Lazaro Cardenas

Paper Summary:

The paper provides an account of Lazaro Cardenas' youth and the situation in Mexico before he came to power. The paper discusses his populist beliefs and how he rose to power and led the country. The paper describes how Cardenas championed the populist-drenched cause of peasants, taking land from the rich and distributing it to the poor. Yet, the paper points out that there are conflicting viewpoints as to his true legacy. The paper concludes that no matter what will be written about him or has already been written about him, he will always remain a key figure in post-revolutionary 20th century Mexico. Certainly, he made life better for many peasants and workers. But his legacy over the long term view of Mexican history is still being debated.

Contents:
Introduction I - Cardenas' Political Evolution and Influence
Introduction II - Cardenas' Seizing of Power and Aspects of his Regime that are Distinctly Populist
How Cardenas is Perceived Today

From the Paper:

"Lazaro Cardenas del Rio was born May 21, 1895, and died of cancer October 19, 1970. According to Wikipedia online dictionary, Cardenas was "born into a lower-middle class family" in the pueblo Jiquilpan, Michoacan, Mexico. He stopped attending grammar school when he was 11 years of age, and provided for his family from age 16 on, due to the death of his father. He worked as a tax collector, a printer's devil and a jail keeper all before he turned 18 years of age.
"He got involved in politics and law enforcement during the period of the Mexican Revolution, after President Francisco Madero was overthrown by Victoriano Huerta. After Plutarco Elias Calles became President, Cardenas, as governor of Michoacan in 1928, "became known for his progressive program of building roads and schools, promoting education, and land reform." He also was known at that time for the "unusually strict honesty" of his governor's administration."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Bantjes, Adrian A. As if Jesus Walked on Earth: Cardenismo, Sonora, and the Mexican Revolution, Wilmington, Scholarly Resources, 1998.
• Becker, Marjorie. Setting the Virgin on Fire: Lazaro Cardenas, Michoacan Peasants, and the Redemption of the Mexican Revolution, Berkeley, University of California Press, 1995.
• Britton, John A. Revolution and Ideology: Images of the Mexican Revolution in the UnitedStates, Lexington, The University Press of Kentucky, 1995.
• Fallaw, Ben. Cardenas Compromised: The Failure of Reform in Postrevolutionary Yucatan,Durham, Duke University Press, 2001.
• Knight, Alan, "Revolutionary Project, Recalcitrant People," in The Revolutionary Processin Mexico: Essays on Political and Social Change, 1880-1940, ed. by Jaime E. Rodriguez O., Los Angeles, UCLA Latin American Center Publications, 1990, 227-264.

More papers on Lazaro Cardenas :

• Research Paper # 119064 : "Lazaro Cardenas and Mexican Populism"
• Comparison Essay # 7563 : "The Consolidation and Dismantling of Authoritarian Rule in Mexico"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: