Cárdenas Compromised: The Failure of Reform in Postrevolutionary Yucatán

Cardenas Compromised is a political and institutional history of Mexico's urban and rural labour in the Yucatan region during the regime of Lazaro Cardenas, 1934-1940. Drawing on archival materials, both official and popular, Fallaw combines narrative, individual case studies, and focused political analysis to re-examine and dispel long-cherished beliefs about the Cardenista era. For historical, geographical, and ethnic reasons, Yucatan was the centre of large-scale land reform after the Mexican Revolution. A longstanding revolutionary tradition, combined with a harsh division between a powerful white minority and a poor, Maya-speaking majority, made the region the perfect site for Cardenas to experiment by launching an ambitious top-down project to mobilise the rural poor along ethnic and class lines. The regime encouraged rural peasants to form collectives, hacienda workers to unionise, and urban labourers to strike. It also attempted to mobilize young people and women, to challenge Yucatan's traditional, patriarchal social structure, to reach out to Mayan communities, and to democratise the political process. Although the project ultimately failed, political dialogue over Cardenas's efforts continues. Rejecting both revisionist (anti-Cardenas) and neo-populist (pro-Cardenas) interpretations, Fallaw overturns the notion that the state allowed no room for the agency of local actors. By focusing on historical connections across class, political, and regional lines, Fallaw transforms ideas on Cardenismo that have long been accepted not only in Yucatan but throughout Mexico. This book will appeal to scholars of Mexican history and of Latin American state formation, as well as to sociologists and political scientists interested in modern Mexico.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments ix Introduction 1 1 Agrarian Cardenismo, THe Rise of the CGT, and the Fall of Governor Alayola, 1934-1935 15 2 Left-Cardenismo and the Lopez Cardenas Administrations, 1935- 1936 38 3 Cardenismo in Crisiss: Gualbertismo, the Falal of Lopez Cardenas, and the Rise of the Official Camarilla 59 4 The Crusade of the Mayab: Cardenismo from Above 80 5 Alliance Failed: Cardenas, Urban Labor, and the Open Door Election of 1937 97 6 The Retreat of Cardenas: The Great Ejido Plan and the New Political Equilibrium in Yucatan 125 7 Cardenas Compromised: Cardenismo's Legacy in Yucatan 158 Notes 169 List of Abbreviations 201 Bibliography 205

About the Author :
Ben Fallaw is Assistant Professor of History and Latin American Studies at Colby College.

Review :
"Fallaw presents a great deal of new information on the history of the key state of Yucatan during the decisive years of the 1930s, when Mexico underwent profound political and social reform. Those working on Mexican revolutionary history will find this book invaluable. Broadminded political scientists will find the analysis illuminating, as well" - Alan Knight, author of The Mexican Revolution