Classmate #1 response
Political violence after the Revolution continued on many different occasions in the decades after the Mexican Revolution. Small scale rebellions were not uncommon at all in this time period much like in the past. Perhaps the best example of this is the Cristero War where the peasants of Mexico rose up and conducted guerilla warfare for years across Southwest Mexico. These rebels were fighting against the anti-Catholic laws that the new government was putting in place to make Mexico more secularized. Violence in politics continued to be used by the government just as it had in the past. Assassinations were common well after the formation of the new government. This can be seen when “General Luis Vidal, served as his interim gubernatorial replacement. On October 4, Luis Vidal was taken prisoner by federal forces along with other prominent Vidal allies in the state. All were court martialed and executed. In this case, General Manuel Alvarez Rbago testified that Calles ordered the executions” (Osten Page 178). While violence remained, heritage changed. Perception of heritage during this time period changed a great deal. Newfound emphasis was placed on Mexico being a Mestizo nation and its indigenous roots were highly celebrated. With the rise of respect for native culture, “sites like Teotihuacan thus performed a dual function: their excavation and celebration reinforced Mexicos ancient cultural heritage” (Knight Page 301). While the use of violence in politics did not see drastic change with the ushering in of the new government, the perception of Mexican heritage shifted immensely.
Classmate #2 response
By 1927 the Mexican government was confronted with a dispute with the United States over the Mexican oil policies and ongoing armed uprisings in the center-west by Cristeros and in the north by the Yaqui (Olsen 181). After doing the research required by the annotation assignment this week, I learned that The Yaqui are Native American people who originally lived in the valley of the Ro Yaqui in the northern Mexican state of Sonora. During this time period, there was federally imposed mass deportation from their homelands, which resulted in the revolt and uprisings. This is similar to Chassen-Lpezs example of The Juchitan, who clearly stated their demands for communal access to their local salt flats (Chassen-Lpez 327). The Juchitecos resisted the changes and ignored prohibitions to access their salt and pasture lands. These acts of defiance, which included land invasion, land occupation, embargo or stealing of livestock, and engaging in contraband(Chassen-Lpez 333). Heritage was unlike political violence as it transformed into a massive part of society following the revolution. Knight highlights two primary figures that caused the resurgence of Mexican culture and contributed countrys brilliant cultural renaissance in the 1920s and beyond, not least by emphasizing Mexicos Indian past and present (299).
