Revolution Day en Mexico!

The Day of the Revolution or Dia de la Revolución is celebrated annually in Mexico on November 20, the anniversary of the 1910 start of the popular movement which led to the overthrow of the dictator Jose de la Cruz Porfirio Dias Mori.  I know at this point you are probably starting to think... WAIT!?!?!?!  MEXICO HAD A DICTATOR?!?!?!?!  Well, the answer is YES!! Let me explain. 

The Mexican Revolution lasted for 10 years, from 1910 to around 1920. This was a time of political and social unrest in Mexican history. It began with efforts to oust president Porfirio Diaz and officially came to an end with the the signing of a new constitution. 

President Porfirio Diaz had been in power for over thirty years when he gave an interview with American journalist James Creelman in 1908, in which he stated that Mexico was ready for democracy, and that the president to follow him should be elected democratically. He said that he looked forward to the formation of opposing political parties.  Francisco Madero, a lawyer, took Diaz at his word and decided to run against him in the 1910 elections. Diaz, who apparently hadn't really meant what he had said in the interview, had Madero imprisoned and declared himself the winner of the elections. Madero wrote the Plan de San Luis Potosi which called for the people of Mexico to rise up in arms against the president on November 20th, 1910.

The Serdan family of Puebla, planning to join with Madero, had arms stockpiled in their home when they were discovered on November 18th, two days before the revolution was to begin. The first battle of the revolution took place in their home, now a museum in Pueblo. Madero, along with his supporters, Francisco "Pancho" Villa, who led troops in the North, and Emiliano Zapata, who led troops of campesinos to the cry of "¡Tierra y Libertad!" (Land and Freedom!) in the South, were victorious in overthrowing Diaz, who fled to France where he remained in exile until his death in 1915. Madero was elected president. Up to that point the revolutionaries had had a common goal, but with Madero as president, their differences became obvious. Zapata and Villa had been fighting for social and agrarian reform, whereas Madero had mainly been interested in making political changes.


On November 25th, 1911, Zapata proclaimed the Plan de Ayala which stated that the goal of the revolution was for land to be redistributed among the poor. He and his followers rose up against Madero and his government. From February 9th to 19th, 1913, known as the Tragic Ten Days which took place in Mexico City.

General Victoriano Huerta, general who had been leading the federal troops, turned on Madero and had him imprisoned. Huerta then took over the presidency and had Madero and his vice-president executed.  March 1913, the governor of the state of Coahuila, Venustiano Carranza, proclaimed his Plan de Guadalupe, which rejected Huerta's government and planned a continuation of Madero's policies. He formed the Constitutionalist army, and Villa, Zapata and Orozco joined in with him and overthrew Huerta in July 1914.

During the Convencion de Aguascalientes of 1914, the differences between the revolutionaries again came to the forefront. Villistas, Zapatistas and Carrancistas were divided. Carranza, defending the interests of the upper classes was backed up by the United States. Villa crossed the border into the U.S. and attacked Columbus, New Mexico. The U.S. sent troops into Mexico to capture him but they were unsuccessful.  In the south Zapata divided up land and gave it to the campesinos, but he was eventually forced to seek refuge in the mountains.  In 1917 Carranza formed a new Constitution which brought about some social and economical changes. Zapata maintained the rebellion in the south until he was assassinated on April 10, 1919. Carranza remained president until 1920. Villa was pardoned in 1920, but was killed on his ranch in 1923.

The revolution was successful in getting rid of Porfirio Diaz, and since the revolution no president has governed for longer than the prescribed six years in office. The PRI (Partido Revolucionario Institucionalizado - the Institutionalized Revolutionary Party) political party was a fruit of the revolution, and maintained the presidency from the time of the revolution until Vicente Fox of the PAN (Partido de Accion Nacional - National Action Party) was elected president in 2000.