Signs of Crisis in a Gilded Age
Alec Dawson states that the concept of a revolution is the claim of ownership of history, endeavoring to shape a view of the past that organizes the power in the past.
In the case of Mexico, PRI (Institutional Revolutionary Party) laid claim to a revolutionary process. There were 3 main components of revolution, who were ‘The Old Guard’, ‘Villa and the Serrano revolutionaries’, and ‘Zapata and the Agrarian revolutionaries’.
The Old Guard: People of European roots who benefited politically and economically during the Diaz regime. They wanted to maintain the current political system and did not desire a change in the social construction.
Villa and the Serrano revolutionaries: Frontiersman who saw their lives change since Diaz came into power and wanted freedom from outside the authority.
Zapata and the Agrarian revolutionaries: Indigenous or mestizo people whom land was taken away during the Diaz regime. They wanted restitution of land and have rights for local governance, claiming that they should be able to control the land.
So, the aftermath of the revolution, who won the revolution? The answer to this question remains unclear. Nobody is sure which faction won from this revolution, as some powers were empowered and some did not. Relatively victorious factions were the constitutionalists who became the Serrano revolutionists, who gained in power as one of the presidents; ability to assume power was predicated upon the deals that made to incorporate the subordinate groups, created clauses in the constition, for the agrarian.
Dawson touched upon his observations of revolutionary leaders, that they get assassinated young, and that death is attributable to power. President of post-revolution died due to a political conflict, as an example. Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata are the two iconic revolutionary leader figures. Pancho Villa who was a retired soldier who pledged to not enter politics was assassinated in the fear that he re-enters. He made another point that young revolutionaries die with a reputable image, as they did not live long enough to disappoint others.
The EZLN (Zapatista Army of National Liberation) and neo-Zapatistas were the first guerrilla movement to connect with people through the internet. Following from 1994, people laid claim to the Zapatista mantra ever since there was an Emiliano Zapata. He represents land and liberty, an icon they claim to use because it is available, and the majority can recognize.
Emiliano Zapata broke in the alliance of Francesco Madero, who became the president after Diaz was overthrown. Madero didn’t put land reforms, so Zapatistas became furious upon his regime. This marks a historical movement in which the Zapatista rebellion comes to the fore as one of the critical movements for social justice.
‘Plan de Ayala’ is a document that states an explanation of the legal right to rebel against the Madero government. This document is read by mexican schools even currently, as a founding document of mexican nationhood.
So my question for this week is, what is ‘gilded age’ represented as in this context, what is really ‘glided’ here?