![]() ![]() In Texas alone, during the Depression years, as many as 400,000 Mexicans and Chicanos were migrant workers (70% of the total migrant force) traveling back and forth across the state. During the first several decades of the 20th century, Chicanos and Mexicans became 80% of the agricultural workers, 90% of the railroad laborers and 60% of the miners in the entire West. Cotton production spread throughout Texas.Ĭhicano and Mexican workers were the main labor force which developed these industries. ![]() Millions of previously arid acres were turned into orchards, sugar beet fields and vegetable fields. In 1902 the federal government started land reclamation projects and irrigation works which eventually turned much of the Southwest into rich agricultural land. Mining and ranching operations continued to develop, but the greatest growth came in cotton production and agriculture. These migrations coincided with the tremendous expansion of the economy in the Southwest. From about 1910 to 1930 over one million Mexicans entered the U.S. This upheaval and the impoverishment of Mexico set off a great migration of Mexicans across the border to the U.S. An estimated 1 million people lost their lives in a country of 15 million. The struggle in Mexico proved to be long and bloody. ![]() in particular became centers of revolution. The northern provinces bordering on the U.S. The Mexican people demanded “Land and Liberty” and produced revolutionary heroes such as Emiliano Zapata and Francisco “Pancho” Villa. monopolists such as the Hearsts, the Guggenheims and Rockefellers held considerable wealth and power in Mexico.Īll of this caused increased dissatisfaction among the Mexican people and in November 1910, the Mexican Revolution broke out. By 1911 the value of U.S.-owned mines in Mexico was estimated at $223 million, and the British at $44 million. The imperialists stole tremendous wealth from the country. The country fell more and more into debt to foreign governments and banks. Millions of peasants lost their land and became impoverished. In 1884 Porfirio Diaz became president of Mexico and for the next 30 years ruled the country in the interests of the big Mexican landlords and foreign imperialists. (This aspect of Chicano history will be covered mainly in Chapter III.) The Mexican Revolution and the first great migration All of these experiences led to a heightening of the consciousness of the Chicano people and widespread struggle against their oppression. became a significant sector of the working class, and were brutally exploited by the capitalists. Racist campaigns were conducted against the Chicanos. The rise of imperialism also resulted in the intensification of national oppression for the Chicano people in the U.S. The great Mexican revolution of 1910 was directed in part against the Yankee imperialists and involved millions of Mexicans in struggle. Increasing numbers of Mexicans migrated over the border to survive. investments in the country controlled its economic life and, along with domestic reaction, contributed to the ruin of millions of Mexican peasants. imperialists steadily tightened their grip over Mexico. imperialism in the late 19th century had a profound effect upon the Chicano people.įor one thing, the U.S. The Chicano people from 1900 to the present League of Revolutionary Struggle (Marxist-Leninist) The Struggle for Chicano Liberation The Struggle for Chicano Liberation, The Chicano people from 1900 to the present Encyclopedia of Anti-Revisionism On-Line ![]()
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