Mexican Relations and the Nature of the U.S. (Essay Sample)

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U. S – Mexican Relations and the Nature of the U.S
Introduction
The Mexican revolution was the 1910 armed struggle under the leadership of Francisco Madero to oust the incumbent autocrat known as Porfirio Diaz. The armed struggle reached an ultimate end in 1920 with the promulgation of a new constitution. The revolution was the worst unrest in the Latin American country after a very long period of peace and tranquility. The revolution was one of the worst armed struggles that took place in the 20th century. Various elements added up to the manifestation of the armed struggle. Some of them are still justifiable through history while others are contemporary. For instance, processes of empire and nation played significant roles during the revolution. The theme of empire that links the armed struggle with socio-political elements is displayed by the legacies of Spanish colonialism and the U.S imperialism in Mexico and Latin America. Fuentes (23) discusses the analogy of the war that took place in Mexico.
Processes or Empire and Nation during the Revolution
The revolution was a form of retaliation against the leadership of Diaz. He was the leader of the empire for more than 30 years. One time in 1908, Diaz stated that he was looking forward for a democratic presidential election and hence he was ready to embrace another political party for competition. This statement impressed Francisco Madero, a lawyer who took advantage of the situation to launch his campaign for the presidency. However, when the 2010 election time reached, President Diaz had Madero imprisoned as a show of dictatorship (Lucas 34). He declared himself the winner and assumed office immediately. The furious Madero therefore declared war by calling upon all Mexicans to come out and prepare for a revolution. The nation had started to decline and showed the loss of democracy. The people were subjected to dire dictatorial regime during the reign of Diaz. The main option was to topple him through a revolution and reclaim their lost freedom.
Causes the of Revolution
The first cause of the Mexican revolution was the dictatorial rule of Pofirio Diaz during his 30 years in office. Most people were not happy with his imperial and autocratic rule. He was not ready to transform the country into a politically stable nation. The leader was selfish, inhuman, and did not mind the welfare of his subjects. It was obvious from the arrangement made to oust him that the people were not happy with his dictatorial technique of ruling. There was need to design appropriate mechanisms that would guide the nation in enhancing democratic presidential elections.
The second cause of the Mexican crisis was the mistreatment and exploitation of workers. The leader promoted industry in such a way that the working class became exploited. The economy took a substantial leap as he engaged in the construction of dams, factories, roads, and industries. He also supported the agricultural industry. The economic progress increased the number of proletariat in the urban areas. Because of the developed economy, the United States invested in the country’s economy. This is the point at which its imperialism started to develop. However, the industrial stability had a negative impact on the workers. They were forced to work longer and pay more for their upkeep. Their salary was not sufficient for the up-keep of the working class during the hard economic times.
The third factor that triggered the revolution was the disparity between the poor and the rich. There was a very big gap between the rich and the poor in Mexico and hence the poor felt oppressed. For instance, good education, political power, and wealth were preserved for the few families in the Mexican society. Most of the families that managed to attain high levels of wealth, good education, and land were mainly of European descent (the hacendados).
Land distribution
Land was part of wealth that the common Mexican could not afford during the reign of Diaz. Those individual who belonged to the low class were disadvantageous when it came to land distribution. For instance, the Europeans who settled in Mexico occupied large tracts of land in the vast regions of Mexico. Additionally, the Terraza family alone had over one million acres of land under their jurisdiction. Land distribution was discriminatory since the wealthy and the foreign families took large tracts of land for themselves. Diaz himself allocated some land to the settlers as a sign of appeasement (Lucas 34). The poor people suffered under the leadership of Diaz. The peasant farmers were only to claim ownership of the lands they were occupying after acquiring formal titles. Most of the people were landless in their own country. They were therefore forced to seek casual labor in the estates and mines of the foreign companies. The United States, France, and the United Kingdom set bases in Mexico and employed the poor Mexicans as slaves. Surprisingly, only 5 % of the Mexican population owned approximately 95% of land. Most of the people were secluded from the general population and redistributed in the vast ‘haciendas’. Unfortunately, the masters treated everyone in the haciendas like a slave. Mistreatment of the low class members of the Mexican society was not manageable. Unfortunately, the masters started murdering their slave workers. The farmers had no option but to adhere to the rules and regulations of their masters. Frustrations heightened as most of them were subjected to loan bondage, which was passed from one generation to the other. The masters wanted to frustrate any attempt by the peasant farmers to liberate themselves because they wanted to shield them from succeeding. Most of the farmers could not take more of the mistreatment and therefore masterminded the infamous revolution to oust Diaz from leadership.
The role of U.S Imperialism in Mexico and Latin America
The United States publicly participated in the revolution in early 1914 (Gonzales 7). The ypiranga incident forced the United States to chip in and offer unconditional help. This was after the United States’ intelligence discovered that there was a German ship known as ypiranga en route full of illegal firearms. The United States’ president at that time ordered his troupes to keep vigil at the Veracruz port to prevent the ship from docking. The United States managed to fight off the Huerta’s troupe at the Veracruz port. Unfortunately, the ship docked in another location. More attacks followed the incident that led to the death of American citizens in New Mexico. The perennial conflicts between the United States and Mexico strained their relationship. It also strengthened the Mexico’s anti-US sentiments.
The constitution that was promulgated at the end of the bloody revolution did not bear fruits immediately. Mexicans stated to experience the full impact of the promulgated constitution in 1930 during the capitalist motivated era. The crisis that stemmed from the capitalism radicalized the working class from the United States of America to Cuba, Mexico, and other nations within the Latin American region. Mexican nationalities also pushed the government to nationalize the country’s oil by repossessing it from the British and American oil companies. The United States was in control of many economic activities in Mexico. For instance, the United States was in control of airlines, oil, land, national transport, and mining. However, to mitigate the imperialism of the United States, the Mexican government repossessed its industries. However, the US imperialism is still dictating the Mexican economy. This is because the country was still indulged in capitalism. With its proximity to the United States, Mexico was incapable of protecting its industries from the pressure of the United States.
The imperialism of the United States has continuously held Mexico into an economic captivity ...