ABSTRACT

A social and political movement generally dated from 1910 to 1920, from the first outbreak of violence to the last violent overthrow of a Mexican president in this century, the Mexican Revolution was largely fought by peasant armies trying to recover lands and water rights lost during the rule of President Porfirio Díaz (1876-1911). A second motivating force, particularly in the northern portion of the country, was the drive to preserve communal autonomy in the face of rapidly encroaching central control. Workers also participated, especially those from the rapidly developing mines of the north and from the cities. Leadership, however, came largely from discontented elites and from a middle class, both rural and urban, that was excluded from political power and blocked economically from significant upward mobility. Exceptions were the leaders of peasant armies-Francisco Villa of Durango and Chihuahua to the north and Emiliano Zapata of Morelos to the south.