Sounding the Mexican Nation: Intellectuals, Radio Broadcasting, and the Revolutionary State in the 1920s

Abstract

This essay examines early radio broadcasting in 1920s Mexico. I particularly focus on the competing intellectuals involved in shaping Mexico City broadcasting, and how the incorporation of these varying artists, writers, and technicians shaped business practices, the Mexican state, and nationalism in the revolutionary era. It appeared to some intellectuals that radio would bring about a more open, democratic society that embraced an exciting, globally-connected future. To others, radio represented a static-filled future of cheapened culture and imitation that would remain a knock-off, but perhaps that could assist in the “civilization” of Mexico. Foreshadowing Mexico's increasingly multicultural future, early radio broadcasters managed to settle on nothing and accommodate all. Likewise, instead of enforcing their own vision for broadcasting, officials of the new revolutionary government embraced the contending perspectives. They pursued this path because of their own inability to enforce their will and, subsequently, as an attempt to incorporate outside forces shaping broadcasting into the state apparatus. Despite the sometimes contradictory projections that resulted, the inclusion of diverse but popular intellectuals ensured that the growth of Mexican broadcasting mirrored and reinforced the new political-economic order.