The Stability Of Mexico Under Alvaro Obregon

The ousting of president Porfirio Diaz was the main goal of the 1910 Mexican Revolution

. To Diaz's credit, he had the wisdom to step aside after only a short period of hostilities had ensued. Without Diaz, the rebels continued to fight amongst themselves for power, and civilian armies saw their truces dissolve, re-form and dissolve again. Any person that happened to be elected president, would have had a target on his back, as the office carried with it the cloak of assassination. A legislative structure was in the works to be set up, but the Catholic church was at odds with it, and squabbles between various political delegates broke out.

This was the situation when General Albaro Obregon took power as the President of Mexico in 1920. He took office in December 1920 after instigating a revolt against Venustiano Carranza (the incumbent). The end of most of the violence that had continued on for the previous ten years, ended upon his election; the last of the original rebel leaders had all been killed or caught, and so for the first time in years there was no major challenger or threats of counter-revolutions.

Stability was finally accomplished across Mexico after a period of ten years, once Obregon enacted major reforms in the country. Many new libraries were constructed, and his Secretary of Education had more than 1,000 new rural schools constructed.. The President also promoted the burgeoning muralism movement and invited artists like Diego Rivera and Jose Orozco to paint the walls of public buildings.

Alvaro also created a Department of Labor and followed through on the land reform promises outlined in the 1917 constitution, returning or redistributing a great deal of property that had been stolen from peasant farmers during the 19th century. Social liberalization was holding steady and finding relative success; civil rights for women were also on the agenda. Obregon had serious obstacles to contend with, even after all of his moderate policies: The Catholic Church.:-)

The 1917 Constitution had not been kind to the clergy, who had had a history of not being particularly kind in general. However, the Church found itself in a situation with an extreme separation from state, to the point where the institution had lost a great deal of its legal rights and its priests and followers faced persecution from the secular revolutionaries. Obregon was not nearly as opposed to religion as others had been, but was still suspicious of the Catholic lobby. The religious element in the country threw a wrench into the works, when he attempted to find a middle ground, and they clashed with his moderate agenda. Their resistance was an omen of the second Revolutionary phase to come.

In 1924, Obregon was ineligible to run for re-election, so he endorsed Plutarco Calles and retired to Sonora to farm. Term limits were removed by the new President, as he planned to be re-elected in 1928, and he showed himself, eventually, to be Alvaro's puppet. Although he won, he was assassinated a few months before taking office again. He was despised by the Catholic Church, whose resistance to the government led to the Cristero War and the re-ignition of revolutionary violence, but overall he's remembered as the first man to really help Mexico regain some stability following a long bout with chaos.

by: Robert Nickel

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