became President. In southern Mexico, a revolutionist named Emilio Zapata also led a band of revolutionaries. Zapata believed that the land of Mexico should be redistributed equally to the peasants all over, giving everyone an equal opportunity.
He attempted to do this in a variety of ways. Zapata's actions and goal in the south was basically a mirror of what happened in the North with Pancho Villa. Ultimately, Zapata and Villa accomplished what they needed to, and that was to spark a revolution. In France, the first stage was in reference to its results. Madero's San Luis Potosi can be compared to The Declaration of the Rights of Man issued by the National Constituent Assembly of the French Revolution. Both of these manifestos declared the natural rights of man.
Both the people of the French and Mexican Revolutions took steps toward revolt. The radicals storming the Bastille led the revolt in France while the Mexican revolt was led by Pancho Villa in the north and Zapata in the south. The Great Fear was the part the peasants played in the French Revolution. The Great Fear compromised of farmers and peasants uprising against their lords, ransacking manor houses and burning feudal documents (Buckler 703).
Just like the Mexican peasants of the first stage, the French peasants were just trying to do their best to free themselves from exploitation (Buckler 703). This can be compared to Pancho Villa leading his peasants against the landowners and ranchers of the North. Basically, all over the countryside, peasants of both revolutions rose up and turned on their landlords. The crisis stage of both the Mexican and French Revolution had civil wars break out.
Victorian Huerta started the crisis stage of the Mexican Revolution when he teamed up with the United States government to overthrow Madero. The government felt that Madero was unqualified for this position because they thought he was an alcoholic. This sparked many battles over the presidency and caused many deaths. Huerta had Madero was arrested, and on February 22, 1913 Madero was shot. Huerta excused Madero's execution by claiming that he was trying to escape (Summary). Huerta, who had mostly everything in his favor, lost power quickly.
Perhaps Huerta lost power because of his drunkenness and tyrannical rule (Summary). The people did not want another tyrant like Diaz. Thus, the revolutionaries of north and south Mexico were back trying to free their country once again, led by Pancho Villa, Alvaro Oregon, and Venustantio Carranza (Summary). They stormed Mexico City and when they did, Huerta knew his time was over. Carranza took over in Huerta's place against the advice of Villa. This sparked Villa into a civil war with Ca...
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