History of Mexico. Independent Mexico in the 19th - early 20th centuries
Mexico (Mejico, Mexico) - a state in the southwestern part North America.
By the beginning of the 19th century, Mexico was part of the Viceroyalty of New Spain created by the Spaniards in 1535. The economic life of New Spain was subordinated to the interests of the mother country. The Spanish used Mexico mainly as a supplier of precious metals, cocoa, sugar and a market for Spanish industry.
The colonial regime slowed down economic development Mexico, causing discontent among the privileged elite of the colonial society - Creoles (white natives of the colonies), artisans, small landowners and merchants. The dissatisfaction of the general population with the colonial regime resulted in the beginning. 19th century in freedom movement(War for the independence of the Spanish colonies 1810-1826).
The uprising in Mexico began on September 16, 1810 in the village of Dolores with a call to the people of its leader, the priest Miguel Hidalgo (1763-1811) (“The Cry of Dolores”). The uprising immediately acquired a mass, nationwide character. Hidalgo called for the elimination of slavery, the abolition of feudal duties, racial discrimination, and the return of lands to the Indians. After the execution of Hidalgo in 1811, the liberation struggle was led by his follower, the priest José Maria Morelos (1865-1815). In 1813, the Congress in Chilpancingo adopted the Declaration of Independence of Mexico from Spain. At the beginning of 1815, the colonialists managed to defeat the revolutionary army, Morelos was executed. The struggle for independence was led by Colonel A. de Iturbide, who was supported by large landowners, merchants and higher clergy. On September 28, 1821, the independence of Mexico was proclaimed, Iturbide was declared emperor in May 1822 under the name of Agustin I. The empire lasted until May 1823, when a republican system was established in Mexico. On October 4, 1824, the Congress adopted the Constitution of the United Mexican States, which abolished the poll tax and proclaimed the equality of all citizens.
After the War of Independence, Mexico entered a long period of struggle between the established conservative and liberal political parties. The former advocated the preservation of the feudal privileges of the church and the army, the latter - for a series of progressive political and economic reforms (prohibition of slavery and the importation of slaves into the country). In 1833, the dictatorship of General Antonio Lopez Santa Ana (official president 1833-1835, 1841-1844, 1846-1847, 1853-1855) was actually established in Mexico. A long internal political struggle weakened Mexico, which was used by the United States, which sought to seize its territory. In 1835 the USA established control over the territory of Texas, in 1845 the North American Congress approved the annexation of Texas. In 1846, Mexico was drawn into the war with the United States (1846-1848), as a result of which, under the Guadelupe-Hidalgo Treaty, she lost more than half of her territory (Texas, New Spain, Upper and Lower California, part of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, Chihuahua and Sonora).
In the middle of the 19th century, the liberals intensified their fight against the privileges of the church and the army, which hindered the capitalist development of the country. In 1855, the dictatorship of Santa Ana was overthrown, the new liberal government issued the "Law of Juarez" (named after the Minister of Justice), which deprived the clergy and the army of feudal privileges. In 1857, a new bourgeois constitution was adopted in Mexico. However, the conservative clerical faction succeeded in removing the liberal government. A civil war broke out in the country (1857-1860). The liberals were led by Benito Pablo Juarez. During the bourgeois revolution in 1859, the Juarez government issued the "Reform Laws" - on the nationalization of church property, the separation of church and state, etc. The publication of these laws further intensified the struggle within the country. In 1861 England, France and Spain supported the conservative group by organizing an intervention in Mexico. In 1862, Spanish and British troops left Mexico, while France continued military operations against the government of Juarez until 1867. Napoleon III intended, after the overthrow of the liberals in Mexico, to turn the country into an empire led by the Austrian Archduke Maximilian Habsburg. The national liberation struggle in Mexico against the French invaders assumed a broad, popular character. In 1867, the Mexican "empire" fell, Maximilian was shot, Juarez was proclaimed president (1867-1872). In 1876, General Porfirio Diaz became president, establishing a de facto dictatorship in the country. He managed to remain in power almost continuously until 1911.
The dictatorship was supported by conservative elements of society: latifundists, the clergy, and the military. The agrarian policy of Diaz (law of 1883) contributed to the concentration of land holdings in the hands of landowners and foreign companies and caused the loss of land by small owners and Indian communities. The persistence of feudal vestiges, the dominance of foreign capital, and the weakness of national industry determined the characteristic features in the development of capitalism in Mexico. The landlessness of the peasants and the creation of favorable conditions for the penetration of foreign capital into the country's economy exacerbated the contradictions within Mexican society. The anti-national policy of Diaz contributed to the formation of a broad anti-government camp, dissatisfied with the policies of the dictator.
During the period of which from 500 thousand to 2 million people died in battles, from hunger and disease, while the population of the country in 1910 was 15 million people.
A general uprising did not begin, but the rebellion captured the state of Chihuahua, where the famous peasant leaders Pascual Orozco and Pancho Villa subsequently stood out. In March, an uprising began in the state of Morelos, led by Emliano Zapata. At that time, in fact, two revolutions were taking place in the country: the goal of Madero and the middle strata was to participate in the government of the country, the revolutionaries in the south and in the center of Mexico, formally subordinate to Madero, sought to divide the landowners' lands among the peasants.
After the start of the war, all states Latin America declared their neutrality following the United States. September 23 - October 3, 1939 in Panama, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the American states adopted the Declaration of Neutrality. Along the entire coast of the United States and Latin America, a 300-mile "safety zone" was established, which was subject to joint protection.
But the victories of the Nazis in Europe, the involvement in the war of an increasing number of states and the attack on the USSR showed the danger that threatened the whole world. In the countries of Latin America, a movement of solidarity with the states of the anti-Hitler coalition grew. In December 1941, Mexico severed diplomatic relations with the countries of the Berlin-Rome Axis, and on May 22, 1942, Mexico declared war on Germany. To help the USSR, the "Society of Friends of the USSR" and the "Youth Committee for Help to Russia" were created. In November 1942, Mexican-Soviet diplomatic relations were restored. In February 1945, Mexico sent a 300-man air squadron to the Pacific. The squadron participated in military operations against Japan in the Philippines and the island of Taiwan.
On February 21 - March 8, 1945, a conference of American states was held in Mexico City, called the Chapultepec Conference. At the conference, the Chapultepec Act was adopted, declaring the principle of mutual assistance and solidarity among the countries of the continent, at the suggestion of the United States, the Economic Charter was adopted, which spoke of the gradual abolition of customs barriers, guarantees to foreign capital, and non-discrimination.
Mexico's "economic miracle"
During World War II, Mexico became an ally of the anti-Hitler coalition. Financial and technological assistance from the United States has allowed Mexico to modernize railways and industry. Deprived of European imports, Mexico was forced to develop its own production. The war raised world prices, thus creating favorable conditions for Mexican trade.
In 1942, an agreement was signed to settle the US-Mexican conflict. US direct investment rose from $316 million in 1946 to $787 million in 1957. The US also held a monopoly position in Mexican foreign trade.
After the war, a period of economic growth began: the implementation of industrialization programs, the industrial development of regions, irrigation, and the introduction of new agricultural technologies. By 1958, Mexico came out on top in Latin America in terms of total industrial output.
The public sector played an important role. After the reforms of Cardenas, the state owned the railways, the oil and oil refining industry, 12-15% of the manufacturing industry. It accounted for 33 to 43% of all capital investments.
The growth in production led to an almost twofold increase in the number of industrial workers in the 1940s-1950s, their number increased from 420 to 800 thousand. The number of workers employed in agriculture increased from 1.2 to 2 million people. The share of industry in the gross domestic product exceeded the share Agriculture- the country gradually became industrial-agrarian. Agrarian reform in the 1940s-1950s slowed down - in 18 years (1940-1958) the peasants received 12.3 million hectares of land. In 1958-1964. the distribution of land accelerated again, a tax reform was undertaken, and energy and film industry enterprises were nationalized.
In the period 1964-1970. production developed rapidly with an annual increase in the gross national product by 6.5%. Per capita income has risen. From 1958 to 1970, more than 600 thousand peasant families received 32 million hectares, while under Cardenas only 18 million hectares. The share of the echidal (communal) sector increased during the 1960s from 26 to 49.8% of agricultural land. In 1969, the first metro lines were opened in Mexico City. For the 1960s The population of the country increased from 37 to 51 million people. Despite the success in the economy, due to the inadequate distribution of material wealth, the problems in the field of education and social security of the rapidly growing population could not be effectively resolved.
The emergence of a new latifundism, the existence of a large number of poor peasant farms and an excess of the rural population became the reasons further development social contradictions. Part of the population illegally crossed the US border.
In 1968, growing social tension led to student unrest, and on October 2, 1968, ten days before the start of the 19th Summer Olympic Games, due to the fault of the authorities, a peaceful student demonstration on the Square of Three Cultures was shot down, resulting in hundreds of victims. President Luis Echeverría, who came to power in 1970, tried to reduce the tension in society and increase the authority of the PRI through new reforms. His government took a course towards the democratization of the electoral process, the weakening of economic dependence on the United States, the activation agrarian reform. However, the latter was complicated by the fact that the fund of lands subject to expropriation was practically exhausted. Nevertheless, the government managed to identify and expropriate 2 million hectares of vacant land. And in 1971, a law was passed that prohibited any form of alienation of communal land, its lease and other transactions that allowed third parties to participate in the use of land. Between 1976 and 1982 Mexico has tripled its oil production, becoming one of the leading oil producing countries. However, the fall in oil prices led to the nationalization of banks, a 75% devaluation of the Mexican peso and a reduction in import and government spending.
Institutional Revolutionary Party
The Institutional Revolutionary Party (IRP) - this name was acquired in 1946 by the Party of the Mexican Revolution - took a monopoly position in political life countries. The head of the party was the president of Mexico, and the leading position in the party was taken by the party-state bureaucracy. Workers' organizations such as the Mexican Workers' Confederation were controlled by the PRI and the government.
Despite the fact that at times social democratic tendencies prevailed in the party, the PRI did not associate itself with world social democracy. It was precisely the national character of the ideology that proclaimed the continuation of the permanent Mexican Revolution until the full implementation of its ideals: sovereignty, freedom, democracy, social justice was emphasized. To justify the declared political pluralism, the ruling regime encouraged the creation of numerous parties, financing their activities and election campaigns. However, until the end of the 1970s. the number of parties that were officially registered and admitted to the elections, excluding the IRP, did not exceed three.
The national reformist course of the PRI was criticized by both right and left forces. But the opposition was limited in scope. In the 1940s-1950s. the right rallied around the National Action Party (NAP). The MHP represented the interests of financial and industrial circles associated with American capital, and, in addition, agricultural and Catholic circles. Despite the fact that the PHP could not compete with the PRI, it achieved representation in the National Congress and tried to put pressure on the ruling party. The left opposition of that period was made up of small parties, while at the same time, leftist movements were also represented in the IRP itself. Since 1919, there has been a communist party in Mexico, which was allowed to participate in elections only in 1979.
After the events of 1968, demands for changes in the political system began to sound more and more often. In the 1970-1980s. A number of constitutional and electoral reforms were carried out. However, the practice of forgery and falsification of election results continued. During this period, under the conditions of the long-term monopoly of the PRI, bureaucratization and corruption, the big bourgeoisie began to strive more persistently to participate in political power and demand that their interests be observed. This led to the strengthening of the role of the MHP. In 1982, she won 15.7% of the vote and 51 out of 400 seats in the Chamber of Deputies, while the IRP - 70.9% and 299 seats. In the 1980s, the PAP took a more moderate position.
In 1988, a left-wing movement emerged from the PRI under the control of Cuauhtemoc Cardenas, the son of a well-known reformer. This movement served as the basis for a left-wing coalition, the National Democratic Front. In the 1988 elections, the PRI received 50.4% of the vote and 263 mandates out of 500 in the Chamber of Deputies, the MHP - more than 17% and 101 mandates, the National Democratic Front - 31.1% and 136 mandates. These elections marked the transition to political pluralism.
Neoliberal reforms
In the midst of the crisis of 1982-1983. Miguel de la Madrid came to power. De la Madrid began the fight against corruption by filing criminal cases against two officials of the previous administration. However, he did not touch the bureaucracy of the PRI and the trade union leaders associated with it.
State-owned enterprises were privatized, government spending was reduced, administrative staff was reduced, and the previously nationalized banking system was partially privatized. Import restrictions have been reduced and opportunities for foreign investment have been liberalized.
In 1984-1985. there was a new economic boom, but soon there was another fall in oil prices. In 1986, GDP fell by 3.7%, inflation in 1987 was 143.6%. From 1983 to 1987, the country received loans for 31 billion dollars, but over the same years paid off 67.4 billion of foreign debt. By 1989, external debt exceeded 107 billion dollars, and the outflow of national capital to the United States amounted to 50 billion. the situation did not allow Mexico to solve economic problems.
On September 19, 1985, a strong earthquake of magnitude 8.0 struck Mexico City. According to official estimates, the number of victims was 10 thousand people. Due to the inability of the regime to effective fight with the consequences of the disaster, the credibility of the government was further undermined.
In 1986, Mexico joined the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, all left political forces and most trade unions and public organizations spoke out against entry. This move set the stage for the final phase of the neoliberal project carried out by de la Madrid's successor.
In the context of the stagnation of the agricultural sector, in order to increase competition and individualization, a reform was carried out that gave community members ownership of the land. On November 7, 1991, President Salinas initiated discussions to change the constitution, which ended in the adoption of a new agrarian law in 1992. It determined the status of echidal farms, which were now declared legal entities, and their members were full owners of their land plots. At the same time, the latter had the right to liquidate the community. Peasants also received the right to sell and lease their plots. However, the prohibition against the creation of latifundia remained in force, and members of the ejido community could not own more than 5% of its land. At the same time, due to the decrease in concessional state financing, the decapitalization of peasant farms intensified, and the increased debts accelerated their ruin. The share of agriculture in national production fell to 5%.
Due to the exhaustion of the fund of lands subject to expropriation and the creation of a free land market, the state refused to divide the expropriated land among the peasants. Thus, if in the period from 1915 to 1988 80 million hectares of land were distributed among the peasants, then in the period from 1989 to 1994 only 520 hectares.
In November 1993, Mexico and the United States signed an agreement establishing the North American Free Trade Area (NAFTA), which came into force on January 1, 1994. A gradual introduction within the zone of free movement of goods, capital and labor was envisaged.
With this agreement, the Salinas government hoped to increase the sale of Mexican goods to the American market, solve the problems of employment and migration, accommodate the surplus workforce in the United States, the growth of industrial enterprises with advanced technologies was expected and high quality products. Mexico also pledged to open access to US and Canadian companies to its telecommunications and remove restrictions on the activities of joint ventures.
Zapatista uprising
On January 1, 1994, an armed uprising of the Zapatistas begins, the bulk of which were poor Indian peasants. The rebels put forward demands for constitutional recognition of the rights of the indigenous peoples of Mexico and opposed neoliberal reforms, the ratification of the NAFTA treaty and laws allowing the sale and purchase of peasant communal lands.
Their detachments occupied seven municipal centers of the state of Chiapas without firing a shot. But already on January 2, the Zapatistas retreated to the mountains under the onslaught of federal troops, and aviation began bombing the selva. Hundreds of thousands of people spontaneously took to the streets of Mexico City and other cities of the country, demanding that the government stop the massacre and start negotiations. January 12, President Ernesto Zedillo declares a unilateral ceasefire and agrees to start a peace dialogue. About 150 people died in the clashes.
In 1995, lengthy negotiations with the authorities took place. The SANO (Zapatista Army of National Liberation) and the federal government signed the so-called "San Andrés Accords", which involve amending the Mexican constitution and recognizing in it the rights and culture of Indian peoples, as well as the right to autonomy and self-government of Indian communities and territories inhabited by them. But the provisions of these agreements have remained on paper and are being ignored by the current authorities.
However, having abandoned direct armed confrontation, the Zapatistas are not going to give up their goals - a complete reorganization of the government of the nation from top to bottom and restructuring it in a "left" key. At present, they continue to hold on to the 32 municipalities they created, practically independent of the central government, in which the administration, as well as the health and education systems, are newly created according to their model. This system, which provides for "direct democracy" as opposed to the usual parliamentarism, the Zapatista movement intends to spread throughout the country. For the sake of this, Subcomandante Marcos, the main ideologist and propagandist of the Zapatistas, announced in 2006 in the next, sixth in a row, Declaration of the Larandon Selva that the Zapatistas intended to launch a “different campaign”, achieving their goals by legal means.
Financial "tequila crisis"
More: 1994 economic crisis in Mexico
The Zapatista uprising has made investors wary of investing their money in the volatile region.
In 1994, following the assassination of PRI presidential candidate Luis Donaldo Colosio, the party's new candidate was the economist Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de Leon, who was elected head of state in July 1994 with 50.2% of the vote. On the eve of the presidential elections in Mexico, the internal political situation became more complicated. The reaction of the Mexican Exchange to these changes brought it to the last place in the list of 24 largest exchanges in the world. The fall in stocks caused funds to move into the fixed income market and capital outflow from the country.
The stagnation in production and the growing trade deficit made Mexico unattractive for foreign investment. In view of the reduction in investment inflows, the government raised interest rates on government bonds and transferred most domestic short-term debt for short-term government bonds indexed to the dollar. However, such a policy led to an intensification of the crisis: debt indexation led to an increase in public debt and a decrease in the effect of devaluation.
As archaeological excavations show, traces of human presence in Mexico date back to the 20th millennium BC, and in the middle of the 1st century BC. the first settled tribes appeared here.
From 2000 BC to 400 AD On the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, the Olmec civilization arose and flourished, whose culture left a noticeable mark on the history of Mexico. It was in small pieces that ideographic writing was invented and the solar calendar developed, which later passed to later civilizations. The cult center of the Olmec civilization, which reached its peak in the VIII-IV centuries. BC, was the city of La Venta, located in the state of Tabasco.
In the IV-XII centuries. here arose and developed such civilizations as the Zapotecs, whose center was at Monte Alban, in the valley of Oaxaca; tonotaki - in the surrounding areas of the modern state of Veracruz, as well as the culture of Teotihuacan and the Maya Indians, whose influence spread to the territory of southern Mexico.
In the VIII century, many civilizations were destroyed by the Toltecs who came from the north. Their conquest of the Maya Indians led to the formation of the Maya-Toltec state in the Yucatan, the capital of which was Chichen Itza (X-XVI centuries).
In the XII century, the Aztecs came to the Valley of Mexico, who conquered many tribes of Central Mexico. They were a warlike civilization, which was elevated to a cult of war and mass human sacrifice. The capital of the Aztecs was Teotihuacan (modern Mexico City), founded by them in 1325, on a small island in Lake Texcoco.
The development of all civilizations was interrupted by the Spanish conquest.
Conquest of Mexico and Spanish colonization
The Spaniards learned about the country rich in gold after 2 reconnaissance expeditions made in 1517 and 1518.
To conquer Mexico, the Cuban governor Diego Vilasquez organized a new campaign, led by Hernan Cortes.
In 1519, the expedition took the path to the coast of Yucatan, and landed on the island of Cozumel, where the first contact between the Spanish conquistadors and the Maya Indians took place.
The first attempt to capture Tenochtitlan ended in failure, and only in 1521, after many days of siege, the city fell and the powerful Aztec state ceased to exist.
The history of Mexico in 1521-1821 is marked by a period of three hundred years of Spanish domination.
The country became part of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, which was formed in 1535, the capital was Mexico City. In the hands of the viceroy, who was directly subordinate to the monarch of Spain, both civil and military power was concentrated, and he also had an audience - an advisory body with judicial powers.
Most of the population of New Spain consisted mainly of its natives and indigenous people, who made up no more than 40% of the total population.
The first century of Spanish colonization was marked by a sharp decline in the number of Indians, which forced the Spanish colonizers to move from the extermination of the indigenous population to their organized exploitation.
In accordance with Spanish law, the right to own land was recognized for the Indian communities, the indigenous people themselves were considered free, their work should not have been too hard and payable, but in practice these conditions were not always respected.
The Catholic Church, which was one of the main institutions of New Spain, had a great influence on the spiritual life of the indigenous population. Many Indians were converted to Christianity.
The basis of the economic life of the country was the extraction of precious metals. Agricultural production developed slowly, as its development was hampered by such restrictions as the ban by the Spanish authorities on the cultivation of grapes, flax, and olives. These restrictions were introduced to avoid competition from colonial products, only those crops that did not grow in Spain were allowed to be grown.
Economic relations were limited to trade relations with the mother country, which were carried out through Veracruz, Seville and Cadiz, trade with other Spanish colonies and foreign states was forbidden.
During this period, Santa Cruz College was built in Tlatelolco, in which only indigenous people - Indians studied, a university was opened in Mexico City, as well as the first printing house in the New World, and a theater was also distributed.
19th century
Fight for independence
The history of Mexico at the beginning of the 19th century is marked by the struggle for independence from Spanish rule.
The first uprising, led by the priest Miguel Hidalgo, took place on September 16, 1810. The rebel army, consisting mainly of Indians and mestizos, was defeated in 1811, and Hidalgo was captured and shot. September 16 is celebrated in the country as Independence Day, and Hidalgo is a national hero.
The revolutionary army, after the death of Hidalgo, was led by another priest - Jose Maria Morelos. Under his leadership, the rebels occupied the cities of Acapulco and Oaxaca, but in 1815 Morelos was captured and executed. From that year until 1820, the liberation movement from Spanish domination moved to the level of guerrilla warfare.
The revolution that began in Spain in 1820 inspired the supporters of the struggle for the independence of the country, they were also supported by the Creole elite.
September 27, 1821 liberation army Under the leadership of General Agustín de Iturbide, Mexico City was occupied, and on September 28, Mexico's independence from Spain was proclaimed and a constitutional monarchy was established, headed by Iturbide, who declared himself Emperor Augustine I.
period of instability
The war for independence was replaced by a time of instability. As a result of an uprising (1822) that broke out in Veracruz under the leadership of General Antonio López de Santa Anna, Emperor Augustine I was forced to abdicate his throne in 1823, yielding his power to the Congress.
The year 1824 in the history of Mexico was marked by the adoption of the Republican Constitution, which confirmed independence from Spain and enshrined the federal principle. state structure. In the same year, Victoria Guadelupe was elected the first president of Mexico.
But even after that, in Mexico, presidents succeeded each other almost every year.
Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, who came to power in 1833 and ruled the country for more than twenty years, provided the country with political stability and economic growth, but his foreign policy mistakes and the war with the United States led to the fact that in 1848 Mexico lost almost 2 / 2 of their territory.
The overthrow of Santa Anna in 1855 plunged Mexico once again into a period of instability.
French intervention
In 1861, the country temporarily stopped paying foreign debts, which led to French intervention.
In 1862, Napoleon III launched an expedition to Mexico, on May 5, the French army attacked the city of Puebla, but suffered a crushing defeat. This day has become a national holiday for the country. But a second offensive, undertaken in 1963, led to the capture of Puebla by the French. In the same year, Mexico City was captured by the French, a monarchy was proclaimed, and the imperial crown was offered to Maximilian of Habsburg. After the withdrawal of French troops from Mexican territory in 1867, the emperor was captured and shot.
Porphyry
The history of Mexico from 1876-1911 marks the period of the Porphyriate, during which the country was ruled by the announcer Porfirio Diaz, who, in order to establish political stability, were subordinated to political institutions, the army and eliminated competitors.
A large role, both in the political and economic life of the country, was played by a group of oligarchs, formed from landowners and representatives of the bureaucracy and the bourgeois intelligentsia. This group was actively involved in the policy of attracting foreign investment to the country. New enterprises were created, telegraph lines, port facilities, and railways were built. During this period, the country experienced economic growth, while the freedoms and rights of the indigenous people of the country were sharply limited.
20th century
Revolution and the Constitution of 1917
The next election in 1910 of Porfirio Diaz as president of Mexico served as the impetus for a revolution, the main goals of which were the return of land to the peasants, which were taken away from them during the years of Diaz's rule, and getting rid of foreign economic domination. In May 1911, Díaz was overthrown, but the revolutionary forces were unable to maintain unity, which eventually led to the counter-revolutionaries seizing power.
In 1914, the rebels came to power, led by Carranza, he was proclaimed the first leader of Mexico, and in 1915 was recognized as its president.
On February 5, 1917, a new Constitution of the country was adopted, which is still in force.
From 1920 to 1928 the presidents of Mexico were Alvaro Obregono and Plutarco Elias Calles. During the years of their rule, presidential power was strengthened, democratic freedoms were respected, and a wide educational program among the rural population. During this period, the cultural heyday of the country began, which was called the "Mexican Renaissance".
In the 1930s, an active agrarian reform began, most of the land was transferred to the possession of collective peasant farms, and industrial enterprises belonging to the USA and Great Britain were nationalized.
Not bypassed Mexico and the Second World War, during which the country was an ally of the anti-Hitler coalition.
Second half of the 20th century
The history of Mexico at the beginning of the second half of the twentieth century is marked by social unrest associated with social tensions in the country and led to student unrest. In 1968, a peaceful student demonstration, which took place on the Square of Three Cultures, was shot by the army troops. In the same year, the XIX Summer Olympic Games were held in Mexico, and in 1969 the first metro lines in Mexico City were opened.
Thanks to the oil boom that occurred in the late 70s and early 80s, a good financial base was created in Mexico for the development of agriculture and industry. However, the oversupply of oil, as well as the fall in oil prices, had the most negative impact on the country's economy.
In 1985, an earthquake hit Mexico, which killed a large number of people, many houses were destroyed and damaged.
XXI Century
In 2006, the representative of the National Action Party, Felipe Calderon, became president of Mexico, who began an active struggle against Mexican drug cartels.
The history of Mexico during the global financial and economic crisis that occurred in 2008 is marked by global shocks: the turnover of foreign trade was reduced by almost a quarter; increased debts, both external and state; to heavy social consequences cited the failure of the commodity and US financial markets.
The country's government took large-scale anti-crisis measures, and international financial circles also provided great assistance.
In 2012, Enrique Peña Nieto, whose policy is predominantly oriented towards the United States, was elected President of Mexico.
Plan
Introduction
1 Pre-Columbian Mexico
2 Conquest of Mexico
3 Colonial period
4 19th century
4.1 Independence
4.2 Texas Revolution
4.3 War with the United States
4.4 French intervention
4.5 Porfiriato - Porfirio Díaz's dictatorship
5 XX century
5.1 Civil war 1910-1917
5.2 Civil war 1926-1929 Cristeros
5.3 Reforms by Lázaro Cárdenas
5.4 Mexico's "economic miracle"
5.5 1985 Mexico City earthquake
5.6 Tequila financial crisis
5.7 Zapatista rebellion
6 XXI century
6.1 Cactus revolution
Bibliography
History of Mexico
Introduction
The history of Mexico (Spanish: México [ˈmexiko] from Ast. mexica), numbering several millennia and representing a chronicle of great cultural achievements and geographical discoveries, at the same time filled with tragic events related to the military and political struggle.
For a long time since the appearance of the first settlers, Mexico was the territory of hunter-gatherers. But about 9 thousand years ago, an agricultural revolution took place, which led to the emergence major cities, and then ancient states, such as the Aztec empire or the Mayan state.
With the beginning of the Spanish colonization of the 16th century and the destruction of Indian civilizations, the country became a melting pot in which the customs and customs of the indigenous peoples, mixed with European traditions, formed a unique hybrid called Mexican culture.
1. Pre-Columbian Mexico
Clovis culture tip
According to the modern point of view, the migration of people to America passed through the then-existing Bering Isthmus (Beringia) between Siberia and Alaska. However, when the first people appeared on the territory of Mexico, today it is not known exactly. So, for example, the age of artifacts from one of the most ancient sites - Hueyatlaco, according to various estimates of scientists, ranges from 12 thousand to 250 thousand years.
The most famous prehistoric cultures in Mexico are the Clovis culture (9.5 thousand - 9 thousand years BC) and the Folsom tradition (9 thousand - 8 thousand years BC), discovered at the beginning of the 20th century . During excavations at the site of these sites, stone and bone tips, stone knives and blades, as well as a large number of animal remains - mammoths, bison, mastodons and other mammals were found. The people of these cultures were hunter-gatherers and roamed in small family groups throughout North and Central America. Later communities include, for example, the Plano culture in southwestern Mexico, which is characterized by several types of projectiles that could also be used as knives.
The end of the "Palaeo-Indian period" (also called the "lithic", by analogy with the Paleolithic in Eurasia and Africa) is usually dated around 8000 BC. e. (for the east of North America and for Mesoamerica, in other American lands this period lasted much longer). It is followed by the archaic period of the pre-Columbian chronology, when the first elements of settled life and primitive ceramics appear.
Teotihuacan. A city-state founded around 100 AD. e. and existed until the 7th century AD. e.
In the western part of North America, after the disappearance of the Clovis culture, it is difficult to establish a clear periodization, individual cultures occupy very small spaces, and significant gaps are often observed in archaeological layers. In Central America and much of South America with the end of the Folsom tradition, development takes a very special path.
Between 1800 and 300 B.C. e. a complex of highly developed cultures began to form: the Aztecs, Mayans, Mixtecs, Olmecs, Purépecha, Zapotecs, Toltecs, Totonacs, Huastecs, Chichimecas. These peoples achieved high results in the areas of temple building, mathematics, astronomy, medicine and theology.
One of the first Indian cultures was the Olmec civilization. The cult center of this civilization, which flourished in the VIII-IV centuries BC. e., located in what is now the state of Tabasco. There were found several pyramids (up to 35 m high), cult sites paved with precious stones, crypts, ceremonial caches, altars and stelae, as well as 5 giant sculpted human heads made of basalt.
The exceptional intellectual achievements of pre-Columbian America were the systems of writing and time calculation created by the Mayan people. Also of interest is the Mayan invention of the number zero, which was schematically depicted as an empty shell from an oyster or snail. The first surviving Mayan image of zero dates back to 36 BC. e., while the first evidence of writing zero in India (from where it came to other countries of the Old World) refers to 876 AD. e.
The Indians built stone cities, many of which were abandoned long before the arrival of Europeans. Such a city was Teotihuacan, in which one of the largest structures of pre-Columbian America is located - the Pyramid of the Sun and the Pyramid of the Moon.
Olmec head, La Venta
If the central and southern part of Mexico (known collectively as Mesoamerica) had been the focus of advanced civilizations since antiquity, things were different in the west of Mexico, in arid Aridoamerica, where local cultures were at a lower level, and some large tribes even by the time of the arrival of Europeans were hunters and gatherers.
2. Conquest of Mexico
The idea of conquering Mexico belonged to the Spanish conquistador Diego Velazquez de Cuellar, who also financed the campaign. In 1518, Hernan Cortes was appointed commander of the expedition. The Spaniards had 11 ships, the army of Cortes included 566 soldiers, 110 sailors and 200 porter Indians and a cavalry of 16 (according to other sources 11) horses. The artillery consisted of 10 heavy cannons and 4 falconets, the infantry was armed with bows, pikes, rapiers, 32 crossbows and 13 arquebuses.
The expedition took the well-known route to the Yucatan coast. On the island of Cozumel, the first contact of the conquistadors with the Maya occurred. The Spaniards tried to destroy the sanctuary of the goddess of fertility Ix-Chel, horrified by the ritual of sacrifice. In March 1519, Cortes formally annexed the Yucatán to the Spanish possessions (in fact, this only happened in 1535). Then the expedition went along the coast, on March 14 the mouth of the Tabasco River was reached, where Cortes received gifts from local rulers: a lot of gold and 20 women.
Massacre in Cholula. Indian image
In Tabasco, the Spaniards learned of the great country of Mexico, lying further west, deep into the mainland, so the name "Mexico" appeared. In July 1519, the expedition of Cortes landed on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, where the port of Veracruz was founded, 70 km north of modern city. Most of Cortés' army was now made up of allied Totonac tribes.
On August 16, 1519, the Spaniards set out for Tenochtitlan. Cortes had 400 infantrymen, 15 horses and 6 cannons, he was accompanied by 40 to 100 Totonac military leaders and 1,500 Totonac warriors, as well as 200 tameme - porters. The conquistadors found a strong ally in Tlaxcala, an independent mountain principality waging war with the Aztec confederation. Tlaxcala became the main pillar of Spanish rule in Mexico, and its people did not pay taxes until the overthrow of the Spanish colonial regime.
In October 1519, the army of Cortes reached Cholula, the second largest city-state of Central Mexico, the sacred center of the local religion. The people of Cortes staged a massacre of the local population in the city and partially burned the city.
The Spaniards entered Tenochtitlan on November 8, 1519, and were kindly greeted by the Aztec tlatoani, Montezuma II. Montezuma rewarded Cortes with many gold ornaments, which only increased the desire of the Spaniards to take over this country. Cortes stated in his reports that locals took his soldiers and himself for the messengers of the god Quetzalcoatl, so at first they did not show resistance. However, after the Indians attacked the garrison of Veracruz, Cortes decided to take the Aztec ruler hostage. Montezuma was persuaded to take an oath of allegiance to Charles V. The Spaniards and Tlaxcalan allies settled in one of the royal residences, where the state treasury was soon discovered.
But on July 1, 1520, they were forced to flee. The Spanish attacked the city again on June 4, 1521. Tenochtitlan fell 70 days after the siege began, on August 13. The Aztec emperor Montezuma II was killed, the city was destroyed. Almost all Aztecs died from smallpox introduced by the Europeans. The conqueror of the city, Hernan Cortes, declared it the possession of the King of Spain. Along with Tenochtitlan, the Aztec empire fell.
3. Colonial period
The fall of the Aztec Empire marked a new era in Mexican history - a period of 300 years of Spanish rule known as New Spain. New Spain included the modern territories of Mexico, the southwestern states of the United States (as well as Florida), Guatemala, Belize, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Costa Rica, and Cuba. In addition, the Philippines and various islands in pacific ocean and the Caribbean Sea. The capital was located in Mexico City, the appointed viceroy reported directly to the monarch of Spain. Under the viceroy there was an advisory body - an audience, which has both administrative and judicial powers. The jurisdiction of the audience of Mexico City extended to the southern part of the country, and the jurisdiction of the audience of Guadalajara to the north.
New Spain from 1763 to 1801: before 1763 territories annexed after 1763
Most of the population of New Spain was its natives and about 40% of them were Indians. The first century after the conquest was marked by a sharp decline in their numbers, which forced the colonialists, who needed labor and taxpayers, to move from direct robbery and extermination of the natives to organized exploitation, which acquired a feudalized form. As a result of these changes from the second half of the XVII century. a slow increase in the aboriginal population began, and by the beginning of the 19th century. its number has already reached 2.3 - 2.4 million people. Spanish law recognized the right of Indian communities to own land, prohibiting its alienation without the sanction of the authorities. However, there was also a seizure by the Spaniards of communal lands with subsequent legal registration. The Indians were also considered personally free. In accordance with the law, their work was subject to payment and should not have been excessively difficult, although in practice this was not always respected.
Depiction of the mixed races that inhabited New Spain
From the beginning of the 17th century forced labor service (repartimiento, or cuatequil) was imposed on the Indians in the form of work in mines, industrial enterprises and plantations, construction. For these purposes, the authorities allocated a certain number of men aged 15 to 60 years. The Indians were charged a poll tax - tributo, which at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries. paid once a year in the amount of two pesos by all married men from 18 to 50 years old, with the exception of hereditary cacique elders, village elders and other officials. Bachelors and single women were taxed twice as much.
Also, Negroes worked on plantations and industrial enterprises and as domestic servants, for the most part they were slaves, who were brought to New Spain from Africa from the middle of the 16th century. But due to high mortality and a gradual decrease, and then a complete cessation of their import as a result of the growth of the Indian population that had begun, the number of blacks by the beginning of the 19th century. did not exceed 10 thousand people.
The Creole population played an important role in the life of the colony. The number of Creoles was approximately 1.1 million people. Most of the landlords came from their midst, they replenished the ranks of the colonial intelligentsia, occupied the posts of the administrative apparatus, the church and the army.
The mestizo population was deprived of civil rights: mestizos and mulattoes could not become officials and hold officer positions, could not participate in the elections of self-government bodies. They were engaged in crafts, retail trade, served as managers and clerks, made up the majority of small landowners - rancheros.
One of the main institutions of the viceroyalty was the Catholic Church. Under her influence was the whole spiritual life: the church was in charge educational institutions, through the Inquisition carried out censorship, by the end of the XVIII century. she owned more than half of all real estate in the colony.
Model of the colonial market in Tepozotlan
The economic life of New Spain was subordinated to the interests of the metropolis, for which it was primarily a source of precious metals, so their mining became the most important branch of the economy. So in 1521-1945. about 205 thousand tons of metal were mined - about a third of all American production during this period, and in the largest deposit in South America - Potosi - for the period from 1556 to 1783, silver was mined for 820 million 513 thousand 893 pesos and 6 "strong reais ”(the latter in 1732 was equal to 85 maravedis). The manufacturing industry developed slowly.
To avoid competition from colonial products, the Spanish authorities banned the cultivation of grapes, olives, hemp, and flax in New Spain - only those crops that did not grow in Spain were allowed to grow. These restrictions hindered the development of agricultural production.
For most of the colonial period, the economic relations of New Spain were mainly limited to trade relations with the metropolis, which were carried out only through Veracruz and one Spanish port - Seville, and since 1717 - Cadiz, direct trade with foreign countries and with other Spanish colonies (except Philippines) was prohibited. All goods were subject to high customs duties. In addition, a special tax was levied on their sale and resale - alkabala.
Goods from the metropolis and back were transported until the last quarter of the 18th century. only with special fleets, and from the Philippines to the port of Acapulco - the so-called Manila galleon.
In the XVII-XVIII centuries. a number of uprisings took place in New Spain, the largest of which were the uprisings of the Tepeuan Indians, Tarahumara, Concho, Toboso, Pima, Apaches and other tribes in the north-west of New Spain, the Indians of Oaxaca, New Mexico, Chiapas, Sonora, California, Yucatan, speeches the miners of Real del Monte (1766), the population of San Luis Potosi, Guanajuato, Michoacan (1767), Isucara (1781). Significant urban disturbances, in which the Indians also played a large role, took place in 1624 and 1692. in Mexico City. During the colonial era, Negro slaves rebelled more than once.
The immediate impetus for the rise of the liberation movement in New Spain, as well as in other Spanish colonies, was the events of 1808 in the metropolis, and the crisis of power that formed as a result of French intervention.
4.1. gaining independence
Miguel Hidalgo
The growth of separatist sentiments in New Spain was due to internal and external reasons, the dissatisfaction of various segments of the population with discrimination and political lawlessness on the one hand, and events on the European continent, such as the Great French revolution, the struggle of the English colonies in North America for independence, the penetration of progressive ideas into Latin America - on the other. Economic factors also played an important role in strengthening anti-Spanish sentiments. The dependence of the viceroyalty on the mother country, which participated in various kinds of military conflicts with European powers, led to a reduction in colonial trade with Europe and to a significant deterioration in the economic situation. In addition, during this period, the trade of New Spain was reoriented to England and France, which turned Spanish colonialism into an extra intermediary link. These circumstances were the cause of the peasant uprisings of 1810, which led Mexico to a ten-year war of independence.
On September 16, 1810, the priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla raised an uprising in the village of Dolores. The rebels, mostly Indians and mestizos, demanded the emancipation of the slaves, the abolition of the poll tax, and the return of the seized lands to the Indians. In January 1811, the rebel army was defeated by the Spaniards, Hidalgo was captured and shot on July 30, 1811.
After the death of Hidalgo, the leadership of the revolutionary army was headed by another parish priest, José Maria Morelos. Under his leadership, the cities of Oaxaca and Acapulco were occupied. In 1813, on his initiative, the first official document of independence was signed, known as the "solemn act of the Declaration of Independence of North America." But in 1815, Morelos was also caught by the Spanish authorities and executed for high treason.
From 1815 to 1821, the liberation movement in Mexico was in the nature of a guerrilla war. In December 1820, Viceroy Juan Ruiz de Apodaca sent troops led by Creole officer Agustín de Iturbide to defeat the army of guerrilla leader Vicente Guerrero. However, Iturbide reversed his position and defected to the rebels, allying with Guerrero's forces. On February 24, 1821, in the city of Iguala, he proclaimed three principles or "three guarantees" for Mexicans: the independence of Mexico and the establishment of a constitutional monarchy, the equality of rights of Creoles and Spaniards, and the preservation of the privileges of the Catholic Church. These principles became known as the "Plan of Iguala". The number of his adherents increased rapidly, he took Mexico City, where on September 27, 1821, representatives of the Spanish crown and rebel leaders signed an agreement under which Mexico gained independence. On May 18, 1822, the people and the garrison of Mexico City proclaimed Iturbide the Mexican emperor, and he ascended the Mexican throne under the name Augustine I (Agustin I).
In December 1822, Antonio López de Santa Anna, commander of the Veracruz garrison, revolted and declared Mexico a republic. In March 1823, Iturbide was forced to abdicate and emigrate. The executive power in the republic was transferred to a triumvirate, consisting of heroes liberation war Victoria Guadalupe, Nicolás Bravo and Pedro Celestino Negrete. In 1824, Victoria Guadalupe was elected the country's first president.
early years The existence of the young republic was marked by a lack of political stability. During the period described in Mexico, a struggle unfolded between two parties: the party of supporters of the Spanish regime - Escoses and the democratic party - Iorkinos. Taking advantage of this aggravation of the internal political situation, Spain tried to regain control over the lost colony. In July 1829, a Spanish fleet was sent from Cuba to Mexico, consisting of 20 ships, with 4 thousand soldiers on board. The interventionists landed on the east coast of the country, but were soon defeated by the forces of General Santa Anna. Despite these events, Spain recognized the independence of Mexico only in 1836.
4.2. Texas Revolution
Defense of the Alamo
In 1829, under President Vicente Guerrero, Mexico passed a law abolishing slavery, which was the norm among American settlers. In addition, in 1830, during the presidency of General Santa Anna, the Mexican Congress banned immigration from the United States to the border states of Mexico. This policy of the Mexican government caused discontent among the inhabitants of Texas and served as a pretext for the war for independence.
The most famous battle of the war was the Battle of the Alamo. On March 6, 1836, at 5:30 a.m., Santa Anna's army launched an assault on the Alamo fortress in San Antonio, all the defenders of the Alamo were killed, the Mexicans lost 60 to 200 people killed and 250 to 300 wounded. Among those in the Alamo, the Mexicans left only 16 people alive.
On April 21, 1836, a decisive battle took place between the Texan and Mexican armies at San Jacinto (near present-day La Porte). The Mexicans were commanded directly by General Santa Anna. The overall result of the battle, which lasted only 18 minutes, was the complete defeat of the Mexicans (who lost 630 people killed, 208 wounded and 730 captured; the Texans lost 9 killed and 30 wounded). Santa Anna escaped, but was soon discovered and taken prisoner.
4.3. War with the United States
As a result of the successful war of 1836, Texas achieved independence after the defeat and capture of Antonio López de Santa Anna and the withdrawal of the Mexican army. However, Mexico, which never recognized the loss of Texas or the independence of the Republic of Texas, announced its intentions to seize the so-called breakaway province.
In 1845, Texas became part of the United States. The Mexican government expressed dissatisfaction that, by annexing its "rebellious province", the United States interfered in the internal affairs of Mexico and unreasonably seized its territory
Siege of Veracruz
On April 24, 1846, after disputes over the border, and the failure of Mexican official demands that the United States withdraw troops to the Nueces River, a 2,000-strong Mexican cavalry attacked a 63-man American patrol north of the Rio Grande, killing 11 American soldiers, which later called the Thornton case - after the American officer who commanded the patrol. The few survivors retreated and returned to Fort Brown.
The United States declared war on Mexico on May 13, 1846, and Mexico declared war on May 23. After the declaration of war, American troops invaded Mexican territory along two main lines. The US War Department sent cavalry under the command of Stephen W. Kearney to capture Western Mexico from Fort Leavenworth. Two more formations under the command of John E. Wool and Zachary Taylor were ordered to capture Mexican lands as far south as possible from the city of Monterrey.
The forces led by Taylor crossed the Rio Grande, they occupied the city of Matamoros, then Camargo and then continued south and blockaded the city of Monterrey.
On February 22, 1847, President Santa Anna personally traveled north with 20,000 troops to fight Taylor's army. Taylor with 4,600 soldiers was stationed on a mountain pass near the Buena Vista estate. Santa Anna flanked the American positions the next morning. A fierce battle ensued, during which the Americans were almost overwhelmed, but still saved by the artillery fire of Captain Braxton Bragg and the mounted Mississippi riflemen of Jefferson Davis. Defeated, Santa Anna withdrew the next night, leaving Taylor in control of northern Mexico.
Meanwhile, instead of reinforcing Taylor's army to continue the advance, President James Polk sent a second army under Winfield Scott, who was taken by sea to the port of Veracruz, to launch an invasion of the main regions of Mexico.
General Santa Anna
Scott made the first major landing in US history in preparation for the siege of Veracruz. The city was surrendered after a 12-day siege. The Americans lost 80 people, while the Mexicans - about 180 people killed and wounded, half of whom were civilians.
In May, Scott reached Puebla, at that time the second largest city in Mexico. Due to the hostility of the inhabitants towards Santa Anna, the city surrendered without resistance on May 15th. Mexico City was opened after the Battle of Chapultepec and was later captured.
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, signed on February 2, 1848, ended the war and gave the US undisputed control of Texas, as well as California, Nevada, Utah, and parts of Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, and Wyoming. In return, Mexico received $15 million and another $3,250,000 were paid by the US government to US citizens on account of Mexican debts. When the treaty was ratified in the US Senate, an article that guaranteed that the United States would recognize Mexican and Spanish landowners and that Mexicans living on the occupied lands would receive equal rights with American citizens was struck out.
4.4. French intervention
Edouard Manet. Execution of Maximilian I
In 1862, Napoleon III undertook an expedition to Mexico, he was supported by the Mexican conservatives, who had lost the civil war a year earlier (Spanish. Guerra de Reforma; 1857-1861) to liberals. The immediate cause of the war was the resolution of the Mexican Congress of July 17, 1861 on the temporary suspension of payments on foreign debt obligations. Back in 1860, during the troubles that took place in the country and stopped by the end of that year, the rebel leader Miguel Miramon, who temporarily held the presidency, received a loan from the Parisian banker Jekker, in whose affairs the Duke of Morny, who was close to Napoleon III, took part. The bankers of England and Spain also participated in this loan. On October 31, 1861, an agreement was signed in London between England, France and Spain on a joint armed intervention in Mexico.
In December, Spanish troops landed in Veracruz. In January 1862 they were joined by troops from England and France. April 19, 1862 began fighting between the French and Mexican armies (26 thousand soldiers). In early May, a small French army approached the city of Puebla, the garrison of which was small and very poorly armed. The assaults on Puebla led the French to victory, and on May 5 Puebla fell. On September 21, 1862, a large number of French troops arrived in Mexico. The fall of Puebla meant that the French could now advance unhindered towards Mexico City. The French occupied Mexico City without a fight. In June 1863 a provisional government was elected. President Benito Juarez has fled. In October, a delegation of Mexican conservatives invited Archduke Maximilian, brother of the Austrian emperor Franz Joseph I, to accept the Mexican crown.
The United States initially opposed the intervention in Mexico, as it violated the Monroe Doctrine. However, due to the civil war, Lincoln could not interfere in the events taking place in Mexico. After the end of the war between the North and the South, the Juarez government turned to the United States for help. In 1865, the US Congress passed a resolution not recognizing the establishment of a monarchy in Mexico. And on February 12, the United States demanded that the French withdraw their troops from Mexico. The United States also began preparing a naval blockade of French ships so that the French would not be able to supply new soldiers to Mexico. On May 6, the United States sent a protest to Austria about the participation of Austrian volunteers in the conflict.
In 1866, in view of the inevitability of war between Prussia and France, Napoleon III, fearing a surprise attack by the Prussian troops, announced the withdrawal French forces from Mexico, which began on May 31 and ended in November 1866. The combined Republican forces scored a series of victories, occupied Chihuahua on March 25, took Guadalajara on July 8, and later in July captured Matamoros, Tampico and Acapulco. Napoleon III urged Maximilian to leave Mexico. The French left Monterrey on July 26, Saltillo on August 5, and the entire state of Sonora in September. On September 18, the members of Maximilian's French cabinet resigned. In October, the Republicans defeated imperial troops under Miahuatlán in Oaxaca, in November they occupied the whole of Oaxaca.
In February 1867, the French left the capital of Mexico, Maximilian retreated to Querétaro.
On June 19, Maximilian was shot by soldiers loyal to President Benito Juarez. After the execution, the capital of Mexico, the city of Mexico City, surrendered. The Republic was restored. President Juarez returned to power in the capital.
4.5. Porfiriato[&][#]160[;]- Porfirio Diaz's dictatorship
Porfirio Diaz
In 1876, General Porfirio Diaz came to power in Mexico, who ruled the country for more than 30 years (this period was called "Porfiriato"). To strengthen his power, he secured agreements with the major factions of liberals and conservatives, weakened the effect of anti-clerical reforms, thereby gaining the support of the clergy, and subjugated the army and caudillos. During the reign of Diaz, the Mexican economy boomed: railways and telegraph lines were built, new enterprises were created, and the influx of foreign investment increased. However, these results were also obtained due to the exploitation of the peasants and the indigenous population and the decrease in the standard of living of the masses.
5.1. Civil War 1910-1917
The reverse side of the economic successes of the Diaz dictatorship was the country's increased dependence on the United States and high social tensions. Therefore, the reaction to the cyclical crisis in the United States of 1907-1908, intensified by the bad harvest of 1910, was an acute economic, social and political crisis in Mexico.
In 1910, when Porfirio Diaz was once again re-elected President of Mexico, his opponent Francisco Madero refused to recognize the results of the election and called on the Mexicans to fight the despotic regime, coming out with the "Plan of San Luis Potosi." His program provided for the deliverance of Mexico from imperialist domination and the return to the peasants of the lands taken from them during the reign of Diaz. Although the plan did not address all social issues, it was the catalyst for massive popular uprisings.
revolutionary resistance
This was the beginning of the Mexican Revolution, a period during which a civil war was going on in the country, which is one of the bloodiest in the history of mankind (losses in it, according to various sources, range from 300 thousand to 2 million dead, while the population of the country is 1910 was 15 million people).
In 1911, Porfirio Diaz was deposed and emigrated to France, and Francisco Madero was elected as the new president. His presidency lasted 15 months. On February 18, 1913, Madero was arrested, and on February 22, he was killed by guards on the way to prison. Victoriano Huerta's ditatorium was established in Mexico.
The assassination of Madero and the establishment of a dictatorship united the revolutionaries. The governor of the state of Cahuila, Venustiano Carranza, has called for the restoration of constitutional government. The resistance was led by General Alvaro Obregon and rebel leaders Emiliano Zapata and Pancho Villa. In July 1914, revolutionary forces overthrew the Huerta regime.
But Carranza, who came to power, did not carry out social reforms and left the agrarian issue unresolved, so Pancho Villa, in alliance with Zapata, began to fight against the government and in December 1914 his army occupied Mexico City, but already in January 1915 was forced to retreat. Obregón's troops defeated Villa's Northern Division in the spring of 1915 at the Battle of Celai and León. In December 1916, a constituent assembly was convened in the city of Kerentaro, which on February 5, 1917 adopted a new constitution for the country (still in force). However, the struggle of government troops against the rebels continued for several more years. In 1919, Zapata was assassinated, while Villa continued guerrilla war until 1920, when, as a result of a coup, Carranza was overthrown and shot.
5.2. Civil War 1926-1929[&][#]160[;] Cristeros
The anti-clerical program of the new constitution caused an aggravation of relations between the state and the church. In 1926, an uprising of cristeros, supporters of the church, mostly peasants, began in Mexico, who killed representatives of the government and burned secular schools.
Cristeros army soldiers
In early 1925, Plutarco Elias Calles, who took office as President of Mexico, took a number of measures, the implementation of which was made possible thanks to the constitution of 1917, to limit the influence of the church. So, for example, it was forbidden to wear church vestments in public places (that is, outside the church building), a fine of 500 pesos was due for violation of the ban. In addition, a clergyman who criticizes the government could be imprisoned for a period of 5 years. All foreign priests were expelled from the country, monasteries and religious schools were closed, and some buildings belonging to the church were confiscated. The archbishop of Mexico was arrested, who advocated the abolition of the anti-clerical provisions of the constitution.
In July 1926, Mexican bishops decided to suspend church services, a decision that the government considered an attempt to turn the people against the state. The cessation of worship marked the beginning of the Cristeros uprising.
On February 23, 1927, the Cristeros won their first victory at San Francisco del Rincon (Guanajuato), followed by another one at San Julian (Jalisco).
The settlement of the conflict became possible under the loyal attitude towards the church, President Emilio Portes. In 1929, with the assistance of the United States (in which the uprising caused problems with oil supplies) and the Vatican, they managed to reconcile the clergy and the Mexican government. However, the conditions of this peace did not suit most of the rebels, who continued to fight for another two years.
The war claimed about 90 thousand lives: 56 thousand 882 people from the federal troops, 30 thousand cristeros, and big number civilians and Cristeros, who were killed in anti-clerical raids after the end of the conflict.
5.3. Reforms by Lázaro Cárdenas
Lazaro Cardenas
In 1934, Lazaro Cardenas, a representative of the Mexican Revolutionary Party, became president. The new government launched a broad reformist campaign. Agrarian reform was organized. With the assistance of Cardenas in 1936, the largest trade union center was created - the Confederation of Workers of Mexico.
On March 18, 1938, Lázaro Cárdenas proceeded to expropriate the property of foreign oil companies, which aggravated relations with the US and Britain. During the nationalization, the state oil company Pemex was created, turning Mexico into the fifth largest oil exporter in the world.
Cardenas took decisive steps towards the eradication of mass illiteracy, especially among the Indians. Under Cardenas, Mexico provided significant assistance to the Spanish revolutionaries, and in 1939 a significant number of defeated Republicans took refuge in Mexico.
5.4. Mexico's "economic miracle"
Student demonstration. August 1968
During World War II, Mexico became an ally of the anti-Hitler coalition. Financial and technological assistance from the United States enabled Mexico to modernize its railroads and industry. Having lost European imports, Mexico was forced to develop its own production. The war raised world prices, thus creating favorable conditions for Mexican trade. After the war, a period of economic growth began: the implementation of industrialization programs, the industrial development of regions, irrigation, and the introduction of new agricultural technologies.
During the period of 1960-1970s. production developed rapidly with an annual increase in the gross national product by 6.5%. Per capita income has risen. Despite the successes in the economy, problems in the field of education and social security remained unresolved. In 1967, the largest single distribution of land in the history of Mexico was carried out - 1 million hectares. In 1969, the first metro lines were opened in Mexico City. But in 1968, growing social tensions led to student unrest, and on October 2, 1968, ten days before the start of the XIX Summer Olympic Games, a peaceful student demonstration in the Plaza of the Three Cultures took place, leading to hundreds of victims (in 2006, ex-minister of the interior Luis Echeverría was charged with shooting). Between 1976 and 1982 Mexico has tripled its oil production, becoming one of the leading oil producing countries. However, the fall in oil prices led to the nationalization of banks, a 75% devaluation of the Mexican peso and a reduction in import and government spending.
5.5. 1985 Mexico City earthquake
Building of the Ministry of Transport and Communications, destroyed in the 1985 earthquake
On Thursday, September 19, 1985 at 7:19 pm local time, one of the most devastating earthquakes in American history occurred. The epicenter of the earthquake was located off the Pacific coast of the Mexican state of Michoacán. The magnitude of the earthquake was 8.1 on the Richter scale.
According to official government statistics, about 9,000 people died, 30,000 were injured and 100,000 were left homeless, 412 buildings were destroyed, and more than 3,000 were seriously damaged as a result of the earthquake.
5.6. Financial crisis "Tequila"
In November 1994, on the eve of the presidential elections in Mexico, the internal political situation became more complicated. The reaction of the Mexican Exchange to these changes brought it to the last place in the list of 24 largest exchanges in the world. The fall in stocks caused funds to move into the fixed income market and capital outflow from the country.
Oil platform - oil has become the main export in Mexico
The stagnation in the production sector caused an increase in the trade deficit (in 1992-1994, according to the World Bank, it averaged 7.4% of GDP, reaching $ 28.6 billion, or 8.2% of GDP by the end of 1994) and made Mexico unattractive to foreign investment. As investment inflows dwindled, the government took a series of emergency measures, including raising interest rates on government bonds and shifting most domestic short-term debt to short-term government bonds indexed to the dollar. However, such a policy led to an intensification of the crisis: debt indexation led to an increase in public debt and a decrease in the effect of devaluation.
The government and the Bank of Mexico, with financial assistance from the United States, managed to temporarily calm foreign investors, and for most of 1994 inflation was kept at 6.9%, and exports of manufactured goods increased by 29.1%.
But on November 1, a decrease in the level of foreign exchange reserves was announced from $29 billion to $17.1 billion, and already on December 3 they fell to $12.7 billion. On December 20, the peso fell from 3.5 to 4 per dollar. On December 22, the Bank of Mexico devalued the peso by 49.8%. Foreign exchange reserves fell to $6.15 billion. The Bank of Mexico announced a reduction in foreign exchange reserves to $ 3.8 billion and set the rate at 5.5 - 6 pesos per dollar. The peso continued to fluctuate, reaching 8 per dollar. The country's solvency was threatened because Mexico did not have the means to pay short-term government obligations.
The building of the state oil and gas company "Pemex". mexico city
To overcome the crisis, on January 3, 1995, a program was published that provides for the following measures: reducing the foreign trade deficit, restoring balance between the main macroeconomic indicators, smoothing out the inflationary consequences of devaluation by gradually raising prices, freezing wages, and reducing government spending. By limiting the growth of the money supply and reducing the volume of banking operations, Mexico avoided hyperinflation, but failed to restore the confidence of foreign creditors.
The total amount of financial assistance to Mexico amounted to $51.8 billion - an amount unprecedented at the time. The United States - $20 billion, Latin American countries - $1 billion, central banks of Europe and Japan - $10 billion, the IMF - $17.8 billion, commercial banks - $3 billion took part in the formation of the loan package.
The first victims of the crisis were construction companies, in which the volume of production fell by half. About 20 thousand enterprises went bankrupt. 700 thousand people were left without work. A large amount of outstanding debt led to the threat of mass bankruptcy of small banks and the crisis of the entire credit system as a whole, which led to an increase in state participation in the banking sector.
To address these problems, programs have been implemented to restructure the debt of small and medium-sized enterprises by 65 billion new pesos and to create several hundred thousand temporary jobs.
The financial crisis in Mexico exposed a number of shortcomings in its economy, such as dependence on the United States and the lack of mechanisms to regulate external financial flows.
5.7. Zapatista uprising
Subcomandante Marcos, chief ideologue and promoter of the Zapatistas
On January 1, 1994, an armed uprising of the Zapatistas begins, the bulk of which were poor Indian peasants. The rebels put forward demands for constitutional recognition of the rights of the indigenous peoples of Mexico and opposed neoliberal reforms, the ratification of the NAFTA treaty and laws allowing the sale and purchase of peasant communal lands. Their detachments occupy seven municipal centers of the state of Chiapas without firing a shot. But already on January 2, the Zapatistas retreat to the mountains under the onslaught of federal troops, aviation begins bombing the selva. Hundreds of thousands of people spontaneously take to the streets of Mexico City and other cities of the country, demanding that the government stop the massacre and start negotiations.
In 1995, lengthy negotiations with the authorities took place. Signed by the SANO (Zapatista Army of National Liberation) and the federal government, the first "San Andres Accords", which involve changing the Mexican constitution and recognizing in it the rights and culture of Indian peoples, as well as the right to autonomy and self-government of Indian communities and territories inhabited by them, remained on paper, and their existence is simply ignored by the current authorities.
6.1. cactus revolution
Action in support of Obrador
In 2006, thousands of people protested in Mexico against the results of the presidential election, which was won by the representative of the conservative National Action party, Felipe Calderon.
Calderon's opponent, the leader of the Revolutionary Democratic Party, Andreas Manuel Lopez Obrador, refused to admit defeat and accused the authorities of falsifications. Then he began to demand a manual recount of all ballots. The organization of mass protests, demonstrations and civil disobedience began, the number of participants in which varies according to various estimates from 500 thousand to 3 million. A tent city was set up in the center of Mexico City on Zocalo Square and nearby streets. One way to express protest was the blockade of the Spanish embassy by the opposition, which lasted several hours.
On Saturday, September 16, 2006, Mexico's Independence Day, supporters of the political left proclaimed their leader the legitimate president of the country. This decision was made on the Zocalo Square at the National Democratic Convention gathered by the opposition. On November 21, participants in the alternative elections held the swearing-in ceremony for López Obrador, who in his return speech promised to create new jobs, protect the country's natural resources and fight corruption.
However, despite the actions of the center-left in September 2006, the Mexican court found that Felipe Calderon had fulfilled all the constitutional requirements in order to be considered an elected president. The new president took office on 1 December 2006 for a six-year term.
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