Mexican Revolution

Alvaro Obregón

Elected to the presidency on
September 5, 1920
Alvaro Obregón

He favored labor
but also
encouraged
foreign investment
and domestic
private enterprise
Alvaro Obregón
Though he distributed
almost ten times as much
land to campesinos (peasant
farmers) as Carranza
 He differed from radicals in
his administration by arguing
that land distribution should
be accompanied by
instruction in the techniques
of farming

Alvaro Obregón
Obregón also showed
restraint in dealings with
the Church
 Though personally
anticlerical, he followed a
policy of enforcing antiCatholic laws laxly or not
at all in areas where
religious sentiment was
strong

Alvaro Obregón
His boldest initiatives
were in the field of
education
 His Education Minister,
José Vasconcelos, was
a brilliant scholar with
many innovative ideas
 Provided education and
libraries for the common
people

Alvaro Obregón
Obregón faced one
serious revolt during
his term by Adolfo de
la Huerta
 The rebellion was brief
but bloody, Obregón
winning mainly
because he had
widespread labor and
agrarian support

Alvaro Obregón
He got supporters in
Congress to ram
through an amendment
to the Constitution that
a president could be
reelected to office after
the interval of one term
 Also changed the term
be extended from four
years to six

Alvaro Obregón
Was elected again
in early July of
1928
 July 17th he and
some deputies
from Guanajuato
were seated in an
open air restaurant
in San Angel

Alvaro Obregón
Nobody thought it
unusual when a young
man, an artist,
approached Obregón's
table and extended his
sketch pad
 As Obregón reached
for it, the artist pulled a
pistol out of his pocket
and fired five shots into
his face

Plutarco Elías Calles
Held the office of
president between
1924-28
 Then ruled through
puppet presidents
until 1934

Plutarco Elías Calles

Calles was the
leader and symbol
of the anti-Catholic
movement that
emanated from the
1910 Revolution
Plutarco Elías Calles

Calles was
inaugurated on
November 30,
1924, and lost no
time plunging
Mexico into the
most severe
religious crisis of
her history
Plutarco Elías Calles
On June 14, 1926, he
signed a decree
known officially as
"The Law Reforming
the Penal Code" and
unofficially as the
"Calles Law“
 It spelled out in
specific terms the
penalties for violations

Plutarco Elías Calles

The Los Altos
ranch country of
northeast Jalisco
was a focal point of
what would turn
out to be the
terrible 1926-29
Cristero War over
Calles Law
Plutarco Elías Calles

Recognizing the
dangers of military
coups, he curtailed
the influence of the
army in Mexico's
political life
Plutarco Elías Calles
He approved
legislation that
restricted alien
ownership of land
 Regulated the
petroleum industry

Emilio Portes Gil

Assumed office as
Provisional
President for a
period of 14 months
while fresh
elections were
called
Emilio Portes Gil
First of the
Presidential puppets
of Calles called the
Maximato
 Followed Calles
suggestions during
Presidency

Emilio Portes Gil
Faced with a
university strike
during his period in
office
 Enacted the
legislation whereby
the National
University of Mexico
was granted its
autonomy

Pascual Ortiz Rubio
Elected 17 November
1929 as the candidate
of the newly formed
National Revolutionary
Party, the forerunner of
the PRI
 Defeated opponent
was José Vasconcelos

Pascual Ortiz Rubio
Second of the
Presidential
puppets of Calles
called the
Maximato
 Followed Calles
suggestions during
Presidency

Pascual Ortiz Rubio
He founded the
National Tourism
Commission
 It was enacted on
28 August 1931

Pascual Ortiz Rubio

He founded the
Federal Labor Act
in 1931
Pascual Ortiz Rubio

Mexico joined the
League of Nations
in 1931
Pascual Ortiz Rubio

He resigned the
Presidency on 4
September 1932
under pressure
from the Senate
and Calles
Abelardo Rodríguez
Became president
when Rubio
resigned to fulfill
his term
 Held office from
September 1932
until December
1934

Abelardo Rodríguez
Third of the
Presidential
puppets of Calles
called the
Maximato
 Followed Calles
suggestions during
Presidency

Abelardo Rodríguez
Increased the land
reform to about
2,000,000 acres
from 1932 to 1934
 Distribution had
slowed in the
terms before
Rodríguez due to
legal issues

Abelardo Rodríguez
Appointed a
Ministry of Labor
 Separated it from
the Ministry of
Industry
 Also pressed for a
variable minimum
wage

Abelardo Rodríguez
Reformed
education by
centralizing it
 Implemented
socialist education
and sex education
into the schools

Abelardo Rodríguez
Followed central
government
encouragement to
restrict Church
activities
 Limited the number
of priests that
could operate in
each state

Lázaro Cárdenas
Elected President
in 1934, taking
office in December
 Calles smugly
declared "All he is,
he owes to me“
 Calles thought he
would be the next
puppet

Lázaro Cárdenas

Believing Cárdenas
was being too lenient
toward striking
workers, Calles
began seeking ways
to remove him
Lázaro Cárdenas

April 9, 1936,
Cárdenas ordered
that Calles and
twenty of his top
henchmen be
rounded up and
deported to the
United States
Lázaro Cárdenas
A man who could
not be bought,
Cárdenas was
famous for his rigid
honesty
 He refused bribes
throughout his
career

Lázaro Cárdenas
On March 18, 1938,
Mexico expropriated
the assets of
seventeen foreign oil
companies that had
been doing business
in the country.
 Several nations
imposed a boycott on
Mexican oil

Lázaro Cárdenas

He pushed for
restoration of the
system of ejidos
(common lands)
through a strong
agrarian program
to combat the
domination of the
large haciendas
Lázaro Cárdenas

He also pushed for
modern secular
schools that would
teach rationalist
doctrines and
combat the
"fanaticism" of the
Church
Lázaro Cárdenas

Third, he pushed
for workers'
cooperatives to
oppose the
excesses of
industrial
capitalism
Lázaro Cárdenas
He was
inaugurated in a
business suit
instead of in a
military uniform
 He also cut his
salary in half and
refused to live in
Chapultepec
Castle

Lázaro Cárdenas

At the National
Palace, he
received barefoot
country people
while politicos,
generals and
businessmen were
made to cool their
heels
Education Reform
Education Reform
Education Reform
Education Reform
Education Reform
Education Reform
Education Reform