Calles: Supreme Chief of an Institutionalized Revolution PDF

Printed by: quinn.smid!@avc:.edu. Printing is for pcil80D8l, privare uso only. No part of1his book may bci npn,dua,d or tnmsmitb:d without pabliahcr'a prior permisaion. VIOl.a1ms will be proeec:uted. CHAPTER 30...

Printed by: quinn.smid!@avc:.edu. Printing is for pcil80D8l, privare uso only. No part of1his book may bci npn,dua,d or tnmsmitb:d without pabliahcr'a prior permisaion. VIOl.a1ms will be proeec:uted. CHAPTER 30 CALLES: SUPREME CHIEF OF AN INSTITUTIONALIZED REVO LUTI ON JEF E MAX I MO , 1924- 34 for a full decade beginning in 1924 Mexico found itself in the furn grip of General Plu- wco Elfas Calles. Born in Guaymas, Sonora, in 1877 to a family whose fomme ha.d,de- d.ined, Calles attended normal school in Hermosillo, did quite well in the dassroom, and upon graduation. became a primary schoolteacher in the public school system, His political career began with the revolution, and he SetVed in a number of minor political>and miliwy capacities before becoming provisional governor of his home state in 1917. His loyal sup- pon of Obreg6n over a ten-yeit-puiod won for him official endorsem91t for the presidency in 1924 and, with labor and agrarian suppon, he carried the election easily. CALLE S' S DOMESTIC PROGRAM - I ConscMtive elements in Mexico were far from elated by d\e election chat year, for Calles en joyed a radigon.ind Vasconcelos. In 1924 1herc wcte aj)proximately one 1housand fed.er ally ~~ ~n.ed ,ural schools in oper.uion. Calles ,md !>I able secre1..1ries of education, JoSI! Manuel.Puig,.~uranc and Moises Saenz continuetl me emphasis on rural education and addeil wo 1housand rural schools. To facilita1~ Jlie acruhur.u ion of 1he Indian, 1hey placed heavy.£mphasis on !he teaching of Spanlsq,find increased efforis 10 promote popular na- tiooatsm. sometimes perceived as assaµlt1 on local au1onomy and custom. The muralist nfovcmen1 continued 10 flourish. serv,!,tg as an educa1lonal tool for 1he non-literate masses intended to 1each Mexican history a,.iisl promote political consdousness. 111e government built a health and sanitation program almost from scratch. When lhe revolution broke om in 1910, sanita1lon condltlons in Mexico v.we hardly beuer lhall mey had been during !he colonial period. The newly orgaJ1ized Departmem of Public I leallh superintended the ~stablishnwnt of a s.i.ni1ary code designed 10 ensure cleane,· markets and purer public milk supplies. For !he firs1 time in Mexican history, the government undenook major vncdna1ion campaigns and in 1926 alone inoculated over 5 mil lion Mexicans against smallpox. "The Calles administration also began regular inspec1ions of bakeries, bu1cher shops, dairies, cantinas, and barber shops dosing down !hose establishments that did no1 meet prescribed sanliary s1andards and fining thclr owners. Printed by: quinn.smi1h@avc:.ec1n. Printing is for pi,ncmal, privata uae only. No part of1his book may ba n,pmduced or trammitted wilhont pabliahet11 prior permilllion. Vwla1on will be p!'OleCUted.  OJJJes: Supm,w Chiefofan lnmwrionaliud Revoluliott 427 A prosperous Luis Morones 9me 10 dominate the Me:ri- labor movement unda--Pre."idcnt UllleL At o ne lime C3.1l consldm-d a pos.ught funher assurances that foreign propeny interests would be protected. When Callts refused to go beyond the earlier prpmises, Shef- field staned to bombard the US StateJDepartment with red-scare dispatches.The coincidence of the Mexican and Bolshevik ? ' ttions croubled US observers, whq tended to equate the two despite the faa that no direct connection existed between them. N'onetheless, Sheffield graduaUy convinced his-superior. Secretary of State Frank B. Kel19GS, that a Bolshevik plot was about to divest l.lS citizens of their just property rights. In the-summer , of 1925 Secretary Kellogg made a remarkable statement to the press. " The eo,.'l.,nn1nt or Mexico Is now on trial before the world. We ha,-e the greatest lnwmt In the stability,,prosperlty, and independence of Mexico,'►... But we cannot countenance viola- lion o(her obligalions and failure to protect l\m~n citiuns. 1 In a terse rejoinder the Mexican president MW, the Partido Nacional Revolucionario (P~R). Under his direction, 1he PNR beg.Jo ~ firt.hion a grand myth 1hat celebrated a revolutionary family headed by tl1e supreme f'arher. The official parry would mange its name on se\'eral occasions, but its auempts 19. ,t0n1rol 1he Mexican political pro- cess wuuld remain intact for the next 70 years. When ~ special election occurred, Calles and tiis newly organized PNR nominated Pas cua! nu Rubio fonhe presidency 111e o ppositlpn candidate, running undcnhc rubric of the National Anti-Reelea:ionist pany, was !.he mofr"experienced and much better-known Jose Vas- co clos. Vasconcelos di reaed his cam pa~ against the Jefe Mllximo rather than against Ortiz Rubio, arguing that a vore for Ortiz Rub~o amounted 10 a \'Ote for CalJes. When Lhe govern. ment announced the results, OnizBupio was declared the winner by the unbelievable margln or 1,948,848 to 110,979. I le served only '"'O years Shonly after he atu?Jn J>Led 10 oppose Call,-s on several policy decisions, he picked up a morning newspaper to read tl1at he had resigned. On lhis occasion tlle Jefe Maximo picked General Abelardo RodriguD. a man who bad prof lted frorn his politiG1l position in Baja California, where he invested In several casinos. Despite tlle musical chairs played in tlle presidential office, me years 1928-34 boasted ac- complishments. Calles initiated 1he profossionaliz uion and depolitidzation or tlle Mexican army, a process completed w1der me puppets. Giving the military a major voice within !be PNR reduced the threat of anti gO\,'t'rnment insurrections and smoolhed the way for cutting Printed by: quinn.smi1h@avc:.ec1n. Printing is for pi,ncmal, privata uae only. No part of1his book may ba n,pmduced OJ' trammitted wilhont pabliahet11 prior permilllion. Vwla1on will be p!'OleCUted.  432 TIU REVOLUT I ONAR1' AFTCRMA1' 11 military expenses. Equally imponant t0 politlcal well-being and stability was the resolution of the Cristero Rebellion. Ambassador Morrow played a major but unofficial role in the recondli- atlon as he arrangl!d a series o f meetings betw~en Calles, Pones Gil, and r.llhet lohn Burke. a prominent Catholic leader in the United Stall'S. In early June 1929 father Burke convinced the Mexican leaders that chey should allow several exiled bishops Lo return 10 the coumry to par· tidpate in the negotla1ioM. 8y late June a compromise had been hammeral o ut. The church agreed that priesis would have to register with the government and that religious instruction would not be offered In their schools. 'l11e government declared pubhdy th~t l had no lnll?n tion of destroying the Integrity of the church and l?\'ell allowed that religious insrruction would not be prohibited with in the confines of the churches themselves l\s a result, the hierard1y or- dered the Cris1eros 10 lay down their arms and the priesis 10 re,;um, rel igiou.~ services. The res- olution of the church-state contrm-ersy at this 11?\--el did not heal then.iprures that the Cris1em wars had exposed in so many local conflicts. where popular Catl\olidsms consticuted a c.rudal element oflocal identity. Popular rellgiosicy in myriad forms wo~fd continue t0 shape politics and national identity in ways that rannoc always be defined'as anti-modern or anti-state. For most of the Mrudmaco, die revolution shifted 1.g ,the right as the economy stagnated and the pace of social refomi slowed, in pan ~ f rhe onset of the Great Depression. Addi ng Lo growing uncmploymcm in Mexico, five hundred thous.ind Mexicans and Mexican Americans were repauiaced by the UStowmmenL Oil and metal expom lost marke15, ln dus- tries were pamlyud, and even government \(torkea were fired. As federal revenues-&opped by 25 percent and wages d«lined, many p01i1k.ians made ;iccommodatlons wl\h l~nd01..ne,s and businessmen. Others enriched themselves by dipping inm the creaswy: these new 'mil- lionaire socia lists scnl capit.11ou"4if the country and bought luxury ho~ for exam1>le. in the vacation rcson of Cuemav:ita along what became known as the 'S.ule1 of ForcyThleves. land redistribuuon slowed to a snail's pace, and in al least o ne caM!1was even reversed. The Torra1.as family had been forced to sell most of its huge land~dings during the Obreg6n presidency bw now was allowed to buy them back. The hlhol"tnovement was abandoned as the government withdrew its support of the CRO.\I and ir,creasingly suppressed strikes. Luis Morones surcl iad p rofi.1ed at the pu blic trough, but workers paid for his excesses. Tiw (;reac,Depression bad contribu1ed to slowingthe pace of social reform, but it cannot explain the cxcent 10 which corruption and pqll~I repression had pervaded 1he revolution-.uy lq~ersbip. 7nis period I 1928-34]. is moM pcQ!lriing, lfh were possible 10 di!l:'overwha1 lud taken hold of the_ leadership of MexicQ in itose debased and douded rears, it would iUwnine much of Mexican history. Mere wid'°tgroup of new men, most of whom had come from the ranksof1h" Rewlu1ion and had risked 1hrir Hves in a luuuhed bnute. for the redemption of the people from poveny and setfdom.... and yet. a1 the first oppommity, each fell an easy vktim to pelf(ill-go1ien money( and power.. ,.' Revolutionary principles seemed to have been totally discredited, but the last two years of the Maximnto saw glimmers of political redemption as the rNR began to articulate J FmnkT nnc T/i, Stn,$Slo for rr.u ,wd Btmd (New-Yori~ C,Ui,ro R,bt/11011, 1?27- l'J?!I New York Oxford University Press. 1.004. C.>rr, Bony ihe MexiGrn Communisi Pany and Agranan Mobiliz.idon in lite "-!;tma, 1920.1945: A Worker-l'easan1Alliance!" N,sp,u,!E Ammrun Huroncal R.,vin, 67/ 3 ( 1987), Vl-40-I. Dawson, Alexanders lnd1dl1 arrd Nao.an in Ret'Ol.utJonary.i\U.tiro. Tucson: URWer.Sny ofArizona Press, 2004. Dun... lohn W. F. Y...,..nfay In ~lodc,r. A Chro11irl, of I i i , R,,m/1111011, 1919-193/,. t.usun. llnivus1ty ofTcr.u Press. 1961. _. Fallaw, Ben. &Ugion and 6UJte Fomraiion m l'OSl1ll."lutionmy Mmro. Darham, NC, Duke Llniv,ersity Press. 2013 C.u», Susan M. It Ill Male. flJ'gfons, N"''"" mu/ 1h,St,11,vf rh, Ilise o} Alu:icnn lru/u51nahsm, 1920f- L94ili. College Station: l'm11$Ylvam SL1te l..lrm'efSity:o/..&, 20JO. LiMW, the Partido Nacional Revolucionario (P~R). Under his direction, 1he PNR beg.Jo ~ firt.hion a grand myth 1hat celebrated a revolutionary family headed by tl1e supreme f'arher. The official parry would mange its name on se\'eral occasions, but its auempts 19. ,t0n1rol 1he Mexican political pro- cess wuuld remain intact for the next 70 years. When ~ special election occurred, Calles and tiis newly organized PNR nominated Pas cua! nu Rubio fonhe presidency 111e o ppositlpn candidate, running undcnhc rubric of the National Anti-Reelea:ionist pany, was !.he mofr"experienced and much better-known Jose Vas- co clos. Vasconcelos di reaed his cam pa~ against the Jefe Mllximo rather than against Ortiz Rubio, arguing that a vore for Ortiz Rub~o amounted 10 a \'Ote for CalJes. When Lhe govern. ment announced the results, OnizBupio was declared the winner by the unbelievable margln or 1,948,848 to 110,979. I le served only '"'O years Shonly after he atu?Jn J>Led 10 oppose Call,-s on several policy decisions, he picked up a morning newspaper to read tl1at he had resigned. On lhis occasion tlle Jefe Maximo picked General Abelardo RodriguD. a man who bad prof lted frorn his politiG1l position in Baja California, where he invested In several casinos. Despite tlle musical chairs played in tlle presidential office, me years 1928-34 boasted ac- complishments. Calles initiated 1he profossionaliz uion and depolitidzation or tlle Mexican army, a process completed w1der me puppets. Giving the military a major voice within !be PNR reduced the threat of anti gO\,'t'rnment insurrections and smoolhed the way for cutting Printed by: quinn.smi1h@avc:.ec1n. Printing is for pi,ncmal, privata uae Cllll.y. No part of1his book may ba n,pmduced or trammitted wilhont pabliahet11 prior permilllion. Vwla1on will be p!'OleCUted.  432 TIU REVOLUT I ONAR1' AFTCRMA1' 11 military expenses. Equally imponant t0 politlcal well-being and stability was the resolution of the Cristero Rebellion. Ambassador Morrow played a major but unofficial role in the recondli- atlon as he arrangl!d a series o f meetings betw~en Calles, Pones Gil, and r.llhet lohn Burke. a prominent Catholic leader in the United Stall'S. In early June 1929 father Burke convinced the Mexican leaders that chey should allow several exiled bishops Lo return 10 the coumry to par· tidpate in the negotla1ioM. 8y late June a compromise had been hammeral o ut. The church agreed that priesis would have to register with the government and that religious instruction would not be offered In their schools. 'l11e government declared pubhdy th~t l had no lnll?n tion of destroying the Integrity of the church and l?\'ell allowed that religious insrruction would not be prohibited with in the confines of the churches themselves l\s a result, the hierard1y or- dered the Cris1eros 10 lay down their arms and the priesis 10 re,;um, rel igiou.~ services. The res- olution of the church-state contrm-ersy at this 11?\--el did not heal then.iprures that the Cris1em wars had exposed in so many local conflicts. where popular Catl\olidsms consticuted a c.rudal element oflocal identity. Popular rellgiosicy in myriad forms wo~fd continue t0 shape politics and national identity in ways that rannoc always be defined'as anti-modern or anti-state. For most of the Mrudmaco, die revolution shifted 1.g ,the right as the economy stagnated and the pace of social refomi slowed, in pan ~ f rhe onset of the Great Depression. Addi ng Lo growing uncmploymcm in Mexico, five hundred thous.ind Mexicans and Mexican Americans were repauiaced by the UStowmmenL Oil and metal expom lost marke15, ln dus- tries were pamlyud, and even government \(torkea were fired. As federal revenues-&opped by 25 percent and wages d«lined, many p01i1k.ians made ;iccommodatlons wl\h l~nd01..ne,s and businessmen. Others enriched themselves by dipping inm the creaswy: these new 'mil- lionaire socia lists scnl capit.11ou"4if the country and bought luxury ho~ for exam1>le. in the vacation rcson of Cuemav:ita along what became known as the 'S.ule1 of ForcyThleves. land redistribuuon slowed to a snail's pace, and in al least o ne caM!1was even reversed. The Torra1.as family had been forced to sell most of its huge land~dings during the Obreg6n presidency bw now was allowed to buy them back. The hlhol"tnovement was abandoned as the government withdrew its support of the CRO.\I and ir,creasingly suppressed strikes. Luis Morones surcl iad p rofi.1ed at the pu blic trough, but workers paid for his excesses. Tiw (;reac,Depression bad contribu1ed to slowingthe pace of social reform, but it cannot explain the cxcent 10 which corruption and pqll~I repression had pervaded 1he revolution-.uy lq~ersbip. 7nis period I 1928-34]. is moM pcQ!lriing, lfh were possible 10 di!l:'overwha1 lud taken hold of the_ leadership of MexicQ in itose debased and douded rears, it would iUwnine much of Mexican history. Mere wid'°tgroup of new men, most of whom had come from the ranksof1h" Rewlu1ion and had risked 1hrir Hves in a luuuhed bnute. for the redemption of the people from poveny and setfdom.... and yet. a1 the first oppommity, each fell an easy vktim to pelf(ill-go1ien money( and power.. ,.' Revolutionary principles seemed to have been totally discredited, but the last two years of the Maximnto saw glimmers of political redemption as the rNR began to articulate J FmnkT nnc T/i, Stn,$Slo for rr.u ,wd Btmd (New-Yori~ C,Ui,ro R,bt/11011, 1?27- l'J?!I New York Oxford University Press. 1.004. C.>rr, Bony ihe MexiGrn Communisi Pany and Agranan Mobiliz.idon in lite "-!;tma, 1920.1945: A Worker-l'easan1Alliance!" N,sp,u,!E Ammrun Huroncal R.,vin, 67/ 3 ( 1987), Vl-40-I. Dawson, Alexanders. lnd1dl1 arrd Nao.an in Ret'Ol.utJonary.i\U.tiro. Tucson: URWer.Sny ofArizona Press, 2004. Dun... lohn W. F. Y...,..nfay In ~lodc,r. A Chro11irl, of I i i , R,,m/1111011, 1919-193/,. t.usun. llnivus1ty ofTcr.u Press. 1961. _. Fallaw, Ben. &Ugion and 6UJte Fomraiion m l'OSl1ll."lutionmy Mmro. Darham, NC, Duke Llniv,ersity Press. 2013 C.u», Susan M. It Ill Male. flJ'gfons, N"''"" mu/ 1h,St,11,vf rh, Ilise o} Alu:icnn lru/u51nahsm, 1920f- L94ili. College Station: l'm11$Ylvam SL1te l..lrm'efSity:o/..&, 20JO. Li