Background
- By 1934, the revolutionary spirit of Mexico had stagnated under the authoritarian Maximato (1929–1934), when Plutarco Elías Calles dominated politics behind puppet presidents.
- When Lázaro Cárdenas assumed the presidency, he redefined leadership by restoring the revolution’s social justice mission i.e. land redistribution, labor empowerment, and national sovereignty.
- Cárdenas shifted power from elites to the masses, institutionalizing reform through the state and reasserting Mexico’s independence from foreign and domestic oligarchies.
Aims of Cárdenas’s Presidency
- Renew Revolutionary Ideals
- Restore the social and economic principles of 1910 i.e. justice for peasants, laborers, and Indigenous peoples.
- Agrarian Reform
- Redistribute land to rural communities through the ejido system (communal ownership).
- Labor Empowerment
- Strengthen unions, protect workers’ rights, and integrate labor into the national project.
- Economic Nationalism
- Reduce foreign control of resources and industries, promoting self-sufficiency and sovereignty.
- Political Democratization
- End the dominance of Calles and transform the ruling party into a mass organization representing peasants and workers.
Definition
Ejido
Traditional communal land used by Indigenous and peasant communities, dismantled under Díaz’s privatization policies.
Methods of Reform
- Political Restructuring:
- In 1938, restructured the ruling party from the Partido Nacional Revolucionario (PNR) into the Partido de la Revolución Mexicana (PRM), organized by functional sectors i.e. labor, peasants, army, and popular organizations.
- Reduced military influence in politics, promoting a civilian-led government.
- Agrarian Reform Implementation:
- Used Article 27 of the 1917 Constitution to legally justify large-scale land redistribution.
- Prioritized collective ejidos over private farms to ensure equity and productivity.
- Labor Reform
- Backed the creation of the Confederación de Trabajadores de México (CTM) in 1936, uniting industrial labor under state guidance.
- Mediated labor disputes and encouraged union participation in government policy.
- Economic Nationalism
- Promoted state-led industrialization and infrastructure (roads, schools, irrigation).
- Asserted Mexico’s sovereignty over natural resources through nationalization of the oil industry in 1938.
Case study
Agrarian Reform and the Ejido System
- Scale and Scope
- Cárdenas distributed over 18 million hectares of land, more than all his predecessors combined. Roughly half of Mexico’s rural population benefited directly.
- Ejido Model
- Land was owned collectively by communities rather than individuals; members could farm but not sell or mortgage it, ensuring long-term communal stability.
- Focus Regions
- Most land redistribution occurred in Laguna, Yucatán, and Michoacán (Cárdenas’s home state). Large estates and foreign-owned plantations were expropriated.
- Support for Peasants
- Provided agricultural credit, seeds, and machinery through the Banco de Crédito Ejidal.
- Social Impact
- Revitalized peasant organizations and restored Indigenous traditions of collective landholding, reinforcing national identity and rural empowerment.
- Limitations
- Productivity was uneven; many ejidos lacked sufficient infrastructure, leading to dependency on state aid.
Achievements
- Agrarian Transformation
- Distributed more land than all previous presidents combined, fulfilling a central revolutionary demand.
- Social Justice
- Expanded education, health services, and rural development, improving literacy and living standards.
- Labor and Peasant Mobilization
- Institutionalized mass participation through the PRM’s sectoral structure, linking state and society.
- Economic Independence
- Strengthened state control over strategic sectors (oil, railways, banking).
- Cultural Integration:
- Promoted Indigenismo (recognition of Indigenous culture as integral to national identity) through education and art.
- Political Stability:
- Ended military dominance and established civilian rule, ensuring a smooth transition of power to Manuel Ávila Camacho (1940).
Limitations
- Economic growth remained uneven; ejidos often lacked resources and efficiency.
- Centralized control over unions limited true labor autonomy.
- State dominance of the economy led to bureaucratic inefficiency and corruption in later decades.
- The PRM’s corporatist structure integrated the masses but limited pluralism, setting the stage for PRI one-party dominance.
Assessment and Legacy
- Cárdenas successfully revived the social and nationalist vision of the 1910 Revolution after years of stagnation.
- His presidency marked the culmination of revolutionary reform, combining social justice with state-led modernization.
- The model of a corporatist, developmental state he built endured throughout the 20th century.
- His leadership became synonymous with integrity, reform, and the revolutionary spirit, earning him enduring respect in Mexican history.
Exam technique
- Structure essays around aims → methods → achievements, using land and oil reforms as key anchors.
- Emphasize Cárdenas’s difference from Calles : Genuine reform vs. authoritarian consolidation.
- Highlight how his presidency institutionalized the revolution’s social goals.
Common Mistake
- Treating Cárdenas’s presidency as purely economic. It was also cultural and ideological.
- Ignoring his role in creating mass political participation through the PRM.
Self review
- To what extent did Cárdenas fulfill the social and economic aims of the Mexican Revolution?
- Examine the methods Cárdenas used to consolidate revolutionary ideals between 1934 and 1940.
- Assess the impact of Cárdenas’s reforms on Mexico’s political and economic independence.
