Lopez 1

Hector Lopez-Perez
Dewaele
World History - Period 5
18 May 2015
La Revolucin Mexicana
In 1910, on the North American continent, a revolution broke out in the country of
Mexico. The Mexican Revolution is one of the most important parts of the history of Mexico.
The Revolution started with the dictatorship of Porfirio Diaz whom many people hated. There
were many problems going on in Mexico at this time making the people rebellious. Politicians
wanted power over the people while the people wanted power over politics and what went on in
Mexico. Foreign politicians contributed to the Revolution of Mexico and the rage of the Mexican
public. The more prominent foreign involvement came from the United States of America.
President Woodrow Wilson had the biggest impact on foreign involvement in the Revolution.
The United States aided revolutionaries which brought greater conflict in Mexican politics. The
Mexican public was outraged at how the Mexican government was being run and additionally
what was being passed by the government. The government did not support what was happening
between revolutionaries and the United States government. Both the United States and the
Mexican people wanted the dictatorship gone and a democracy established but it was going to be
tough to accomplish because Diaz had substantial power over the entire country. There were a
few people who were willing to rise up and lead the revolution such as Pancho Villa, Zapata, and
Madero. Francisco Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata were most important people because of
the impact they made.

Lopez 2

In the Revolution, certain people had bigger roles than others. This website concludes,
Two great figures, Francisco Pancho Villa from the north of Mexico and Emiliano Zapata
from the south, led the revolution and remain key cultural and historical symbols in this fight for
social reform. (edsitement.neh.gov) Villa and Zapata were not of the rich and famous society
but of the lower class farmers. They were regular, every day working class people. What made
Villa and Zapata different from other people was that they were willing to take charge and fight
back when they felt that things were being done wrong in their country. Land is very important to
the people of Mexico. A large portion of the Mexican lower class were farmers and those farmers
rely on their land as a source of income and a place for their home. For most farmers, land and
family was all they had. President Madero refused to return land to villages and Indian
communities which angered Villa and Zapata due to their past. As stated in a publication,
Zapata first supported Madero but when Madero did not fulfill his promises for land reform,
Zapata drafted the Plan de Ayala in which he expressed his wishes for land reform.
(academics.utep.edu) Zapata was driven to take action because as a child, he and his family were
peasants with little land which makes this issue rather personal to submit. As stated by this
website, ...Emiliano Zapata had started recruiting thousands of peasants to fight for land reform
in support of El Plan de Ayala, approved by Zapatas supporters in 1911. (edsitement.neh.gov)
Zapata knew what he had to do.
Their lives were not easy but they strived and accomplished. Pancho Villa and Zapata still
remain as the most famous and the most loved revolutionaries of the Mexican Revolution
because of their impact on Mexico. They were very involved in the actions in Mexico, especially
Villa. According to the author of this website, Villa couldnt keep out of politics.
(greenloft.org) It is a great thing that Villa and Zapata participated in government because they

Lopez 3

were able to make change that would make the public happy and reinstall order to the Mexican
government. People who are willing to take the risk of creating change are the most powerful
people in revolutions. Great change comes from great men such as Villa and Zapata.
Villa and Zapata used very clever military tactics to acquire an advantage over the
government. Lots of attacks by Villa and Zapata were done at night so the attacks were
unexpected. The attacks were fast-paced, giving the victims little time to react and respond. Villa
was a very intelligent man who knew how to properly run his army. He knew that to have a great
army, your men must be well equipped, skilled, and willing to fight. This website remarks,
Famous for their cavalry charges,often led by Villa himself. Villa tried to give each soldier a
horse to make his army more mobile . (mexicanhistory.org) Villa led his attacks so his men
would acquire confidence and would advance more into making change. By giving each of his
men a horse, Villa was making his attacks more successful because his army could travel farther
and faster. As noted by this website, He also describes Villa as a charismatic leader
(blue.utb.edu) During the revolution, anybody could help make a difference. It didnt matter if
you were poor, rich, short, tall, unemployed, successful, etc According to the author of this
article, Pancho Villa in the state of Chihuahua in the north organized an army of small ranchers,
railroad workers and miners, and other middle class and working class people.
(ueinternational.org) Villa and Zapata didnt worry about political views. They worried about
public and tried to get the people involved in the revolution.Villa and Zapata were very interested
with what was going on in politics. They played a big role in politics and getting politicians
thrown out of office or elected. As stated by this website, Francisco "Pancho" Villa helped oust
the aged Mexican dictator Porfirio Daz (noblebandits.asa.edu) Politicians such as Francisco
Madero tried creating obstacles to stop Villa and Zapata from succeeding because he wanted to

Lopez 4

be in charge of Mexico and do what he wanted with the government. Madero was only like this
when he was president. Before he was president, he wanted Diaz out, so he didnt act the same as
when he was president. Madero had many supporters, called Maderistas. According to this
website, Zapata initially supported the anti-reelectionist movement of Francisco I. Madero, and
formed the Liberation Army of the South to fight for the Maderista revolt. (pbs.org) Victoriano
Huerta was a military dictator who Villa and Zapata did not like. Huerta wasnt only a military
man. He was also president of Mexico from 1913 to 1914. People wanted Huerta out of power.
This website acknowledges that, When Huerta took over the presidency of Mxico in 1913,
Villa joined the forces of Carranza in order to overthrow Huerta. (academics.utep.edu) Villa and
Zapata intervened with politics a great deal.
Many things done by Villa and Zapata have truly had an impact on Mexico throughout all
these years. Villa got out of hands at times and did things that would have a negative impact on
Mexicans. As stated by this author, Villa could count on sufficient resources to finance his
revolution for most of 1914 without having to put pressure on U.S. companies, a fact which
helps to explain why taxes on those companies were far higher in Carranza's zone than in
Villa's. (brechtforum.org) Villa was supposedly betrayed by the U.S. government because he
lost a battle and that angered Villa. He wanted revenge so decided to attack the town of
Columbus, New Mexico. This greatly affected the U.S. government which caused them to
improve security in America so they decided to create a high-security border to stop the Mexican
people from attacking. Villas actions angered many Americans which caused them to want to
take action to get revenge on either Mexico or the Mexican people such as the revolutionaries.
This website states, He caused Americans under Pershing to invade Mexico after killing
Americans and raids into America, but was never caught. (mexicanhistory.org) Villa was the

Lopez 5

wildest revolutionary in Mexico. He had many people that wanted him dead because he wanted
the best for his people while those who wanted him dead wanted control of the people. This
website observes that During the Mexican Revolution, however, Hearsts ranch was invaded
and looted by men under the command of Pancho Villa. Because of this, Hearst sided with the
Mexican government in their attempts to outlaw Villa. (blogs.stlawu.edu) Villa was wanted
dead by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson. President Wilson sent hundreds of men to search for
Villa and kill him. After searching for a year, they had accomplished nothing. Villa wasnt the
only person that was wanted dead. As stated by this website, On April 10, 1919, Colonel Jess
Guajardo betrayed Zapata and killed him in Chinameca, Morelos. (academics.utep.edu) The
death of these two famous, important revolutionaries had a huge impact on the revolution. This
website suggest that With Zapatas death Mexico and all the Revolutionary fighting for its
freedom suffered a great tragedy. (ups.edu) Villa and Zapatas revolutionary impact has lasted a
lifetime. What they did in the past has affected the present day in many ways. One of the biggest
ways that their impact has served is through music. The article in this website states, Therefore,
the corridos became a way to record, celebrate, or mourn events, places, or people during the
revolution. (edsitement.neh.gov) Corridos have been very popular ways to express the past
especially after the revolution because the people were very emotional. Corridos are one of the
most popular musical genres of Mexican music today. Many events have impacted the perception
of foreigners, mostly Americans. According to this website, Sadly today, Mexicans are still
referred as a Illegals or Wet backs and mostly not accepted in American society. The
American people were and are very judgemental when it comes to Non-Americans.
The Mexican Revolution was a very important part in the history of Mexico that had a
major impact on the country. Francisco Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata were the most

Lopez 6

important people because of the impact they made. Villa and Zapata did many things to bring
order to the Mexican government which was becoming a tyranny due to its corrupt leaders. What
was done has impacted all of Mexico which made the country better has affected the present day
for better and for worse. Further studies on the revolution should be done to solve the current
prob lems that Mexico has today.

Works Cited
1. "A Brief History of Mexico." Mexican History, from Madero to Zapata, Poncho Villa, &
Cardenas. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 May 2015.
2. Emiliano Zapata." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 18 May 2015.
3. "Evidence for Historical Banditry and Folk Noble Bandits in the Ancient World." Evidence for
Historical Banditry and Folk Noble Bandits in the Ancient World. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 May 2015.
4. Katz, Friedrich. "Pancho Villa and the Attack on Columbus, New Mexico."The American
Historical Review 83.1 (1978): 101. Web. 18 May 2015.

Lopez 7

5. "Mass Communication, Media and Society." Mass Communication Media and Society RSS. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 18 May 2015.
6. "Pancho Villas Impact in USA and Mexican Border." Pancho Villas Impact in USA and
Mexican Border. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 May 2015.
7. "The Mexican Revolution: November 20th, 1910 | EDSITEment." The Mexican Revolution:
November 20th, 1910 | EDSITEment. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 May 2015.
8. "The Mexican Revolution." The Mexican Revolution. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 May 2015.
9. "Viva Pancho Villa!" Viva Pancho Villa! N.p., n.d. Web. 18 May 2015.
10. Www.utep.edu/chtl. "Faces of the Mexican Revolution." FACES OF THE MEXICAN
REVOLUTION (n.d.): n. pag. Web. 18 May 2015.