Revolution and Counterrevolution- Angel Castillo

How did the Revolution as envisioned by Francisco I. Madero and his middle-class supporters differ from the goals that lower-class participants (campesinos, laborers, etc.) had in mind? How and why did those diverging goals create problems for Madero once he had been elected president of Mexico? By your estimation, why was this early period of revolution and counterrevolution significant?


Francisco I. Madero was a member of the elite and enjoyed the support of members of the middle class who did not have to deal with the same levels of abuse that the peasants and laborers were forced to deal with. Madero's presidency was a chance for those who felt they had been giving up power to foreign governments and businesses, to right what they felt had been wrong. Madero gained the support of the campesinos and laborers by vaguely promising the redistribution of lands that had been taken from them [1].

Madero had only wanted to "tinker" with he system [2]. Looking at his policies on land redistribution when he took power, it becomes exceedingly obvious that he did did not want to cause such a quake in Mexico's economic/political landscapes. Those same campesinos and laborers who supported  him would now have to try to win their land back in the courts, something such a small and underprivileged had little hope in being successful at.

It became such a large issue for Madero because he lost a significant portion of his base. Madero doing very little to address the core issues of such a major problem for such a large amount of people certainly lost him support. Many others saw this instability in his Presidency as an opportunity to seize power for themselves. The villagers believed that nothing could be done with an elite at the helm, they began looking to each other for leadership [3]. This period was significant for the simple fact that the political landscape was unstable at this time, there were many players involved, and this period had a major impact on Mexico.




[1] Gonzales, Michael J. The Mexican Revolution 1910-1940. University of New Mexico Press. 2002. 87
[2] Gonzales 88
[3] Gonzales 91

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