State Governors in the Mexican Revolution, 19101952
Portraits in Conflict, Courage, and Corruption
Edited by Jürgen Buchenau, William H. Beezley
Publication date:
16 March 2009Length of book:
220 pagesPublisher
Rowman & Littlefield PublishersISBN-13: 9780742557703
This unique book traces Mexico's eventful years from 1910 to 1952 through the experiences of its state governors. During this seminal period, revolutionaries destroyed the old regime, created a new national government, built an official political party, and then discarded in practice the essence of their revolution. In this tumultuous time, governors—some of whom later became president—served as the most significant intermediaries between the national government and the people it ruled.
Leading scholars study governors from ten different states to demonstrate the diversity of the governors' experiences implementing individual revolutionary programs over time, as well as the waxing and waning of strong governorship as an institution that ultimately disappeared in the powerful national regime created in the 1940s and 1950s. Until that time, the contributors convincingly argue, the governors provided the revolution with invaluable versatility by dealing with pressing issues of land, labor, housing, and health at the local and regional levels. The flexibility of state governors also offered test cases for the implementation of national revolutionary laws and campaigns. The only book that considers the state governors in comparative perspective, this invaluable study offers a fresh view of regionalism and the Revolution.
Contributions by: William H. Beezley, Jürgen Buchenau, Francie R. Chassen-López, Michael A. Ervin, María Teresa Fernández Aceves, Paul Gillingham, Kristin A. Harper, Timothy Henderson, David LaFrance, Stephen E. Lewis, Stephanie J. Smith, and Andrew Grant Wood.
Leading scholars study governors from ten different states to demonstrate the diversity of the governors' experiences implementing individual revolutionary programs over time, as well as the waxing and waning of strong governorship as an institution that ultimately disappeared in the powerful national regime created in the 1940s and 1950s. Until that time, the contributors convincingly argue, the governors provided the revolution with invaluable versatility by dealing with pressing issues of land, labor, housing, and health at the local and regional levels. The flexibility of state governors also offered test cases for the implementation of national revolutionary laws and campaigns. The only book that considers the state governors in comparative perspective, this invaluable study offers a fresh view of regionalism and the Revolution.
Contributions by: William H. Beezley, Jürgen Buchenau, Francie R. Chassen-López, Michael A. Ervin, María Teresa Fernández Aceves, Paul Gillingham, Kristin A. Harper, Timothy Henderson, David LaFrance, Stephen E. Lewis, Stephanie J. Smith, and Andrew Grant Wood.
With its well-conceived chronological coverage, it would be useful in undergraduate courses. Specialists in modern Mexican history should take note as well.