Description
Book SynopsisShows that the period from 1940 up to 1968, generally viewed as a time of social and political stability in Mexico, actually saw instances of popular discontent and wide-scale state repression. This work features the struggles surrounding the Mexican Revolution and contemporary rural uprisings such as the Zapatista rebellion.
Trade Review“[A] nuanced and well-written book. . . . Padilla’s recognition both of the flaws in the single party system and the prolonged resistance to it helps complicate any neat division between an orderly period of industrial growth and relative social peace from 1940-1968, and one of prolonged crisis that followed. This book should be required reading for scholars wishing to think more deeply about such issues.” - Samuel Brunk,
A Contracorriente“This is a concise recapitulation of little-known events during the PRI’s heyday. It is truly a myth-breaker.” - Jeffrey K. Lucas,
Left History“One of the great strengths of this well-written book is that the author places the different periods in the regional history of peasant activism in Morelos— ‘the land of Zapata’—in the wider context of (inter)national developments.” - Wil G. Pansters,
European Review of Latin American and Caribbean Studies“It is tempting to ask whether anything ‘new’ can possibly be added to the ‘new’ cultural history of Mexico, but Padilla delivers. . . . [N]early all of the powerful histories that have transformed our understanding of Mexico in recent years either conclude around 1940 or begin after 1968. This leaves a substantial gap, and Padilla’s book goes a long way to fill it. . . . As nostalgia for the mythical peace of PRI rule gains force in Mexico this year, Padilla’s reminder could not have come at a better time.” - Aaron Bobrow-Strain,
American Historical Review“[
Rural Resistance in the Land of Zapata] is valuable, pioneering. . .significantly advances debate on the fundamental nature of postrevolutionary Mexico.” - Paul Gillingham,
The Americas“
Rural Rebellion is a valuable contribution to our understanding of this less-studied era of Mexican rural history. It is a well-researched and engaging book that should stimulate great interest among scholars of Mexican history, more generally, Latin Americanists and researcher of rural social movements and insurrections.” - Lynn Horton,
Mobilization“
Rural Resistance in the Land of Zapata sets a new standard for historical studies of Mexican social protest and state repression after 1940. Drawing on rich campesino testimonies and state surveillance reports, Tanalís Padilla illuminates the seamy underbelly of the ‘Golden Age’ decades, puncturing any lingering, hegemonic notions of the PRI’s ‘perfect dictatorship.’ More than an engrossing and poignant account of the Jaramillistas’ unremitting electoral and insurgent struggles to compel the Official Party to fulfill its agrarian promises, this volume provides critical insights into the nation’s broader political experience and the dynamic nature of Latin American peasant movements.”—
Gilbert M. Joseph, co-editor of
Everyday Forms of State Formation: Revolution and the Negotiation of Rule in Modern Mexico“
Rural Resistance in the Land of Zapata sets a new standard for historical studies of Mexican social protest and state repression after 1940. Drawing on rich campesino testimonies and state surveillance reports, Tanalís Padilla illuminates the seamy underbelly of the ‘Golden Age’ decades, puncturing any lingering, hegemonic notions of the PRI’s ‘perfect dictatorship.’ More than an engrossing and poignant account of the Jaramillistas’ unremitting electoral and insurgent struggles to compel the Official Party to fulfill its agrarian promises, this volume provides critical insights into the nation’s broader political experience and the dynamic nature of Latin American peasant movements.”—
Gilbert M. Joseph, co-editor of
Everyday Forms of State Formation: Revolution and the Negotiation of Rule in Modern Mexico
“
Rural Rebellion is a valuable contribution to our understanding of this less-studied era of Mexican rural history. It is a well-researched and engaging book that should stimulate great interest among scholars of Mexican history, more generally, Latin Americanists and researcher of rural social movements and insurrections.” -- Lynn Horton * Mobilization *
“[
Rural Resistance in the Land of Zapata] is valuable, pioneering. . .significantly advances debate on the fundamental nature of postrevolutionary Mexico.” -- Paul Gillingham * The Americas *
“[A] nuanced and well-written book. . . . Padilla’s recognition both of the flaws in the single party system and the prolonged resistance to it helps complicate any neat division between an orderly period of industrial growth and relative social peace from 1940-1968, and one of prolonged crisis that followed. This book should be required reading for scholars wishing to think more deeply about such issues.” -- Samuel Brunk * A Contracorriente *
“It is tempting to ask whether anything ‘new’ can possibly be added to the ‘new’ cultural history of Mexico, but Padilla delivers. . . . [N]early all of the powerful histories that have transformed our understanding of Mexico in recent years either conclude around 1940 or begin after 1968. This leaves a substantial gap, and Padilla’s book goes a long way to fill it. . . . As nostalgia for the mythical peace of PRI rule gains force in Mexico this year, Padilla’s reminder could not have come at a better time.” -- Aaron Bobrow-Strain * American Historical Review *
“One of the great strengths of this well-written book is that the author places the different periods in the regional history of peasant activism in Morelos— ‘the land of Zapata’—in the wider context of (inter)national developments.” -- Wil G. Pansters * European Review of Latin American and Caribbean Studies *
“This is a concise recapitulation of little-known events during the PRI’s heyday. It is truly a myth-breaker.” -- Jeffrey K. Lucas * Left History *
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments vii
Introduction 1
1. The Ghost of Zapata 26
2. Jaramillo, Cárdenas, and the Emiliano Zapata Cooperative 55
3. The Agrarista Tradition 85
4. "Like Juárez, with Our Offices on the Run" 108
5. "They Made Him into a Rebel" 139
6. Gender, Community, and Struggle 161
7. Judas's Embrace 184
Conclusion: The Jaramillista Legacy 211
Notes 225
Bibliography 263
Index 279
