Patriotism, Politics, and Popular Liberalism in Nineteenth Century Mexico: Juan Francisco Lucas and the Puebla Sierra. GUY P. THOMPSON with DAVID G. LA FRANCE: Wilmington: Scholarly Resources, 1999.

Abstract

The mountainous regions of Mexico's central state of Puebla seethed with political contentiousness and social rebellion through much of the nineteenth century on through the Revolution of 1910. Liberal ideals unleashed by the national government's intention to create a modern nation-state, foreign military intervention, and civil war combined with the area's caciquismo, traditional village feuding, and social and racial inequities to fuel the unrest which reflected the tensions, streets, and uncertainties that existed throughout the country. Waves of change not only battered traditional arrangements and behavior but opened immense gaps of opportunity for those who sought to escape the old entanglements and to better their lives as they saw fit.