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The Mexican Revolution, 100 years old this week, will be celebrated around the world, but was it the success portrayed in the media and in history books?
A University of Nottingham expert has published an alternative view of the revolution in a prestigious international journal, which questions the outcomes, and attempts to understand the causes of this famous uprising that unfolded from 1910 to 1920.
The revolution is seen as an iconic political event that represented the rights of workers and peasants alike. On November 20 celebrations will mark the popular uprising against the dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz (1876-1911) and the overthrow of his authoritarian rule by Francisco I. Madero and subsequent revolutionary icons such as Francisco ‘Pancho’ Villa and Emiliano Zapata.
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But Dr Adam Morton — from the School of Politics and International Relations — questions the idea that real socio-cultural change in Mexican society was the result of this upheaval.
“The causes, purposes and results of the revolution are still hotly debated,” said Dr Morton. “Exactly a hundred years on, it remains one of the most powerful demonstrations of how a society can be transformed by the will of the people. And yet there are so many contradictions.”
Drawing on different sources that acknowledge the social roots of the revolution, as well as the rise of modern state power, Dr Morton’s article in Latin American Perspectives points to a state that both partially satisfied revolutionary demands and displaced them.
“The consequences of this contradiction can be seen in the Monument to the Revolution, where so much of the celebrations will be based,” adds Dr Morton.
“Truly a multi-purpose structure it was originally designed as one of the hallmarks of the Díaz era, as the Federal Legislative Palace, and finally transformed as the triumphal arch of the Monument to the Revolution. It’s a base for honouring and remembering the heroes of the Revolution as well as an important site of modern social protest.”
A special exhibition marking the revolution will be held at the Djanogly Art Gallery on University Park, from November 20 2010 to February 27 2011.‘Revolution on Paper: Mexican Prints 1910–1960’ is a special exhibition on tour from the British Museum. It features vast murals that covered walls of public buildings as well as prints made for mass distribution during and after the revolutionary period. Entry is free to all.
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