ABSTRACT
Mexico is debating changing its official name from United Mexican States to Mexico. Before Mexico had a colonial history, it had an Indian history. Despite Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana’s hold on Mexico and his "savior" status with the Mexican people, he will be remembered as the leader who gave up half of the national territory to the United States. The onset of the Mexican Revolution was supposed to change not only the governing structure of the country but also the relationship between citizen and the state. The real change in Mexican politics and public policy occurred in 1934 with the election of Lazaro Cardenas to the presidency. The crowning achievement of the Mexican Revolution was the 1917 constitution, which for the first time established peasants' and workers' rights in law along with national control of natural resources.
