Historical figures shaped by the Mexican Revolution and their presence in Mexico

¶ … Mexican Revolution has had a profound effect on the country of Mexico. From its culture to its politics and its culture, every aspect of the Mexican society was effected (and still is affected) by the revolution. Although the majority of the historical focus of the revolution is on the men who fought it and led the country during it, the revolution also had a significant impact on Mexican women.

This paper will look at how the Mexican Revolution changed the lives of Mexican women. To do this, the paper will begin with a general overview of the Mexican Revolution. Following that, the lives of two prominent Mexican females, Tina Moddotti and Anita Brenner.

The Mexican Revolution

The Mexican Revolution lasted from approximately 1910 to 1917. Not to be confused with the Mexican War of Independence from Spain, or Mexican War of Independence, the Mexican Revolution was a period of political, social and military conflict and social turmoil commences with the call to arms issued by Francisco I. Madero and included the overthrow of Dictator Porfirio Diaz Mori and the rise and fall of Madero as president. It is estimated that over one million people were killed during the revolution. (McLynn, 2002).

The revolution began during a civil war, in which Mexico was being fought over by various political and armed groups. The revolution began as a rebellion against President Diaz, as the people were against his general political policies, which involved the acceptance of United States intervention with Mexican life and its focus on expanding the Mexican economy into a capitalist system. The revolution was led by a broad cast of revolutionaries, including Francisco Madero, Emiliano Zapata, Pancho Villa, Pascual Orozco and Venustiano carranza. (McLynn, 2002).

The major area of contention with Diaz's reforms were their negative effects on agrarian land owners and rural citizens. Under the Diaz system, laws were implemented that allowed foreign investors to gain title to large sections of land. The goal of the Mexican revolution was to return the taken land back to its Mexican owners. (McLynn, 2002).

III. Women of the Mexican Revolution

One feature of the Mexican Revolution that is unique is the significant and substantial involvement of women. This was unique in that, during the twentieth century, it was not common for women to become involved in military or political issues. Instead, in the Mexican Revolution, many women played an active part in both the politics of the revolution and the actual armed conflicts of the battlefields.

Much of the involvement by women in the Mexican Revolution came from the Zapatistas. Originally the Zapatistas were a revolutionary guerilla movement aimed at liberating the rural south and returning agricultural land to its original Mexican owners. One of the most famous Zapatistas was Pancho Villa. The great majority of Zapatistas were indigenous peasants, but their ranks also included intellectuals and other revolutionaries. (Hammett, 2006).

Because of their ideals, many women were attracted to both becoming involved in and supporting the Zapatistas' movement. One of the main reasons for this attraction was that the majority of the Zapatistas' political ambitions and campaigns were grassroots based, or were usually local, thus making the perfect opportunity for women to be able to aid the Zapatista soldiers from their own towns and homes. (Hammett, 2006).

However, female involvement with the Zapatista movement was not limited to providing aid, as many also acted as soldiers. Even when Zapata first met with President Madero he was accompanied by an entourage of troops, which included many women, some having the rank of officer. Other women became the commanders of various revolutionary bandit groups. The reasons for females joining the ranks of the Zapatistas included retaliation for dead family members or simply to fight for their ideals. (Hammett, 2006).

Women also played a role in the Mexican Revolution outside the Zapatistas movement. Referred to as soldaderas, unlike in the Zapatista front, the majority of revolutionary women were held under the control and shadow of men and thus typically were regulated to the traditional wartime female roles of care givers. However, due to lack of money, many male soldiers would bring their women to the battlefield with them, where they would be put to work as mess and quartermasters and often times even medics. (McLynn, 2002).

The Mexican Civil Code played a great role in limiting the role of women during the revolution. According to the Code, women were restricted to working at home and in the general workplace. The Code also created legal inequalities among women, along with ethic minorities. For this reason, a general revolutionary culture has grown that portrays Mexican women as being timid and passive and thus only minimally contributing to the revolutionary efforts. However, upon a close examination of the role of women in the Mexican Revolution, this is far from the truth. (McLynn, 2002).

Instead, many women were active participants in the Mexican Revolution, a participation that had a profound and essential influence on the direction of the revolution and the formation of the post-revolutionary Mexican society. For example, many women helped shape political policy by acting as robust advocates for equality and other issues.

Further, many women took leadership positions in the fields of politics, philosophy, literature and other societal arenas. (McLynn, 2002).

Two women revolutionaries who had a profound affect on the revolutionary society of Mexico and were profoundly effected by the Mexican Revolution were Tina Moddotti and Anita Brenner. To better understand the role of women during the Mexican Revolution and the surrounding period, it is essential that one understands the individual role played by women. To advance this goal, this paper will use both Moddotti and Brenner as case samples.

Tina Moddotti and Anita Brenner: Two Great Women Revolutionaries

Moddotti, surprisingly, was not Mexican. Nor was she directly involved in the fighting of the revolution or within Mexican society. However, she was a prominent international female figure that was profoundly influenced by the Mexican Revolution, thus serving as an example for the international breadth of the revolution's influence of female thinking. (Albers, 2002).

What Modotti was an Italian photographer, model, silent film actress and notable leftist. Modotti's personal politics of being a bohemian, feminist and liberal were significantly developed as a result of the Mexican Revolution. In her career, she became aquainted with, and often romantically involved with, numerous political radicals and communists, including such Mexican Communist Party leaders as Xavier Guerrero, Julio Antonio Mella and Vittorio Vidali. Her involvement with the Mexican Revolution is best seen in her appearance in numerous murals painted by Diego Rivera. (Albers, 2002).

In 1927 Modotti officially joined the Mexcian Communist Party and thus became more and more politically motivated. Her professional photography work often expounded the ideals of the Mexican Revolution and appeared in such Mexican publications as Mexican Folkways, Forma and the radical El Machete. Her photography in such publications gained her the position as being the photographer of choice for the growing Mexican mural movement, of which focused on painting the revolutionary ideals. (Albers, 2002).

Modotti's work is most closely associated with her work in Mexico, as in 1929 it was publicized as being the "First Revolutionary Photographic Exhibition in Mexico." This revolutionary association eventually led to her being deported from her adopted home of Mexico. (Albers, 2002).

Unlike Modotti, Anita Brenner was a Mexican-born female. Brenner is most famous as being the author of numerous children's literature and books portraying Mexican art and history. Much of her work is focused on capturing and preserving the ideals of the Mexican Revolution, thus ensuring that they remain a part of the Mexican social consciousness. (Ugalde, 2007).