The Last Caudillo: Alvaro Obregon and the Mexican Revolution

230 Pages·2011·4.873 MB·English

by  Jurgen Buchenau(auth.), Jurgen Buchenau(eds.)

The Last Caudillo
The Last Caudillo: Alvaro Obregón and the Mexican Revolution. J ü rgen Buchenau
© 2011 Jürgen Buchenau. ISBN: 978-1-405-19902-5
Viewpoints/Puntos de Vista
Themes and Interpretations in Latin American History
Series editor: J ü rgen Buchenau
The books in this series will introduce students to the most signifi cant
themes and topics in Latin American history. They represent a novel
approach to designing supplementary texts for this growing market.
Intended as supplementary textbooks, the books will also discuss the
ways in which historians have interpreted these themes and topics, thus
demonstrating to students that our understanding of our past is con-
stantly changing, through the emergence of new sources, methodologies,
and historical theories. Unlike monographs, the books in this series will
be broad in scope and written in a style accessible to undergraduates.
Published
A History of the Cuban Revolution
Aviva Chomsky
Bartolom é de las Casas and the Conquest of the Americas
Lawrence A. Clayton
Beyond Borders: A History of Mexican Migration to the United States
Timothy J. Henderson
The Last Caudillo: Alvaro Obreg ó n and the Mexican Revolution
J ü rgen Buchenau
In preparation
Creoles vs. Peninsulars in Colonial Spanish America
Mark Burkholder
Dictatorship in South America
Jerry Davila
Mexico Since 1940: The Unscripted Revolution
Stephen E. Lewis
The Haitian Revolution, 1791 – 1804
Jeremy Popkin
The Last Caudillo
Alvaro Obregón
and the Mexican Revolution
Jürgen Buchenau
A John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., Publication
This edition fi rst published 2011
© 2011 Jürgen Buchenau
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available for this title
ISBN 9781405199025 (hardback)
ISBN 9781405199032 (paperback)
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Set in 10/12.5 pt Minion by Toppan Best-set Premedia Limited
1 2011
To my mother, Sabine Prange
Table of Contents
List of Illustrations ix
Preface x
Acknowledgments xii
Introduction 1
1 The Background of the Last Caudillo 11
From Santa Anna to Díaz 13
The Sonoran Background 22
2 An Improvised Leader, 1880–1913 30
Obregón’s Early Years 31
Obregón and the Beginning of the Mexican Revolution 41
Obregón’s First Campaign 47
3 Chaos and Triumph, 1913–1916 57
Obregón and the War Against Huerta 58
Obregón and the Clash Between Carranza and Villa 66
Obregón in the War Between the Factions 72
4 The Path to Power, 1916–1920 85
Obregón’s Emergence as a Political Leader 86
The Cincinnatus of the West (Part One) 94
The Campaign for the Presidency 97
viii Table of Contents
5 The President, 1920–1924 111
The Construction of Obregón’s Political Machine 112
Rebuilding the Nation 118
The Violent Breakup of the Sonoran Alliance 127
6 The Last Caudillo, 1924–1928 138
A Troubled Agribusiness 140
The Cincinnatus of the West (Part Two) 143
The Second Presidential Campaign 152
The Death of the Caudillo 159
7 The Unquiet Grave 164
After the Caudillo 165
An Arm and a Revolution on a Stage 170
A Revolution and a Leader Lose Respect 173
Notes 178
Bibliography 200
Index 210
List of Illustrations
Maps
Map 1.1 Mexico in 1910. 19
Map 1.2 Sonora in 1910. 26
Figures
Figure 2.1 The Ranch House at “ La Quinta Chilla. ” 37
Figure 2.2 Corn Harvest Time at “ La Quinta Chilla. ” 38
Figure 2.3 The Rich Battalion (Alvaro Obreg ó n is
in the center of the bottom row; Francisco
Serrano is on the far right). 49
Figure 3.1 Defending Le ó n from the Divisi ó n del Norte. 80
Figure 3.2 Obreg ó n after the loss of his arm, June 3, 1915. 81
Figure 4.1 Obreg ó n and his family, c. 1927. 93
Figure 4.2 Obreg ó n campaigning in the state of Oaxaca. 102
Figure 4.3 The presidential inauguration, November 30,
1920. 110
Figure 5.1 The human cost of the “ headless rebellion. ” 133
Figure 6.1 The execution of Father Pro. 160
Figure 6.2 Obreg ó n ’ s last moments. 161
Preface
Each book in the “ Viewpoints/Puntos de Vista ” series introduces stu-
dents to a signifi cant theme or topic in Latin American history. In
an age in which student and faculty interest in the Global South increas-
ingly challenges the old focus on the history of Europe and North
America, Latin American history has assumed an increasingly prominent
position in undergraduate curricula.
Some of these books discuss the ways in which historians have
interpreted these themes and topics, thus demonstrating that our under-
standing of our past is constantly changing, through the emergence of
new sources, methodologies, and historical theories. Others offer an
introduction to a particular theme by means of a case study or biography
in a manner easily understood by the contemporary, non - specialist
reader. Yet others give an overview of a major theme that might serve as
the foundation of an upper - level course.
What is common to all of these books is their goal of historical syn-
thesis. They draw on the insights of generations of scholarship on the
most enduring and fascinating issues in Latin American history, while
also making use of primary sources as appropriate. Each book is written
by a specialist in Latin American history who is concerned with under-
graduate teaching, yet has also made his or her mark as a fi rst - rate
scholar.
The books in this series can be used in a variety of ways, recognizing
the differences in teaching conditions at small liberal arts colleges, large
public universities, and research - oriented institutions with doctoral pro-
grams. Faculty have particular needs depending on whether they teach
Preface xi
large lectures with discussion sections, small lecture or discussion -
oriented classes, or large lectures with no discussion sections, and
whether they teach on a semester or trimester system. The format
adopted for this series fi ts all of these different parameters.
I n this fourth volume in the “ V iewpoints/Puntos de Vista” series, I
analyze the Mexican Revolution (1910 –1 940) through the lens of one of
its protagonists: General Alvaro Obreg ó n Salido, one of the greatest mili-
tary leaders in the history of Latin America. The Mexican Revolution is
of global historical signifi cance because it was the fi rst great revolution
with an agrarian and social basis, and its successes and failures helped
inform more radical social revolutions in Russia, China, and Cuba.
Obreg ó n was the “ undefeated caudillo of the Mexican Revolution ”
whose military genius and political acumen always put him on the
winning side. His alliance of middle- c lass landowners from the northern
border state of Sonora directed the destinies of Mexico between 1920
and 1935, a period that featured the formation of many of the institu-
tions and political practices of modern Mexico. The life of Obreg ó n
therefore offers an ideal vantage point from which to appreciate the
causes, process, and outcome of the Mexican Revolution. It also affords
an opportunity to study political leadership, authoritarianism, and polit-
ical culture in Latin America more generally.
J ü rgen Buchenau
University of North Carolina, Charlotte