Francisco Madero And The Mexican Revolution

In 1910 Francisco Madero emerged as a presidential candidate to challenge Diaz and his abusive policies. Diaz had Madero thrown in jail but this did not stop Madero’s uprising. He wrote a letter from jail that discredited Diaz’s regime and called for a revolt against him. Madero created the Plan of San Luis Potosi in which he called upon Mexicans to take up arms against Dias to save “the country from the gloomy future that awaits under his (Diaz’s) dictatorship…and if we permit him to continue in power… they will have caused bankruptcy of our finances and the dishonor of our country.” His plan promised land reforms and offered hope for disadvantaged Mexicans. The idea of land reforms attracted many peasants throughout Mexico and rebellions against Diaz arose. …show more content…
But farmers, miners, and other working class Mexicans as well as the country’s indigenous population also joined in the fight against Diaz due to two revolutionaries, Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata. Villa was a rebel leader in the north of Mexico who represented the middle class, peasants, and working class people during the revolution. While Villa is known as the most notorious and controversial figure of the revolution, Zapata became the icon of the Mexican Revolution. Zapata’s image, “broad sombrero and black mustache, cartridge belts across his chest, riding a white stallion” caused him to be the face of the revolution. He led groups of peasant guerillas in the fight against Diaz by his promise of rapid redistribution of