The Mexican Revolution, like every historical fact, is variable with the passage of time and complex in its organization and development. It began on November 20th 1910 with the immediate aim of overthrowing the dictatorship of General Porfirio Díaz, who had governed the country since
1876 (with one sole interruption from 1880 to 1884). Reelected successively in 1884, 1888, 1902 and 1904 (this time for a six-year period), Porfirio Díaz declared in 1908, "I'll retire at the end of the current term, I've tried to leave the Presidency several times, but there has been pressure for me not to do so and have remained in power for the good of the nation." This sole announcement provoked the organization of the citizens. Francisco I. Madero, rich landowner of the North, published the book in
1908 The Presidential Succession of 1910. In it, he explained the urgent need for the people’s participation in the electoral process to democratically end 30 years of dictatorship in the country. However, Diaz accepted the candidacy of Madero and in June 1910, Madero in jail, he obtained the win with 18, 625 votes. On October 6th Madero escaped from jail, fled to the US and published the Plan of San Luis, whose main statements were the following: the presidential elections were considered null; Porfirio Diaz was not recognized as president; the principle of "Effective voting, no reelection" was announced; the Law of Baldios of 1894 was derogated; Madero assumed the provisional presidency of the
Republic and the Mexicans were called to rise in arms on November 20th. Although the protests of November 20th marked the beginning of the Mexican Revolution, it was not the first armed conflict. Among the most important fighters of that era were Gabriel Leyva, Miguel Ruz Ponce, Santana
Rodríguez Palafox and Aquiles Serdán. Very soon the nation was set on fire. The main military activities were developed in the north. Francisco Villa incursioned with a small group of guerrilla fighters in Chihuahua.
The government mobilized its best forces towards this state because he thought that the problem was limited to that area, but soon found out that it was a general armed movement. Luis Moya rebelled in Zacatecas, Isidro Torres Burgos and Emiliano Zapata did so in Morelos and Ambrosio Figueroa in Guerrero. In the meantime, Madero took charge of a group of revolutionaries of the Liberal Party.
Under the Treaty of Ciudad Juárez, Porfirio Díaz resigned and, after naming a successor, fled to Europe. The initial goal of the Revolution had been fulfilled, but the Revolutionary Movement was not destined to stop there. The social necessities and policies of the country eased the continuation of the movement. In spite of the internal division after Diaz´s fall, different political forces were able to unite under a National Convention, where a call for general elections was issued. Francisco I. Madero was the winner.
The Zapatistas met with Madero to try to convince him to implement an agrarian reform, but the talks became harder to the degree that Zapata declared himself against Madero. The doubtful attitude of Madero also caused the revolutionary leaders of the North, Francisco Villa and Pascual Orozco, to withdraw their support. But the problems of Madero did not end there: the leader of the Conservative Federal Army, Victoriano Huerta, organized a rebellion against him. After ten days of fighting known as the Decena Trágica—in the Mexican capital and with the help of the American government, Huerta killed Madero and proclaimed himself president.
To keep himself in power, Victoriano Huerta wanted to dominate the senators and house members of Madero´s party who opposed him. Several of these legislators, including Adolfo G. Gurrión, Serapio Rendón and
Belisario Domonguez, were assassinated. In the meantime, the rebellion continued. The three most powerful rebel forces in the North, led by Francisco Villa, Álvaro Obregón and Venustiano
Carranza, fought in that region, while Emiliano Zapata and his army fought in the South. Although they pursued a common objective, there was no consensus among the caudillos; in spite of the efforts of Venustiano Carranza to persuade Zapata to join their troops, Emiliano Zapata did not trust Carranza.
The divisions were more evident after the fall of Huerta and at the entrance of Venustiano Carranza to the capital. Under the Convención de Aguascalientes, the other caudillos named Eulalio Gutiérrez president, a fact that Carranza did not recognize. Even so, Gutiérrez entered the capital as president, supported by Villa and Zapata.
Under the treaties of Teoloyucan, General Alvaro Obregón took possession of the capital of the country on August 15th, and on the 20th did his entrance the first chief Venustiano Carranza. On September 23rd, the governor of Sonora José María Maytorena withdrew his recognition of Carranza as president, but Carranza continued to create new laws. At the same time, Alvaro Obregón and Francisco Villa began to fight against each other, leaving the legendary Pancho Villa defeated.
On February 2nd 1916, Carranza moved to Quertaro and established his general headquarters in that city. The United States, by the way, had already recongnized his government as legitimate. On March 9th, Villa entered the American town of Columbus and assaulted the military headquarters. As a result, Carranza's government allowed the entrance of 6,000 US soldiers commanded by General Pershing to kill him. They did not accomplish their objective either.
In the end, they called for a Constitutional Assembly that would make the necessary amendments to the Constitution of 1857. Several documents of the Revolution, including the Program of the Liberal Party of Flores Magon and the Plan de Ayala were fundamental to what we know today as the Constitutionof 1917. These documents inspired the contents of articles 3, 27, 123 and 130 referring to education, land ownership, work and religious beliefs respectively. These principles defined the characteristics of the new Constitution, the most tangible result of the revolutionary process, which, in a short time, transformed the face of Mexico.