Early years of a border town: a micro-revisionism of Mexicali and his spatial and institutional stability, 1903-1915

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to review the history of the emergence of Mexicali from evidence not contemplated by conventional explanations. According to this, its first 12 years of existence (between 1903 and 1915) were analyzed to establish a revisionism on a microscopic scale and thus observe how rebellions and continuous criminal attacks never broke the stability of the town, in the sense of maintaining a balance between private property and national sovereignty. Based on theoretical-methodological perspectives of microhistory, new institutionalism and the everyday forms of state formation, were also reviewed the main hydraulic and transport infrastructure works that irreversibly transformed the region are also reviewed, as well as the strengthening of the military authorities in the midst of the Mexican revolution. To conclude, border areas are ideal spaces for observing national processes.