Brief history of Mexico. History of Mexico. three main periods

Tempting with their lifelessness, deserts, canyons, rare roads, cacti are a familiar picture of Mexico for everyone. The history of this country has a history of thousands of years, which was filled with various high-profile discoveries, dramatic events, violence and blood.

The first people began to appear on the territory of modern Mexico approximately 40 thousand years ago. But reliable data on the presence of humans dates back to 12-15 thousand years from the present time.

The first representatives of the country were the Clovis and Folsom cultures. However, the most memorable civilization was the Mayan civilization. They were a very warlike and spiritual people, with a rich culture and amazing development of technology for that time. But no matter how brightly they lived their lives, they suddenly disappeared. For reasons still unexplained.

The next stage in the development of Mexico is the period from 900 to the Spanish invasion. Prominent representatives of this time are the Toltec-Chichimecs (northern barbarians who hunted small game and gathered) and the Aztecs - conquerors of many tribes of Central Mexico.

After the Spaniards learned about the gold-rich Aztec country - Mexico - the attack did not take long to arrive. For a long time, the indigenous people of Mexico were terrorized by the Spanish conquerors, until in 1810, as a result of peasant unrest, the country embarked on the path of struggle for independence for 10 years.

In 1882, Mexico, thanks to Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, rebelled and was declared a republic. In 1824, the country adopted a constitution that described the federal principle of building a state.

During the reign of Mexico, more than 40 presidents were replaced (1824-1857). In addition, several parties were formed in the 30s.

Present-day Texas (US state) was part of Mexico until the residents of this state decided to declare it independent. It gained independence in 1836 and later joined the states, which angered the Mexican government. As a result, a war broke out between the countries, as a result of which Mexico emerged as a loser.

In 1862, Napoleon III attempted to invade Mexico, as a result of which two years later Archduke Maximilian received the crown and by the time of his arrival, 7 of the 24 states were in the hands of the interventionists. Over time, the empire was recognized by several European states. However, due to the growing unrest of the French population and the opposition of Napoleon III, Mexico was abandoned, and Maximilian was shot.

After World War II, Mexico's economy and industry began to grow. The number of jobs increased, there was a stable growth in the gross national product, and an increase in the share of industry in relation to agriculture. However, in the 70s, although oil production increased, the fall in oil prices led to the wholesale nationalization of banks and numerous devaluations of the peso.

During the global financial and economic crisis, the country suffered greatly. The country's debt has increased, GDP has fallen, and revenues from the sale of oil and petroleum products have decreased. As a result, the government took global anti-crisis measures, and the policy of the newly elected Enrique Peña Nieto became oriented toward the United States.

Mexico is a country of ancient civilizations - the Olmecs, Mayans, Toltecs, Aztecs, etc. After the conquest by Spain in the 16th century. Mexico was her colonial possession for nearly three centuries, part of the vast viceroyalty of New Spain. On September 16, 1810, an anti-colonial uprising led by the priest M. Hidalgo began in Mexico. After the defeat of the rebels, the liberation struggle was led by Kh.M. Morelos. On September 28, 1821, the independence of Mexico was proclaimed, and in 1824 a Constitution was adopted, according to which the country became a federal republic. After the War of Independence, Mexico entered a period of military revolts and coups d'état. Taking advantage of its political instability, the United States annexed Texas in 1845 and in 1846-48 seized more than 1/2 of the territory from the country. In 1854-60 there was a civil war in Mexico between liberals and conservatives, which ended in victory for the liberals. In 1859, the government of B. Juarez (1858-72) adopted “Reform Laws” (separation of church and state, nationalization of church property, etc.). In con. 1861 - beginning In 1862, the country was subjected to armed intervention by Spain, Great Britain and France, who came to the aid of the conservatives. In 1863, French troops managed to capture the capital. Mexico was proclaimed an empire. However, as a result of the struggle of the Mexican people, the interventionists, having suffered heavy losses, left the country in 1867. In 1877, the dictatorship of P. Diaz was established in Mexico, closely associated with large landowners, the highest clergy and foreign capital (officially president in 1877-80, 1884-1911). In 1910, a popular movement began against the dictatorship of P. Diaz. It resulted in the Mexican Revolution of 1910-17, in which all levels of society participated, incl. the peasantry - in the liberation armies led by F. Villa and E. Zapata. The revolution ended with the overthrow of the P. Diaz regime. On February 5, 1917, the Constitution was adopted.

The government of President L. Cardenas (1934-40), a representative of the nationalist wing of the National Revolutionary Party, carried out a number of important democratic and socio-economic reforms (agrarian reform, nationalization of railways and the oil industry, restrictions on foreign capital in the electricity sector and banks, creation of the public sector in economics, etc.), which had a significant impact on the development of Mexico.

In subsequent decades until the beginning. 1980s The Mexican government pursued a policy of active state intervention in the economy and strengthening the public sector, which was combined with some reforms in the social sphere based on the ideas of revolutionary nationalism, the “complicity” of entrepreneurs, workers and the state in the interests of national development. This policy ensured successful economic growth in conditions of comparative political stability of the country for many years. However, economic development was accompanied by the merging of the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) with the state bureaucratic apparatus, the strengthening of the influence of large national capital and its connections with TNCs, and the growth of external debt. All this led to the deepening of social contradictions and the radicalization of the masses. In 1968, student performances swept across the country, supported by many sectors of society. On October 2, 1968, a student demonstration was shot with the help of troops in Mexico City.

The Government of Mexico de la Madrid (1982-88), in order to overcome the economic crisis and solve the problems of external debt, made a turn towards an open and modernized economy based on the ideas of neoliberalism. The government's policy of privatization and liberalization caused an acceleration of the processes of inflation, devaluation, rising prices, unemployment and impoverishment of the masses. The opposition became more active. The weakening of the corporate political structure began to take real shape. In 1987, a number of government officials left the PRI and formed the Democratic Current (CD), led by C. Cardenas, the former governor. As a result of the merger of a number of leftist parties, the Mexican Socialist Party (PSM) was formed. In the presidential elections on July 6, 1988, St. 31% of voters. As a result of the general elections, the PRI actually lost its monopoly on power. In 1989, on the basis of the FND - PSM, the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) was formed. The government of C. Salinas de Gortari (1988-94) set a course for accelerating liberal reforms in the economic, social and political spheres on the basis of “social liberalism”. In January 1994, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between Mexico, the United States and Canada came into force. As the social costs of the neoliberal course increased, destabilizing tendencies intensified, incl. in an extremist form. On January 1, 1994, in the state of Chiapas, armed rebels from the so-called. The Zapatista National Liberation Army took over several municipalities, demanding "land, jobs, housing, freedom, democracy, justice and peace." They also opposed NAFTA. In March 1994, presidential candidate from PRI L.D. was killed. Colosio, which extremely destabilized the situation. On September 28, 1994, PRI Secretary General Kh.F. was killed. Ruiz Massieu. In December 1994, a deep financial crisis broke out in Mexico, which was resolved only in 1996. The government of E. Zedillo (1994-2000) continued the course of liberal reforms, however, in the new realities that required the stabilization of society, the main attention began to be paid to democratic reforms in the political sphere . The President initiated the holding of primary elections by all members of the party of presidential candidates, as well as its candidates for the Congress of the Union and for governors. Based on an agreement reached between the president and the leaders of the parties represented in Congress, an electoral law was adopted in October 1996, according to which for the first time in Mexican history. The Federal Electoral Institute became independent from the executive branch in coordinating and financing the electoral process, and mechanisms for conducting transparent and clean elections were created. In 1997-99, in an atmosphere of increased civil society, federal and local elections were held, as a result of which the PRI lost its absolute majority in the Chamber of Deputies. The first elected head of government of the Federal District (capital) was PRD candidate C. Cárdenas. There has been a tendency for a change of power in the country at all levels.

The general elections of July 2, 2000 were a turning point in Mexican history. For the first time in 70 years, the candidate from the opposition PRI “Alliance for Change” (including the National Action Party (PAN) and the Ecological Green Party), Vicente Fox Quesada, was elected president of the country. The PRI lost its monopoly on the post of head of state and its absolute majority in both houses of the Union Congress. The government of V. Fox set a course for liberal reforms based on the idea of ​​“economic humanism” - a combination of market mechanisms with state management in the social sphere - and reform of state institutions. State security structures have been reorganized, an Anti-Corruption Control Department has been created, a law on transparency and a law on the rights and culture of the Indian population, etc. have been adopted. However, economic instability, social inequality and party-political contradictions create difficulties on the path of reform.

Olmec- a mysterious culture that originated on the Gulf Coast. Who are they and where did they come from, how they developed and what language they spoke. Until now, nothing is clear either for archaeologists or historians. What is clear is that at the moment the Olmecs are the first known large social group in Mexico to settle on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico in the territory of modern Veracruz. The only thing left of them is the huge stone heads that they carved from local stone. These stone heads are one of the biggest mysteries of ancient civilization. The Olmecs had two main centers: San Lorenzo, which flourished from about the 12th century to the 9th century BC, and La Venta in Tabasco, which lasted until about the 6th century BC.

Teotihuacan- the largest pre-Columbian city in America. It was built near the modern capital of Mexico, Mexico City, between the 1st century BC. and 7th century AD. The civilization that built it is also called Teotihuacan. She had a great influence on large areas of southern Mexico. The Teotihuacan Empire was overthrown in the 7th century, but the city and its historical ruins live on today.

Mayan- the most brilliant civilization of pre-Columbian America, flourished on the Yucatan Peninsula from the mid-third century - 9th century AD. They compiled a well-known calendar, came up with a writing system, and built cities that acted as centers for the villages surrounding them. The center of the cities was the place for ceremonies and consisted of a square surrounded by high pyramid-temples and lower buildings called palaces. Religion played a major role in Mayan life. The altars were carved with dates, stories, important events and figures of gods. Historians believe that the Mayan civilization was destroyed due to overpopulation and damage to the ecological balance.

The Toltec civilization also played a huge role in the history and formation of the general culture of Mexico. Historians believe that the first Toltecs appeared in central Mexico in the 10th century AD and built the city of Tula, which became home to approximately 30,000-40,000 inhabitants. Tula is located 65 km northwest of Mexico City on the banks of the river of the same name. Some researchers say that the Toltecs made human sacrifices to appease the gods. By order of one of the Toltec kings, Tezcatlipoca, mass sacrifices of captured warriors were made. Many Toltec architectural and ritual structures have been found in the Mayan site of Chichen Itza. Historians believe that the Toltecs fled from these territories to Tula and created their own state there.

Aztecs- the last of the great civilizations of pre-Columbian Mexico. Aztec cities were located on the central plains beginning in the 15th century AD. The Aztecs collaborated with the Toltec and Mayan peoples. This triple alliance won over representatives of small cultural communities. As a result, the Aztec Empire spanned Mexico from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf Coast. At the height of the empire, the Aztecs ruled over 5 million people living over a vast territory. For this purpose, a structure was created consisting of a system of independent units called calpulli. Each unit had its own council, schools, army, temple and land, while paying tribute to the head of the Aztec empire. Influenced by earlier Mexican civilizations, the Aztecs performed religious ceremonies, dance rituals and processions, and made sacrifices.

In 1519 the Spaniard Hernán Cortés reached Veracruz. There is a version that the Aztec king Montezuma II considered Cortes to be the god Quetzalcoatl, who sailed to them from nowhere, taught the Aztecs to write, passed on part of his knowledge, gave maize, which fed all the peoples of South America, showed how to use a cactus as paper, and then sailed away to an unknown destination, promising to return in 1519. And when the Spaniards arrived in Central America at this time, the “bloodthirsty” tribes thought that their God had returned. The Aztec king Montezuma II, the Aztec emperor, invited the conquistador to Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Inca Empire, and this gesture of hospitality had disastrous consequences. In May 1521, Cortés and his followers from other tribes attacked and conquered the Aztecs. Cortés colonized the territory belonging to the Aztecs and named it Nueva España (New Spain). By 1574, Spain controlled much of the Aztec Empire and enslaved much of the local population. Diseases brought to the Yucatan Peninsula by the Spanish devastated the native population of Nueva España, killing an estimated 24 million people between 1521 and 1605.

Since 1523, Catholic missionaries - Jesuits - began to arrive on the Yucatan Peninsula, who built many monasteries and converted millions of people to Catholicism. Throughout the tumultuous existence of Nueva España, colonists who were born in Spain began to clash with the Spaniards who were born in Mexico. They were called Creoles here. During the development of the colony, many Creoles became wealthy and began to demand equal rights with the arriving Spaniards. King Carlos III of Spain feared the ever-growing power of the Catholic Church and in 1700 recalled the Jesuits from Nueva España. After Napoleon Bonaparte's conquest of Spain in 1808, the power of the Spanish colonists in the Yucatan Peninsula was significantly weakened.

Recent history

On September 16, 1810, the parish priest from the city of Dolores, Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, and his full name was Miguel Gregorio Antonio Ignacio Hidalgo y Costilla y Gallaga Mondarte Villaseñor threw out the “Cry of Dolores”, which served as the beginning of the uprising for Mexican independence from Spain. The uprising failed, the leaders and the rebel priest were executed. After their deaths, Jose Maria Morelos took command of the revolutionary army and continued the war for Mexican independence. Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla became a national hero and received the name “Father of the Nation.” In 1822, Mexico was declared a republic, and from that time began a period of endless changes and upheavals: from revolutions to coups, from wars to monarchies, from freedom to colonization and loss of territory, from dictatorships to republics. Only in December 1916, a constituent assembly was convened in the city of Queretaro, which on February 5, 1917 adopted a new constitution for the country, which is still in force. The constitution proclaimed the equality of all citizens, all natural resources were declared the property of the state, an agrarian reform was envisaged with the division of latifundia and the allocation of land to peasants, the church was separated from the state, and its real estate became national property, an 8-hour working day was guaranteed, the right to create trade unions and strikes.

Mexico's population has increased significantly since World War II. But the social equality for which Mexican revolutionaries fought for 150 years never came. The poor are generally unable to improve their socio-economic status. Therefore, speeches, demonstrations and the struggle for national liberation continue in Mexico to this day. In recent years, all foreign-owned factories have been required to provide employment to rural residents. The connection to the US and Canadian economies is significant. One of the main sources of income for Mexicans is tourism. American tourists make up the majority of visitors to the country.

Mexico is attractive because many rural areas of Mexico are still inhabited by indigenous peoples whose way of life has not changed for many centuries. In addition, tourists from many countries around the world go to Mexico to see the ruins of the pre-Columbian civilization that are scattered throughout the Yucatan Peninsula. The buildings of medieval colonial architecture in cities such as Taxco, Puebla, Merida, Morelia, Campeche, Oaxaca, Guanajuato, Cuernavaca, Queretaro, Zacatecas, Veracruz attract attention.

Today, tourism is a major factor in the Mexican economy. People flock to Mexico from all over the world to “plunge” into the country’s cultural diversity, bask on clean beaches near azure waters and spend a relatively inexpensive time, vacation or honeymoon. The beaches of world-famous resorts are still very popular: Acapulco, Puerto Vallarta, Ixtape-Zihuatanejo, Mazatlan, Cancun and Puerto Escondido.

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The history of the land on which the country of Mexico is now located begins tens of thousands of years ago. During this time, the American continent saw the history of human development. I saw the birth of culture, science, creativity, the rise and fall of civilizations. I saw bloody wars that have not stopped since the appearance of man in America until now.

The history of Mexico can be roughly divided into

three main periods.

First begins with the appearance of man on American soil, approximately 50,000 years ago, and lasts until the discovery of the land by Europeans. Let's call this period pre-Columbian. At this time, nomadic tribes that came from Eurasia through the Bering Isthmus began to change their way of life and settled on the American continent. First, the first small villages appear, which will later turn into the largest cities, the capitals of entire civilizations.

The reason for the settlement of nomadic tribes was climate change. The humid climate became drier, which forced the nomads to adapt to new conditions, replacing hunting wild animals with agriculture. The growth of a sedentary population caused territorial conflicts between tribes. Thus allowing the most powerful tribes to grow in territory and become even more powerful. Along with the art of war, the makings of culture and science appeared. To retain water during the dry season, the Indians learned to change river beds and build aqueducts. The first calendar and writing appeared. But the prosperity of Indian civilizations ended with the arrival of Europeans on American soil.

Second the colonial period, starting in 1521. It was a difficult time for the indigenous people of Central America and it lasted exactly 300 years. Until the fierce war for independence from Spain began. During this time, Europeans plundered the remains of the powerful Mayan and Aztec civilizations. They founded the colony “New Spain” on American lands.

The number of Indians in the Spanish colony halved over the first century, which forced the colonialists to stop exterminating and robbing the Indians and move on to their direct exploitation. Taxes began to be collected from Indian communities, and compulsory labor was introduced in mines, plantations and industrial enterprises. The Spaniards used black slaves brought from the African continent as labor. Discontent among Africans and the local population was the cause of numerous riots and insurrections, which later turned into a ten-year war of liberation.

The modern period begins with the liberation of Mexico from the Spanish crown in 1821 and continues today. The colonial burden gave way to numerous coups d'etat, as well as war with the United States and exploitation by the powerful England and France. After the war for Texas with the United States, Mexico lost half of its lands, but that was not the end of its troubles. In 1910, a revolution began in the country, followed by a civil war in 1926. Numerous reforms and economic crises after World War II plague Mexico to this day.

Mexican bourgeois-democratic revolution 1910-1917. although it ended in victory for the working masses, it was an important stage in the people's struggle for democracy and national independence. The constitution adopted in 1917 was anti-feudal and anti-imperialist in nature.

However, the Carranza government in power was not going to follow the principles of the new constitution. The people did not receive true freedom, they did not get rid of poverty and hunger. The agrarian reform promised by the constitution was carried out extremely slowly: by the end of 1919, out of several tens of millions of hectares of land that had been taken away from the peasants, only 123,046 were returned; Only 35,893 people received land, while in the country there were (according to the 1921 census) 2,750 thousand landless peons.

The revolutionary struggle of peasants for land did not stop. In the mountains of Morelos, the partisans of Emnlião Zapata continued to fight, and in the north of the country, the troops of Francisco Villa. Mexican revolutionaries greeted the news of the October Revolution in Russia with delight. “The cause for which revolutionary Mexico and recently liberated Russia are fighting,” Zapata wrote, “is the common cause of all mankind, in which all oppressed peoples have a vital interest.”

On Carranza's orders, regular troops carried out extensive operations against the peasant guerrilla movement. In 1918, Felipe Angeles, chief of staff of Villa's army, was captured and shot; on April 10, 1919, Zapata was treacherously killed (later, in 1923, the reactionaries also killed Villa).

The Carranza government, expressing the interests of the national bourgeoisie, tried to somewhat limit the activities of foreign companies. In February 1918, relying on the constitution, it issued a decree increasing taxes on oil owners, and in July, a decree requiring foreigners to re-register their properties in Mexico.

Foreign monopolies greeted these measures with hostility. The United States of America was especially active in defending its capitalists, who owned 58% of all foreign capital and the Mexican oil industry and about 75% of the capital invested in mining. To conduct the anti-Moxican campaign and prepare a new intervention, a special committee was created headed by Senator Albert Fall, closely associated with the oil monopolies. A serious conflict arose between Mexico and the United States of America.

The internal political situation in Mexico has also worsened. The long civil war and armed interventions carried out by the United States in 1914 and 1916 caused disruption throughout the country's economic life. Severe hardships befell the working class. He selflessly fought for his interests, demanded the implementation of Article 123 of the constitution, which provided for measures to improve his economic situation, but, without revolutionary leadership, he could not achieve success. Carranza's government undertook brutal repressions against the labor movement, banned the activities of the anarcho-syndicalist center - the "House of Workers of the World", and threw its leaders into prison.

The development of the Mexican labor movement was adversely affected by the activities of anarcho-syndicalists and reformists. The betrayal of the anarcho-syndicalists, revealed during the revolution, dealt a blow to their undivided influence on the workers, but the reformists took advantage of this. In May 1918, they created the Mexican Regional Labor Confederation - CROM (Confederation Regional Obrero Mexicana), which became the largest trade union organization in Mexico, uniting the most skilled workers in many industries.

The ROM sought to extend its influence to the entire Mexican proletariat. She established close contacts with the American Federation of Labor and joined the equally reactionary Pan American Federation of Labor, created on the initiative of the latter. CROM leaders, representing the interests of the labor aristocracy, preached class cooperation. Unlike the anarcho-syndicalists, they recognized political struggle, but reduced it to participation in presidential and municipal elections. To this end, the reformists formed the Labor (“Workers”) Party in 1919 and tried to carry out their policies through it.

In addition to CROM, there were other trade union organizations. The oil workers' trade unions remained in the hands of the anarcho-syndicalists. In the trade unions of railway and transport workers, as well as in the trade unions of the capital federal district, the influence of the communists increased.

The first shoots of the communist movement in Mexico appeared shortly after the Great October Socialist Revolution. News of the victory of the revolutionary proletariat of Russia aroused ardent sympathy for the Bolshevik Party among the Mexican workers and advanced intelligentsia. The name of Lenin became widely known in the country, translations of Marxist-Leninist works were published, and Marxist circles arose.

The most revolutionary part of the socialists began to move to the positions of Marxism-Leninism. One of the most prominent figures in the labor movement of these years, Manuel Diaz Ramirez, formed a communist group in Veracruz in 1918. In Zacatecas, the communist group was organized by José Medina, in Guanajuato by Nicolas Cano, and in Mexico City by José Allen. Marxist circles and groups also arose in Orizaba, Tampico and other industrial centers of the country.

In September 1919, a congress of representatives of Marxist circles, communist and socialist groups met in Mexico City. The majority of the delegates, led by José Allen, spoke in favor of joining the Communist International. This is how the Mexican Communist Party was formed.

The printed organs of the Communist Party played a major role in the propaganda of Marxist-Leninist ideas: “Communist”, “New Life”, “Red Dawn”, “Sovet” and other newspapers and magazines. The party fought for the unity of the proletariat, for the unification of trade unions on a revolutionary class platform, took an internationalist position on issues of the international revolutionary movement, and spoke out in support of Soviet Russia.

On November 7, 1920, the Communist Party solemnly celebrated the anniversary of the October Revolution; At the meeting she convened at the Hidalgo Theater in Mexico City, more than 4 thousand workers were present. However, the ideological and organizational weakness of the party prevented the strengthening of its influence on the proletarian masses. A significant part of the workers followed the opportunists, as well as bourgeois leaders who swore allegiance to the principles of the Mexican Revolution.

Back in 1919, a bourgeois-landowner group arose that considered the openly reactionary internal policy of the Carranza government dangerous and proposed to make some concessions to the working people under the banner of a more decisive implementation of the 1917 constitution. The leader of this group was General Alvaro Obregon. In August 1919, he signed a secret agreement with the leaders of the KROM, promising high positions in his future government for supporting the fight against Carranza.

The Obregón group and CROM leaders exploited the hatred of the working masses towards the Carranza government. But they did not want to commit themselves to the people and did not put forward any socio-economic program. The fight against Carranza was limited to the narrow framework of the conspiracy.

The immediate reason for the armed uprising of the conspirators was the sending of troops by Carranza to suppress the strike of railroad workers in the state of Sonora. In April 1920, the leaders of the conspiracy published the “Plan of Agua Prieta” (after the name of a city in Northern Mexico), which stated that national sovereignty belongs only to the people, and Carranza mocks the popular will, interferes in the sovereign affairs of the states, and therefore his power can no longer be admitted.

Obregón moved the armed detachments formed by the PM to the capital. CROM came out decisively on Obregón’s side. CROM Secretary General Lupe Morones traveled to Washington to negotiate with Gompers and other leaders of the American Federation of Labor to provide support for Obregon and recognition of his government by the United States of America in the event of victory over Carranza.

Finding himself in a hopeless situation, Carranza fled the capital in May 1920 and was killed on the way. A rebel army led by Obregon entered Mexico City.

The coup d'etat, however, did not eliminate the country's economic difficulties. Due to the economic crisis in the United States of America, where the bulk of Mexican exports went, the situation in Mexican agriculture has sharply deteriorated.

In particular, the fall in demand for Yucatan jute (henequen), which was entirely exported to the United States of America, led to the cessation of work on jute plantations; thousands of workers were left without income.

Obregón, having assumed the duties of president on December 1, 1920, announced that he would comply with the constitution of 1917, including those articles that restrict the activities of foreign capital. This statement, reflecting the demands of the national bourgeoisie, caused strong opposition from the imperialists.

The imperialist powers refused to recognize Obregón's government. American and British companies curtailed oil production in Tampico and Veracruz. In the largest textile center of the country - Puebla, in the mines in Pachuca, Chihuahua, Durango, Coahuila, Sonora, many thousands of workers were thrown onto the street.

Since the Obregón government did not take effective measures to improve the situation of the working masses, the class struggle intensified. In Yucatan, landless peasants seized the lands of the latifundists and divided them among themselves. In the state of Sonora, miners occupied the mines and tried to establish production on their own.

During the period of the highest rise of the revolutionary struggle, councils were formed in some cities and states (in the state of Coahuila - in the fall of 1920, in the state of Michoacan - in the summer of 1921). These were not organs of the proletarian dictatorship. Nevertheless, their emergence testified to the popularity of the ideas of the Great October Socialist Revolution and reflected the spontaneous aspirations of the Mexican masses to create a power under which land would pass into the hands of peasants, factories into the hands of workers, and the exploitation of man by man would be eliminated.

The Obregón government opposed the revolutionary movement. The Communist Party was subjected to repression. To strengthen the positions of the ruling classes, the government used the schismatic activities of CROM, whose leaders, appointed by Obregón to responsible government positions, helped to disrupt strikes, provided strikebreakers at the disposal of entrepreneurs, etc.

In order to weaken the agrarian movement, the government made some concessions to the peasantry. For 1921-1923 peasants received 600,866 hectares of land for permanent possession and a much larger amount for temporary use.

Although during this reform the interests of large landowners were protected most carefully, it nevertheless weakened the position of the latifundists and strengthened the capitalist elements in agriculture.

In foreign policy, the Obregon government offered some resistance to the imperialists and tried to protect the country's sovereignty. In an effort to strengthen its international position, it moved towards rapprochement with the Soviet Union: in 1923 it ceased to recognize the former representative of the Provisional Government as the Russian consul in Mexico, and in 1924 it established diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union.

In the current situation, the United States of America did not dare to undertake a new armed intervention in Mexico, but they refused to recognize the Obregón government, and the oil monopolies exerted economic pressure on it, sabotaging oil production.

Unable to withstand this pressure, the Obregón government, after lengthy negotiations, agreed to pay compensation to the citizens of the United States of America for the land confiscated from them during the Mexican Revolution; it was also announced that the article of the constitution limiting the rights of foreigners to use the country's natural resources would not apply to companies that acquired property before May 1, 1917, that is, before the constitution came into force.

At the end of August 1923, the United States of America restored diplomatic relations with Mexico.

Nevertheless, the Obregón government's position in the country remained precarious. The masses, having not received satisfaction of their urgent needs, showed discontent. On the other hand, those progressive measures that were carried out by the government aroused strong resistance from large landowners. the top of the bourgeoisie, the Catholic clergy.

By the end of 1923, a reactionary conspiracy against Obregón had matured. The conspirators hoped to take advantage of the discontent of the working people, as well as the help of the British imperialists, who counted on significant privileges if the conspirators won.

In December 1923, the reactionaries rebelled. England supported the rebels. The monopolists of the United States of America, not intending to cede their leading positions in Mexico to their English rivals, provided assistance to the Obregón government.

The reactionary nature of the rebellion was clear to the Mexican people. Workers and peasants opposed the rebels. As a result of their courageous struggle, the rebellion was suppressed.