The first one

The Porfiriato: The stability and growth Mexico needed

Porfirio Diaz was a dictator of Mexico for about 30 years and often remembered as oppressive politics that agonized Mexicans. It is certainly true that his politics favored more on upper class and did not pay attention on lower classes. However, during his dictatorship, he managed to accelerate modernization of Mexico by building railroads and attracting foreign investments to build factories. Diaz brought prosperity to Mexico, even though it was limited to people on top of the hierarchy. To assess Diaz’s period, it is important to look at Mexico before he took power, according to the study conducted in the University of Guelph. The essay also attempts to judge Diaz with balanced view by providing what he achieved during his reign.

To observe Diaz’s achievement during his reign, it is important to look how Mexico was before he took power. Mexico was under constant civil war between centralist and regionalist and later liberals and conservatives. As a result of the civil war, the country’s economy was destroyed and severely weakened Mexico could not fight against American invasion of California, where Mexico had to cede territories. Several leaders such as Bonito Juarez and Emperor Maximillian could not stabilize the nation completely and failed to suppress political strife due to their radical changes. However, when Diaz took power, he successfully invited a huge amount of capital into Mexico by improving relationships with other nations such as Great Britain and political stability promised safety to conduct business. Without them, the essay claims that it would be quite challenging to attract foreign investment because civil war, for instance, could destroy their capitals and profits. The biggest achievement during the rule of Diaz was building infrastructures such as railroads. In 1875 it was less than 600 km, but by the end of 19th century, it was more than 10000 km. Railroads allowed not only to transport goods around, but also accelerated centralization of power. In addition to building infrastructure, it was Diaz that expanded the mineral industry, which helped to increase the wealth by exporting.

The assessment of Porfirio Diaz may be polarizing depending on the perspective. It is definitely true that he was a dictator who abused his power and only favored upper class. However, considering things he had achieved during his reign, it would be unfair to judge that Porfirio Diaz was a complete villain.

The second one

Latin America: An Overview, Photography

In today’s society, a photography does not seem to be too special, but rather a product that we use everyday to take photos and post it on SNS. However, it was much more than that when the photography was introduced in Latin America in 19th century according to Roudledge. By the end of 19th century, the photography had already been playing in important role such as recording combats, regional conflicts and process of the modernization. A photographer could easily move around the place in Mexico, for instance, due to construction of extensive railroads. Mexico was one of the earliest places to begin photography and prospered under reign of Porfirio Diaz. He knew the importance of photography as a mean to show off the public the progress of Mexico. He ordered photographers to take railroads and tall buildings, which suited the needs of dictatorship. By doing so, he could gain public support and used the photographs of modernity as a justification of his rule. Along with Diaz, private entrepreneurs also used lenses to promote and show the rapid progress of Mexico in order to attract foreign investments. Politically stabilized and country undergoing major changes to become a modern state was a captivating investment for capitalists. Photographers such as William Henry Jackson observed on engineering projects such as telephone lines, dams and railroads, which are indispensable to a modern nation.

The photography of Mexico was matured in the beginning of 20th century during the period of Mexican Revolution. The photojournalist, Agustín Victor Casasola, took photos of important figures in the revolution such as Emiliano Zapata and Pancho Villa. He travelled along with troops and photographed ordinary lives of soldiers including their families. On the other hand, he also shot a horrible part of the war including images of execution. The photographs of revolution later became a precursor of war photographer.

In sum, value of the photograph was more evident than that of contemporary world and it was important in order to record the progress that underwent in Mexico. From Routledge, people can easily conclude the role that photography took during the modernization.

Sources

https://journal.lib.uoguelph.ca/index.php/surg/article/view/1776/2415

http://cw.routledge.com/ref/20Cphoto/latin.html