Mexico Essay

At the end of the nineteenth century Mexico was experiencing not the best times in its history. In 1872 the former governor, Benito Juarez died, and the power went to Porfirio Diaz. Diaz had a strong ambition and took the position of Mexican president in 1876. In fact, he showed to be rather effective in providing reforms and improvements in industry and economic modernization, but the methods he chose caused great discontent among population. On the whole, he was a rather controversial politician and left a lot of space for debates. First of all, in spite of his own speculations and enforcements against re-election, he abused his position and served for seven terms or so. People were forced to vote for him and when even the blackmail was not effective, he simply rigged the votes on favor. Further, the reforms he provided under the watchword “Order followed by Progress” were made on the expense of civil rights and freedoms and virtually lacked liberal core. Farmers as well as workers vastly involved in roads and factories building and farmland improvements were persistently exploited and deprived of minimal social guarantees. Above all, all the welfare comforts, finance and education privileges were concentrated in the hands of a narrow circle of nobility while ninety five percent of population were landless. For his strict, firm and rigid methods, he was recognized as a dictator and caused vast public masses to revolt against his rule called Porfiriato. The need for change of the regime was felt strongly, and this is how the Mexican Revolution began. There were a lot of conflicts through it; the power was gained by and taken away from Diaz, Madero, Orozco, Huerta, Carranza, Villa, and Zapata, but that was an unprecedented struggle for democracy. And although it was not the lightest page in the history of the state, these events contributed significantly to the image of heroic past of Mexican nation.
The age of liberation opened a lot of new names to the public. Among them was an outstanding poet and critic Antonio Castro Leal (1896 – 1981). He has lived a long life full of diversity and merits. At least, the National Autonomous University of Mexico gave the degree of doctor of law to him. His Philosopher’s Degree was reached in the United States, in Georgetown University, Washington, D. C. if to be more specific. However, he did not stop at the law to make it the deal of his life. Instead of that he chose journalism and soon after joining the Generation of 1915, he became a skillful critic, storywriter, poet and essayist. Especially he became known for writing prologues and analysis of numerous works of Mexican authors who represented the new generation in the early twentieth century. In his own work, he was greatly influenced by the English writers and followed them in many terms. Modern Mexican poetry which dealt much with the events of the Mexican Revolution, its liberal spirit and controversial ideas received impressive analysis and edition from Antonio Castro.
In the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) he worked as a rector during 1929 and dealt much with student strikes then eventually compelled him to resign. Further on, Castro Leal was appointed the Director of Fine Arts in the City of Mexico, being inaugurated in 1934. Castro was the first director of the Mexican Department of the Porrua publishing company and the Palacio de Bellas Artes. What is more, from 1949 to 1954 he represented Mexico as an ambassador in Paris, and also he was a responsible member of the executive board for UNESCO. After that respectful service, he returned to Coyocan, the suburb of the Mexico City and stayed there for the rest of his life. After his return, Castro managed to enhance his fruitful activities. He founded and directed the Revista de Literatura Mexicana.
At the same time, small town of Coyocan became the place of birth of another outstanding personality of the twentieth century, Frida Cahlo (1907 – 1954). Though she was born in 1907, she used to present her birth date as July 7, 1910 in order to make it coincide with the Mexican Revolution and to make everyone associate her with this great event in the national history. Incomparable painter, she lived a life full of pain and struggle, and has become truly a person whose biography can inspire anyone. Born to German and Amerindian-Spanish, she received a curious mixture of blood that probably formed her beauty, rebellious character and unsurpassed genius. Aged six, she fell ill with polio, and as a result her right leg developed worse than left and became much thinner than the other one. She skillfully disguised this defect by bright, colorful skirts. Besides, despite her physical constraints (probably spina bifida in particular) she was an active sportsman and succeeded in different kinds of sports. She was going to become a doctor, but at the age of 18 she got into a frightening car accident. The bus she was riding once in 1925 collided with a trolley car and brought a lot of injuries to Frida. Her spinal column, collarbone, ribs and pelvis were broken; her right foot and shoulder were dislocated and, what is even more depressing, her uterus was pierced with an iron handrail and deprived her of reproductive function. Three times she was pregnant, but none was successful. After the accident she spent three months in hospital in a full-body cast, with endless extreme pain and attacks. She had to leave the idea of medicine. Instead, she fell in love with painting. Being so much alone and immobilized, she painted self-portraits with the help of a special easel as it was the object she new as good as nothing else. She had to go through thirty five operations, but she never gave up and managed to live a full life.
In 1929 she married to Diego Rivera, another famous painter whom she admired strongly. Their marriage was full of conflicts as both were impulsive and irritable; both were unfaithful and jealous. In 1939 they got divorced, but reunited the following year. Though she was almost unnoticed by that time, one of her paintings, The Frame was bought by the Louvre and “this was the first work by a twentieth century Mexican artist that was purchased by the renowned museum” (Cruz 138).
Health problems never left her, and at the age of 47 she died of pulmonary embolism. Contrary to the official version, there were suppositions that the reason of her death was intentional overdose. The latter would be reasoned while she had unbearable sufferings. By that time her right leg was already amputated at the knee and developed gangrene worsened by the bout of bronchopneumonia.
Though she was almost ignored by her contemporaries as a painter, in 1980s she was recognized properly and became the emblem of her time, of the Mexican indigenous tradition she reopened to her followers. Her works were referred to as Naпve art, surrealism and folk art apparent in her treatment of bright paints and dramatic symbolism she used in a masterly fashion. This style was later celebrated as Neomexicanismo typical, apart from Kahlo, for Abraham Angel and Angel Zarraga. Furthermore, she is appreciated for the way she combined classic religious motives of Mexican tradition with surrealist tropes.
Especially she received a great respect from feminists as by her own life as well as her works she announced a lot of new facets of woman’s fate and inner world. It is hard to find any other woman who would know more about pain, not only physical, but moral as well, which was constantly strengthened by her beloved husband and other miscarriages. Her physical and psychological wounds were absolutely her “own reality.” As she described it herself, she was always surrounded by female, including her mother and sisters. Further, she became famous for her free sexual relations with both men and women. It was not only and not so much her need, as a politically motivated action to prove that she was free to choose partners herself with no regard to any social norms and subscriptions. She opened the new view of specific female tortures no one used to care about and in this way her life was highly influenced by the movement for women rights. Apparently, she influenced this movement herself even to a greater extent.
In the middle of the twentieth century Mexico received one more active fighter for women rights. It was Adolfo Ruiz Cortines (1890 – 1973). In early age, he entered school guided by Joacquin Jeronimo Diaz and Florencio Veyro. There was quite progressive atmosphere, and it is here where he imbibed the liberal ideas and moods. He studied accounting in the Instituto de Veracruz, but could not continue his study at the university because he had to start for a job in order to support his family. As early as in 1909 he read the book written by Francisco I. Madero against the presidential reign of General Diaz. Having read this book, Cortines felt even stronger interest in politics. In 1912 he moved to the City of Mexico, just the year when President Madero was assassinated and power went to Huerta. Cortines joined the command of Alfredo Robles to fights against Huerta.
Having made a brilliant military career, in 1935 Adolfo was proposed the position of the director in charge of Mexico City. This is how his long political career began. Further, he was designated a candidate for the government of Veracruz. In 1944 he took the position and started the reforms he planned. They embraced public education, infrastructure and women suffrage. He established the Technical Studies Institute and the Institute of Anthropology to assist both practical advancement of students and the development of scientific work. Then, he reformed the laws which affected female participation in local and municipal elections.
To go on, in 1951 Cortines was elected for presidency from the Institutional Revolutionary Party. His merits cannot be overestimated in any way. He made a stress on the development of sea resources and coastal zones (the campaign that received the name “March to the Sea”); fought away with malaria and led immunization campaign to improve the health of the Mexicans; created the Rural Social Welfare Program improving living conditions of common citizens and amended the Article 34 which restricted women political rights. Furthermore, he fought for transparency and accountability of power. For instance, all the servants were to declare their assets before taking a position and then those numbers were compared with the assets after being in power. That was a way to combat corruption. State budget experienced surplus for the first time, the inflation was restrained. As for foreign policy, President Cortines didn’t agree to take part in any international war conflicts, therefore the state had cold relations with the United States at that time; instead, he was conservative and moderate in many issues. After all, his popularity had to go down, but he lived a long, saturated life and died in 1973 because of a heart failure. By that time he managed to do a lot for his nation and left a respectful political legacy for his progenies.
All in all, all of these three prominent figures, Antonio Castro Leal, Frida Kahlo and Adolfo Tomas Ruiz Cortines, each in his or her own way, were influenced by the revolutionary events rocking Mexico in the first half of the twentieth century and being as sensitive to them as barometers responded with dignity and made their own impact on further historical shifts.