8. Mexico (1906-present)

Crisis Phase (June 1, 1906-November 19, 1910): Some 5,000 Mexican laborers went on strike against the Consolidated Copper Company (CCC) mines near Cananea, and 23 individuals were killed in labor violence on June 1, 1906. Government troops suppressed labor unrest in Rio Blanco on January 7, 1907, resulting in the deaths of some 200 individuals. Francisco Ignacio Madero, an opposition presidential candidate, was arrested by government police on June 6, 1910. President Jose de la Cruz Porfirio Diaz was re-elected without opposition on July 8, 1910, and he was inaugurated for an eighth term as president on September 27, 1910. Francisco Ignacio Madero escaped from prison in San Luis Potosi on October 4, 1910. Some 250 individuals were killed during the crisis.

Conflict Phase (November 20, 1910-August 20, 1914):  Francisco Indalecio Madero led a rebellion against the government of President Diaz beginning on November 20, 1910.  Government troops were defeated by rebels led by Pancho Villa in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua on May 10, 1911.  Government troops fired on demonstrators in the Plaza de la Constitucion on May 24, 1911, and President Porfirio Diaz resigned on May 25, 1911.  Francisco de la Barra was appointed as provisional president on May 26, 1911.  Francisco Madero entered Mexico City on June 7, 1911.  Francisco Madero was elected president on October 15, 1911, and he was inaugurated as president on November 6, 1911.  Emiliano Zapata, originally a supporter of President Madero, led a rebellion against the government in southern Mexico beginning on August 30, 1911.  Pascual Orozco led a rebellion against the government in northern Mexico beginning in March 1912, but government troops commanded by General Victoriano Huerta suppressed the rebellion in October 1912.  The U.S. government imposed military sanctions (arms embargo) against the government and rebels on March 14, 1912.  Some 680 individuals were killed in the Orozco rebellion.  General Felix Diaz led a rebellion against the government in Vera Cruz beginning on October 12, 1912, but the rebellion was suppressed by government troops on October 23, 1912.  President Francisco Madero was overthrown during a Conservative counter-rebellion led by General Victoriano Huerta on February 13-19, 1913, resulting in the deaths of more than 2,000 government soldiers and civilians.  The U.S. government imposed diplomatic sanctions (diplomatic non-recognition) against the government of General Huerta on February 18, 1913.  President Madero and Vice-President Pino Suarez were killed on February 22, 1913.  U.S. President Woodrow Wilson appointed John Lind as special representative to Mexico on August 4, 1913, but the Mexican government rejected the good offices of the U.S. on August 16, 1913.  General Huerta arrested the members of the Chamber of Deputies on October 10, 1913, and established a military dictatorship on October 11, 1913.  The government of General Huerta was opposed by rebels led by Venustiano Carranza and Pancho Villa.  The U.S. government lifted military sanctions against the government and rebels on February 1, 1914.  General Huerta was elected president on July 5, 1914, but he resigned on July 15, 1914.  Francisco Carbajal was appointed as provisional president on July 16, 1914.  Troops commanded by General Álvaro Obregón captured Mexico City on August 15, 1914, and Venustiano Carranza was appointed as president on August 20, 1914.  Some 80,000 individuals were killed during the rebellion.

Post-Conflict Phase (August 21, 1914-September 30, 1914):

Conflict Phase (October 1, 1914-July 28, 1920):  Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata led a rebellion against the government of President Carranza beginning in October 1914.  Rebel troops commanded by Pancho Villa captured Mexico City, but government troops commanded by General Álvaro Obregón re-captured the capital on January 27, 1915.  Pancho Villa’s rebel troops were defeated in two battles at Celaya from April 6-15, 1915, but Pancho Villa escaped to northern Mexico where he continued his rebellion.  Some 5,000 rebels and 1,000 government troops were killed in the Celaya battles.  The U.S. government provided diplomatic assistance (diplomatic recognition) to the government of President Carranza on October 19, 1915, and the British government provided diplomatic assistance (diplomatic recognition) to the government on November 16, 1915. The U.S. government imposed military sanctions (arms embargo) against the rebel groups on October 20, 1915.  Pancho Villa’s rebels attacked the U.S. cavalry garrison in the town on Columbus, New Mexico on March 9, 1916, resulting in the deaths of 18 Americans and 100 Mexicans.  On March 15, 1916, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson ordered General John Pershing and 12,000 U.S. troops to pursue Pancho Villa into northern Mexico.  U.S. troops clashed with rebel soldiers at Parral in the state of Chihuahua on April 12, 1916, resulting in the deaths of some 100 Mexicans.  President Carranza condemned the U.S. intervention in June 1916. US and Mexican government troops clashed at Carrizal on June 21, 1916.  A constitutional convention convened on November 21, 1916, and a new constitution was approved by the constitutional convention on January 31, 1917.  U.S. troops completed their withdrawal from Mexico on February 5, 1917.  Thirty U.S. soldiers were killed during the intervention.  The constitution establishing a federal republic went into effect on February 5, 1917.  President Carranza was re-elected to a four-year term on March 11, 1917.  Some 1,000 rebels led by Pancho Villa briefly captured Chihuahua on November 25, 1917.  Emiliano Zapata was killed in an ambush by government troops led by Colonel Jesus Guajardo on April 4, 1919.  Pancho Villa’s rebels attacked Ciudad Juarez (across the border from El Paso, Texas) on June 15, 1919, and U.S. troops intervened in support of government troops between June 16, 1919 and February 25, 1920.  President Carranza was killed during a military rebellion led by Generals Álvaro Obregón, Plutarco Elias Calles, and Adolfo de la Huerta on May 21, 1920.  The U.S. government imposed diplomatic sanctions (diplomatic non-recognition) against the military government on May 22, 1920.  Adolfo de la Huerta was appointed as provisional president on May 25, 1920.  Pancho Villa surrendered to government troops on July 28, 1920.  Pancho Vila was later assassinated by Jesus Salas Barraza in Parral on July 20, 1923.  Some 200,000 individuals were killed during the conflict.

Post-Conflict Phase (July 29, 1920-July 31, 1926):  General Álvaro Obregón was elected president on September 5, 1920, and he was inaugurated as president on November 30, 1920. The US provided diplomatic assistance (diplomatic recognition) to the government of President Obregon on September 3, 1923.  Former President Adolfo de la Huerta led a rebellion against the government of President Álvaro Obregón in Vera Cruz beginning on December 4, 1923.  The U.S. government provided military assistance to the government in January 1924.  The government suppressed the rebellion on February 6, 1924, and Adolfo de la Huerta went into exile to Florida on March 12, 1924.  Some 7,000 individuals were killed during the rebellion.  Plutarco Elias Calles was elected president in July 1924, and he was inaugurated as president on November 30, 1924. The government ordered the arrest and deportation of foreign Roman Catholic priests on February 11, 1926.  On April 21, 1926, Roman Catholic bishops in Mexico condemned the provisions of the constitution concerning the Church.  Some 7,000 individuals were killed in political violence between July 1920 and July 1926.

Conflict Phase (July 31, 1926-September 20, 1929):  Rene Capistran Garza and General Enrique Gorostieta led the Cristero rebellion against the government beginning on July 31, 1926. President Elias Calles ordered the nationalization of Roman Catholic Church property on February 11, 1927.  The U.S. government imposed military sanctions (arms embargo) against the government. President Calles violently suppressed a military rebellion led by Generals Arnulfo Gomez and Francisco Serrano in October 1927.  Former president Álvaro Obregón was elected president on July 1, 1928, but he was assassinated by Jose Toral on July 17, 1928.  Emilio Portes Gil was appointed as provisional president by the Congress in September 1928.  General Jesus Maria Aguirre and General Gonzalo Escobar led a rebellion against the government in northern Mexico beginning on March 3, 1929.  Some 35,000 government troops suppressed the rebellion on May 4, 1929.  Some 2,000 individuals, including 1,000 rebels and 161 government soldiers, were killed during the rebellion.  U.S. Ambassador Dwight Morrow mediated negotiations between the government and Cristeros rebels in Havana, Cuba beginning in January 1928, and the parties agreed to peacefully resolve their dispute on June 21, 1929.  The U.S. government lifted military sanctions against the government on July 18, 1929.  On September 20, 1929, the Cristero rebellion ended after the government agreed to end its persecution of the Roman Catholic Church.  Some 100,000 individuals were killed during the Cristero rebellion.

Post-Conflict Phase (September 21, 1929-July 7, 1946):  Pascual Ortiz Rubio was elected president in November 1929, and he was inaugurated as president on February 5, 1930.  Mexico joined the League of Nations (LON) on September 9, 1931.  President Rubio resigned due to ill health on September 3, 1932, and General Abelardo Rodriguez was appointed as provisional president. General Lazaro Cardenas of the National Revolutionary Party (NRP) was elected president on July 2, 1934.  In September 1934, some 30,000 Roman Catholics demonstrated in Mexico City against the nationalization of church property.  General Cardenas was inaugurated as president in November 1934. Four Roman Catholics were killed during demonstrations in the state of Tabasco in May 1937.  The NRP became the Party of the Mexican Revolution (PMR) in 1938.  The government suppressed a rebellion led by General Saturnino Cedillo in San Luis Potosi from May 1938 to January 1939.  General Manuel Avila Camacho of the PMR was elected president on July 7, 1940.  Congress convened in Mexico City on September 1, 1940.  General Juan Andres Almazan of the National Federation of Independent Parties (NFIP) claimed election fraud. General Avila Camacho was inaugurated as president on December 1, 1940.  The Institutional Revolutionary Party (Partido Revolucionario Institucional – PRI) was established in 1945.  Some 50 individuals were killed by government troops as a result of civil and political unrest in Leon in the state of Guanajuato in January 1946.  Miguel Aleman Valdes of the PRI was elected president on July 7, 1946.  Some 100 individuals were killed in political violence between September 1929 and July 1946.

Post-Crisis Phase (July 8, 1946-September 7, 1968):  Several thousand leftist students demonstrated against the government in Mexico City beginning in July 1968.

Crisis Phase (September 8, 1968-December 31, 1976):  Government troops suppressed the student movement at National University in Mexico City from September 8 to October 2, 1968, resulting in the deaths of some 300 individuals. Lucio Cabanas and Genaro Vasquez led a peasant rebellion against the government in the state of Guerrero from 1970 to 1975. Several hundred peasants and government soldiers were killed during the rebellion. Legislative elections were held on July 5, 1970, and the PRI won 178 out of 300 seats in the Chamber of Deputies. Luis Echeverria Alvarez of the PRI was elected president on July 15, 1970. Two individuals were killed in political violence near Ciudad Juarez on May 3, 1971. Nine individuals were killed in political violence in Mexico City on June 10, 1971. Members of the Poor People’s Party (Partido de los Pobres – PLP) led by Lucio Cabanas killed ten government soldiers near Acapulco on June 25, 1972. Government troops launched a military offensive against PLP rebels from September to December 1974, resulting in the deaths of some 800 individuals. Left-wing rebels killed 17 government policemen and eight civilians between April 25 and December 1, 1975. Left-wing rebels killed nine individuals near Mexico City on May 6, 1976. Government troops and peasants clashed in Venustiano Carranza on May 11-12, 1976, resulting in the deaths of 58 peasants and two government soldiers. Government police and left-wing rebels clashed near Mexico City on June 4, 1976, resulting in the deaths of six government policemen. Government police and left-wing rebels clashed near Culiacan on June 18, 1976, resulting in the deaths of three rebels and one policeman. Jose Lopez Portillo of the PRI was elected president with 94 percent of the vote on July 4, 1976, and he was inaugurated as president on December 1, 1976. Some 2,000 individuals were killed during the crisis.

Post-Crisis Phase (January 1, 1977-December 31, 1993):  Legislative elections were held on July 1, 1979, and the PRI won 296 out of 300 seats in the Chamber of Deputies. The National Action Party (Partido Accion Nacional – PAN) won four seats in the Chamber of Deputies. Miguel de la Madrid Hutado was elected president with 74 percent of the vote in July 1982.  Legislative elections were held on July 7, 1985, and the PRI won 292 out of 300 seats in the Chamber of Deputies.  Ten individuals were killed in political violence in December 1985 and January 1986.  Carlos Salinas de Gortari was elected president with 50 percent of the vote on July 6, 1988, and he was inaugurated as president on December 1, 1988.  Legislative elections were held on August 18, 1991, and the PRI won 326 out of 500 seats in the Chamber of Deputies. The PAN won 92 seats in the Chamber of Deputies, and the Party of the Democratic Revolution (Partido de la Revolucion Democratica – PRD) won 40 seats in the Chamber of Deputies.

Crisis Phase (January 1, 1994-February 28, 1996):  The Zapatista National Liberation Army (ZNLA) led by Rafael Sebastian Guillen Vicente (Sub-Commandante Marcos) rebelled against the government in the state of Chiapas on January 1-March 2, 1994, resulting in the deaths of some 140 individuals. Luis Donaldo Colosio Murrieta, presidential candidate of the PRI, was assassinated in Tijuana on March 23, 1994.  Legislative were held on August 21, 1994, and the PRI won 277 out of 300 contested seats in the Chamber of Deputies. The PAN won 18 seats in the Chamber of Deputies.  Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de Leon of the PRI was elected president with 49 percent of the vote on August 21, 1994.  The Carter Center/Council of Freely Elected Heads of Government (CC/CFEHG) sent 15 observers headed by Rodrigo Carazo of Costa Rica and Vinicio Cerezo of Guatemala to monitor the elections.  The National Democratic Institute (NDI) and International Republican Institute (IRI) sent 65 observers to jointly observe the elections.  The International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) sent eight observers to monitor the elections on August 17-22, 1994.  Government troops launched a military offensive against ZNLA rebels on February 9, 1995.  Mexican government and ZNLA representatives resumed negotiations on April 21, 1995. Five government police were killed near the town of Cualac in the state of Guerrero on July 7, 1995. Government and ZNLA representatives signed an accord on September 11, 1995. The government and ZNLA agreed to a ceasefire in February 1996. Some 200 individuals were killed during the crisis.

Post-Crisis Phase (March 1, 1996-present):  Popular Revolutionary Army (PRA) rebels killed 13 individuals on August 18, 1996. Negotiations between government and ZNLA representatives were suspended in September 1996.  Legislative elections were held on July 6, 1997, and the PRI won 238 out of 500 seats in the Chamber of Deputies.  Paramilitary troops linked to the PRI killed 45 Zapatista supporters in the village of Acteal in Chiapas on December 22, 1997.  Some 5,200 individuals were internally displaced in northern Chiapas in 1998. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) provided humanitarian assistance to individuals displaced during the conflict on November 3-7, 1998. Three supporters of the ZNLA were killed by Mexican paramilitaries on February 1, 2000. The NDI sent a six-member pre-election assessment mission to Mexico on May 7-12, 2000.  Vicente Fox of the PAN was elected president on July 2, 2000, and he was inaugurated as president on December 1, 2000.  The NDI sent 42 observers from twelve countries headed by Ramiro de Leon Carpio of Guatemala to monitor the presidential election from June 28-July 4, 2000.  The IRI sent 43 observers headed by James Baker of the U.S. to monitor the presidential election. The Carter Center (CC) sent observers headed by Jimmy Carter of the US and Gonzalo Zanchez de Lozada of Bolivia to monitor the presidential election on June 30-July 3, 2000.  Felipe Calderon Hinojosa of the PAN was elected president with 35.9 percent of the vote on July 2, 2006.  Legislative elections were held on July 2, 2006, and the PAN won 206 out of 500 seats in the Chamber of Deputies.  The Party of the Democratic Revolution (Partido de la Revolucion Democratica – PRD) won 127 seats, and the PRI won 106 seats in the Chamber of Deputies.  The EU sent 10 election experts and 66 long-term observers headed by Jose Ignacio Salafranca Sanchez-Neyra of Spain to monitor the elections from June 10, 2006 to September 7, 2006.

[Sources: Associated Press (AP), February 2, 2000, December 1, 2000; Banks and Muller, 1998, 603-610; Bannon and Dunne, 1947, 684-720; Carter Center (CC) press release, June 29, 2000, June 30, 2000, July 3, 2000; Clodfelter, 1992, 676-688, 690-691, 692-693, 1168-1169; Degenhardt, 1988, 235-236; European Union (EU) press release, June 15, 2006; European Union (EU) report, November 23, 2006; European Union (EU) statement, July 3, 2006; Facts on File, September 26-October 2, 1968, October 10-16, 1968, July 23-29, 1970, June 10-16, 1971, December 13, 1975, June 12, 1976, July 10, 1976, July 20, 1979; Foreign Relations of the US (FRUS), 1913, 818-838; International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) press release, November 12, 1998; International Republican Institute (IRI) statement, July 6, 2000; Jessup, 1998, 471-473; Keesing’s Record of World Events, September 19-26, 1970, August 27, 1976, August 1991, January 1994, August 1994, February 1995, April 1995, July 1995, September 1995, December 1997; Langer, 1972, 858-860, 1069-1072, 1241-1242; Marley, 1998, 606-608, 615-633, 642-644; Munro, 1961, 347-385; National Democratic Institute (NDI) press release, May 12, 2000, June 9, 2000, June 23, 2000; National Democratic Institute (NDI) statement, July 3, 2000; New York Times (NYT), July 3, 2006; Reuters, December 23, 1997, December 1, 2000; Robertson, 1943, 451-487; Survey of International Affairs (SIA), 1925 (supplement), 191, 1929, 510; Wright, 1964, 69-78.]