Mexican Revolution

Background Info

• Benito Juarez: the first Mexican leader who did not have a military background, and also the first full-blooded Aboriginal to serve as the President of Mexico and to lead a country in the Western Hemisphere

• Porfirio Diaz: Commonly considered a dictator, he is the President of Mexico for 35 years, with the exception of his temporary resignations. His conservative regime grew unpopular due to repression and political continuity, and he fell from power during the Mexican Revolution
• After his death in 1872, Porfirio Diaz took over as Mexico's leader

The Beginning

After the hostility towards Diaz's rule, Francisco Madero moved into office and became the President of Mexico. Before Election Day, however, Diaz had Madero jailed and then declared a "victory" in the elections.
Madero escaped from jail and spent a short time in San Antonio, Texas. He issued a “letter from jail” following the elections, which he won by a landslide, that called for a revolt. It condemned Diaz for taking office and declared his rule illegal. Madero promised free suffrage and no-reelections. He called for a revolution to begin November 20th, 1910.

The Revolution

Leaders of the 1910 revolt
Madero drew support from many of the citizens, ranging from all over the social hierarchy. After defeating Diaz’s army, Madero took control and began to reform the Mexican government. He welcomed in a democratic government that was semi-controlled by the foreign investors.
The reformation, while starting to make things better for most Mexicans, didn’t go far enough. As a result, one of Madero's supporters broke ranks and formed his own army to demand social reformation for better pay, better working hours and better work conditions. In an unexpected coup d’etat led by the Commander-in-Chief that was appointed by Madero when he took control, the power in Mexico had once again shifted. Madero resigned in 1913 and both he and the vice president were assassinated within a weeks time. Both are remembered as martyrs of the revolution.
There was very little involvement in the Mexican Revolution by the United States.

The End

• Military: the revolution ended with the death of Venustiano Carranza in 1920, and the increasing power of General Alvaro Obregon
• Many believe it ended in 1930, when most of the reformations had happened

Sources:
http://www.mexconnect.com/articles/2824-the-mexican-revolution-1910
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_Revolution
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porfirio_D%C3%ADaz
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benito_Ju%C3%A1rez

La Violencia

La Violencia was a period of civil conflict happening within Columbia from roughly 1948 - 1958, which was fought between between the supporters of the Colombian Liberal Party and the Colombian Conservative Party. Some historians disagree on how this conflict began: some agree that it began in 1946 when the Conservative Party reclaimed government position, while others agree that it began with the assassination of Jorge Eliécer Gaitán, one of the most charismatic leaders of the Liberal Party, as well as a leader of the populist movement in Columbia. As the overwhelming chaos built up during the years of La Violencia, and since the lack of security did not help, an estimated million people had abandoned their homes. Media and news station purposely gave incorrect news coverages, in fear of being attacked. During this time, a vast majority of the population were Catholic. Much of the press reported supporting the Church authorities  for the Conservative Party and included unproved accusations against several priests, such as Miguel Ángel Builes, and the Santa Rosa de Cabal Bishop, about openly encouraging the congregation during Mass to murder the political opposition, accusing them of being Masons and Jews and write Pastoral Letters with the same ideas. Most of the armed groups (called bandoleros, a pejorative term) were demobilized when General Gustavo Rojas Pinilla after he took power in 1953. The most prominent bandolero leaders, Guadalupe Salcedo and Juan de la Cruz Varela signed the 1953 agreement (Salcedo was killed in Bogotá years later, in 1957). The last bandolero leaders were killed in combat against the Army. Jacinto Cruz Usma, A.K.A. Sangrenegra (Blackblood), died in April 1964 and Efraín Gonzáles in June 1965.