“I Go to Fight for Social Justice”: Children as Revolutionaries in the Mexican Revolution, 1910–1920

Abstract

The Mexican Revolution of 1910 was the explosive culmination of decades of economic transformation under the modernization program of Porfirio Díaz. Governmental policies intended to “modernize” Mexico led to tragic results for the majority of the population, especially the rural poor. Paradoxically, along with its often indiscriminate violence and destruction, the revolution also served as a creative force, planting in the era's children, for instance, the seeds of a deeply held belief in social justice. The youngsters shared with their elders a sense that the revolution would ultimately bring about a more just and equitable society. In addition, the revolution left a legacy of symbols and myths that constructed a national archetype—the child as revolutionary and the revolutionary as child.