Have You Always Wondered?

Mexican Revolution Explained

Mexico today, has many people talking about the country from the drug cartels corrupting the country to the supposed concrete wall that will stretch from the Pacific to the Gulf of Mexico if you know who will get elected, let's hope that doesn't happen. But we're not here to talk about modern Mexican Politics we're here about Mexico's Revolution that started a century ago. So why did the Mexican people revolt against their own government? Well it starts with a guy named Porfirio Diaz, a Mexican General that fought against France's occupation of Mexico, Mexico and France have a complicated relationship but that's a story for another time, but back to Diaz. Diaz seized power shortly after the Franco-Mexican War which was Mexican forces pushing French forces out of Mexico. Diaz took power in 1871 and during the reign of Diaz he used brute force to keep Mexico stable. But Diaz used brute force which meant the poor and rural Mexicans hated Diaz, but Diaz did help Mexico's economy to rise and modernization of the country, which meant the business and the rich support Diaz. But again many and I mean many of Mexico's people were very poor so more people hated him than liked him. Diaz' policies made wealthy Mexicans so wealthy and gain so much land that the rural people couldn't make a living. So when Diaz imprisoned his elected rival for president in 1910, a fully armed revolution began starting the Mexican Revolution. Diaz was taken out of power in 1911 but wasn't killed he was ousted out of power by Francisco Madero and Madero became the new president of Mexico with help of the United States. When Madero took power he wanted the Mexican people stop being revolutionaries and everyone will be happy living with a roof over their head. A revolutionary named Emiliano Zapata who lead a revolutionary faction in southern Mexico did not do this. Why? Because Diaz' army were left untouched even after Diaz' abdication. Then after the Mexican government knew that Zapata did not dissolve his revolutionary group the Mexican Congress sent troops that were commanded by Mexican General Victoriano Huerta to destroy Zapata's forces. In 1913 Madero was killed during coup by Huerta who was aided by an ambassador from the United States. In July 1914 Mexico declared neutrality in World War I. In August 1914 Huerta was overthrown by Venustiano Carranza and Carranza exiled Huerta and Huerta attempted to get help from Imperial Germany so he can be the president of Mexico again, but Huerta died in prison before the revolution ended. Carranza wanted Mexico to have a constitutional government. Carranza would rule Mexico until his assassination in 1920. Carranza had a supporter named Pancho Villa who was the governer of the Mexican state of Chihuahua in northern Mexico. Eventually Villa and Zapata would be Carranza's enemies started more fighting. Villa's forces would be almost annihilated by Carranza's and Zapata's forces were just just guerrilla warfare. In 1917 Arthur Zimmerman sent a telegram to Mexico offering Mexico a chance to capture it's lost territories in the United States. The telegram had to be sent through Great Britain because the German transatlantic cables were cut early in the war. After that then American President Woodrow Wilson allowed Germany to use their cables (the U.S was still neutral in the war) which the Germans and Americans believed was secure. It wasn't. The British read the telegram and knew about the plan. And if the plan was released then the U.S has no choice but to join the Allied Powers. The telegram was released to the American public. And many Americans wanted to help the Allied Powers. Carranza thought of the outcomes of joining the Central Powers. And the conclusion was that the U.S was too powerful for Mexico to win against. And if Mexico somehow wins, their would be a problem control an armed English speaking population. After the telegram was released Woodrow Wilson recognized Carranza's government as Mexico since Woodrow Wilson unrecognized it since Huerta took power. Carranza replied by giving supplies to the Allies and gave the UK a crap ton of gas. After this Mexico had a chance against Germany but Mexico decided not to because Germany was still friendly. In 1920 revolutionaries attempted a coup on Carranza. Carranza escaped but was chased and was killed while attempting to escape from Mexico City to Veracruz ending the revolution.