Porfirian politics in revolutionary Mexico: Venustiano Carranza and the Mexican Revolution, 1859--1913 (Porfirio Diaz).

摘要

This dissertation is a political biography of Venustiano Carranza that covers his life from 1859 to 1913, and it shows that he was a man that belonged to his time, to Porfirian times. Carranza was not extraordinary in that sense. He was, more accurately, exceptional in the sense that he took advantage of extraordinary circumstances to become, first, a local official; then, a regional leader and, finally, the undisputed First Chief of the constitutionalist revolution. This dissertation fills a gap in the historiography by putting Carranza in the context of his own biography, so we can understand the scope of his revolution and its consequences.; The dissertation shows how Carranza started his political career as a rebel, when he participated in the only revolt to succeed in deposing a state governor during the Porfiriato. It shows how he collaborated with the regime and how and why he became part of a reformist group within the Porfirian system: the reyista movement. It analyzes how Carranza took advantage of his opportunities to build a political network, and how he used it to become an important local leader. It explains how he became the link between the reyistas and the antireeleccionistas when Porfirio Díaz denied him the opportunity to become governor and sheds light on his participation in Madero's 1910 revolution. It analyzes his policies during his interim and constitutional governorships and his political project before Madero's assassination. Lastly, it analyzes Carranza's response to the 1913 military coup that deposed Madero and how he became a regional leader, which allowed him to become, later, the undisputed leader of the revolution.