Mexico History & Literature: A Closer Look

Mexico History & Literature

I. Two civilizations merge to form the Olmec civilization - 2000 b.c. Highlands: elaborate class structure, advanced architecture, settled Lowlands: primitive aboriginal group Social structure based on theocracy Priests acted as representatives of the gods; (distributed land, sponsored trade)

The Olmec civilization settles in the Maya highland of southern Mexico (Mayans) Peaceful until about 750 A.D. Fall of capital city of Teotihuacan and other Mayan centers By 900, the golden age of pre-Columbian civilization ends

II. Toltec Centered around the city of Tula People were more militaristic and warlike Society was organized around rigid government control and human sacrifice By the 13th century the Toltecs had dispersed.

III. Aztec (Mexica) Came into power in the 15th century Centered around the capital of Tenochtitlan Pyramid structure of power with the warriors and priests on top Servile classes: free peasants and mostly serfs lived under strict rule Chief God of the Aztecs was Huitzilopochtli, god of sun and war Quetzalcoatl: Serpent god of arts and morality According to legend, when Quetzalcoatl returns to earth this will end the Aztec Civilization

IV. The arrival of the Conquistadors Soldiers, explorers under Francisco de Cordoba reached the Yucatan Peninsula in 1517 Hernan Cortes conquered the Aztecs in less than 3 years (1519) pretending he was the god Quetzalcoatl and using superior technology Pedro de Alvarado conquered Guatemala and El Salvador in 1523-1524 Spain and the Roman Catholic Church rule Mexico after the fall of the Aztecs The Aztec sacred book the Popol Vuh is saved by sympathetic Franciscan friars

V. Decline to Independence: 17th century economy collapses due to disease and poor living conditions

By 1700, little more than 1 million Indians survived. By 1800, the population grew to about 6.5 million (about 42% Indian, 18% Caucasian, 38% Mestizo or mixed). A series of uprisings leads to independence under Agustin de Iturbide in 1821. Replaced by a republic under the leadership of Guadalupe Victoria a year later, 1822.

During the Age of Santa Anna (1823-1855) chaos reigned; governments rose and fell Liberals representing free trade modeled a Mexican Nation on the U.S. Conservatives were supported by the army and Mexico City. Both turned to the church to alleviate money problems.

Mexican War with the U.S. occurs in 1846 (Mexico loses half its territory to U.S.) Santa Anna returns to power in 1853 and sells Arizona to U.S. for $10 Million Liberals force the Church to sell most of its land and distribute this to the peasants.

Liberals create a new constitution in 1857 which causes the War of Reform (1858-61)


Porfirio Diaz seizes power in 1876, becomes president from 1877-1880 and 1884-1911 Civil wars ended, banditry disappeared, new highways, railroads, steel, telegraph lines, etc. created during Diaz’ presidency.

Urban and rural masses remain poor; elections rigged; creates revolution in 1910 Francisco Madero is overthrown by Victoriano Huerta who is replaced by Venustiano Carranza.

Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata organize the peasants and cowboys, create a civil war in 1914.

U.S. sides with Carranza. Zapata murdered (1919), Villa surrenders (1920) The National Revolutionary Party (PNR) creates political peace by destroying the opposition Governments become corrupt during the 1930’s Gen. Lazaro Cardenas becomes president in 1934, replaced by Manuel Avila Camacho in 1940 who is replaced by Aleman Valdes.

Continuing problems with the poor create the student strike of 1968 during Gustavo Ordaz’s presidency, replaced by Luis Alvarez, then Jose Lopez Portillo. By 1990 Mexico begins a free-trade agreement with the U.S. and Canada, ratified in 1993, but even this causes rebellion from the Zapatista National Liberation Army 1995, Mexican Banking Crisis – bailed out by the U.S. Government; Mexican economy slowly recovers.

• 1996 - The insurgency in the south escalates as the leftist Popular Revolutionary Army (EPR) attacks government troops.
• 1997 - The PRI suffers heavy losses in elections and loses its overall majority in the lower house of parliament for the first time since 1929.
• 1997 December - 45 Indians killed by paramilitary gunmen in a Chiapas village. The incident causes an international outcry, President Zedillo starts an investigation.
• 1998 January - Governor of Chiapas resigns. Peace talks with the rebels are reactivated, but break down at the end of the year.
• 2000 July - Vicente Fox of the opposition Alliance for Change wins presidential elections, the first opposition candidate ever to do so. Parliamentary elections see the Alliance for Change emerge as the strongest party, beating the PRI by just over 1%.
• 2000 December - Vicente Fox is sworn in as president.
• 2001 March - Zapatista guerrillas, led by Subcomandante Marcos, stage their 'Zapatour', a march from Chiapas to Mexico City to highlight their demands.
• 2001 April - Parliament passes a bill increasing the rights of indigenous people. A few days later, Subcomandante Marcos rejects the bill, saying it leaves the Indian population worse off than before. Marcos says the uprising in Chiapas will continue.
• 2001 November - President Fox appoints a prosecutor to investigate the disappearance of left-wing activists during the 1970s and 1980s.
• 2002 March - Roberto Madrazo wins the contest to lead the PRI, which governed for 71 years until 2000.
• 2002 June - Millions of secret security files are released, shedding light on the torture and killing by security forces of hundreds of political activists in the 1960s and 1970s. President Fox says his government is not afraid to pursue prosecutions.
• 2002 July - Former President Luis Echeverria is questioned about massacres of student protesters in 1968, when he was interior minister, and in 1971 when he was president.
• 2002 September - Three army officers are charged with first-degree murder over the killings of 134 leftists in the 1970s.
• 2004 July - Investigator deems 1971 shooting of student protesters by government forces to have been genocide; judge refuses to order arrest of former President Luis Echeverria on charges that he ordered attack.
• 2005 January - Six prison officers are murdered and top-security jails are put on high alert amid escalating tension between the authorities and drug gangs.
• 2005 April - Political furor as Mexico City mayor and presidential favorite Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is stripped of his immunity from prosecution by Congress in a land dispute. The government eventually abandons the prosecution.
• 2006 February - A federal post of special prosecutor is created to tackle violent crime against women. Mexico had been criticized by the UN and rights groups over the unsolved murders of more than 300 women over 12 years in the border city of Ciudad Juarez.
• 65 miners are killed in an explosion at a coal mine in Coahuila state. President Fox orders an investigation.
• 2006 July - Conservative candidate Felipe Calderon is declared the winner of presidential elections with a razor-thin majority over his leftist rival, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who challenges the result with mass street protests. The Federal Electoral Tribunal confirms Mr Calderon's win in September.
• 2006 October - US President George W Bush signs legislation to build 1,125km (700 miles) of fencing along the US-Mexico border. Mexico condemns plans for the barrier, which is intended to curb illegal immigration.

Mexican Film:
1. Go to Youtube and search for these directors. Take a look at a few of their clips:
• Luis Bunuel
• Gael García Bernal
• Salma Hayek
• Alfonso Cuarón
• Alejandro González Iñárritu
• Guillermo del Toro
• Eduardo Barraza

Writing Task: Choose any historical, mythological, or note inspired from the above notes and research the topic to create a creative piece. Your creative piece is due Monday, Feb. 6.