Magonism () is an anarcho-communist, school of thought precursor of the

Mexican Revolution The Mexican Revolution () was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from 20 November 1910 to 1 December 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It saw the destruction of the Federal Army, its ...

of 1910. It is mainly based on the ideas of

Ricardo Flores Magón Cipriano Ricardo Flores Magón (; known as Ricardo Flores Magón; September 16, 1874 – November 21, 1922) was a Mexican anarchist and social reform activist. His brothers Enrique Flores Magón, Enrique and Jesús Flores Magón, Jesús were ...

, his brothers Enrique and Jesús, and also other collaborators of the Mexican newspaper '' Regeneración'' (organ of the Mexican Liberal Party), as Práxedis Guerrero, Librado Rivera and Anselmo L. Figueroa.

Relation to anarchism

The Mexican government and the press of the early 20th century called as ''magonistas'' people and groups who shared the ideas of the Flores Magón brothers, who inspired the overthrow of the dictatorship of

Porfirio Díaz José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori (; ; 15 September 1830 – 2 July 1915) was a General (Mexico), Mexican general and politician who was the dictator of Mexico from 1876 until Mexican Revolution, his overthrow in 1911 seizing power in a Plan ...

and performed an economic and political revolution. The fight against tyranny encouraged by the Flores Magón contravened official discourse of '' Porfirian Peace'' by which the protesters were rated as the ''Revoltosos Magonistas'' (i.e. "Magonist rioters") to isolate any social basis and preserve the image of peace and progress imposed by force. Both of Flores Magón's brothers, like other members of the Mexican Liberal Party (PLM), used the term ''magonista'' to refer to the libertarian movement that they promoted. As they felt they were fighting for an ideal and not to elevate a particular group to power, they called themselves "liberals", as they were organized in the PLM, and later "anarchists".

stated: "Liberal Party members are not magonistas, they are anarchists!". In his book ''Verdugos y Víctimas'' ("Executioners and Victims"), one of the characters responds indignantly when he is arrested and judged: "I'm not a magonist, I am an anarchist. An anarchist has no idols.". Magonist thinking was influenced by anarchist philosophers such as Mikhail Bakunin and Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, and others such as Élisée Reclus, Charles Malato, Errico Malatesta, Anselmo Lorenzo,

Emma Goldman Emma Goldman (June 27, 1869 – May 14, 1940) was a Russian-born Anarchism, anarchist revolutionary, political activist, and writer. She played a pivotal role in the development of anarchist political philosophy in North America and Europ ...

, Fernando Tarrida del Mármol and Max Stirner. They were also influenced by the works of

Marx Karl Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet '' The Communist Manifesto'' (written with Friedrich Engels) ...

, Gorky and

Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright, poet and actor. Ibsen is considered the world's pre-eminent dramatist of the 19th century and is often referred to as "the father of modern drama." He pioneered ...

. However, the most influential works were the ones of

Peter Kropotkin Pyotr Alexeyevich Kropotkin (9 December 1842 – 8 February 1921) was a Russian anarchist and geographer known as a proponent of anarchist communism. Born into an aristocratic land-owning family, Kropotkin attended the Page Corps and later s ...

'' The Conquest of Bread'' and '' Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution'', at the same time they were influenced by the Mexican liberal tradition of the 19th century and the self-government system of the

indigenous people There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

Magonism and indigenous movement

Indigenous peoples, since the Spanish conquest of Mexico, sought to preserve the practice of

direct democracy Direct democracy or pure democracy is a form of democracy in which the Election#Electorate, electorate directly decides on policy initiatives, without legislator, elected representatives as proxies, as opposed to the representative democracy m ...

, decision-making in assembly, rotation of administrative duties, defense of communal property,

mutual aid Mutual aid is an organizational model where voluntary, collaborative exchanges of resources and services for common benefit take place amongst community members to overcome social, economic, and political barriers to meeting common needs. This ...

and community use and rational use of

natural resource Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest, and cultural value. ...

s. Those principles were anarchist principles also upheld by the magonists. Indigenous thought influenced magonism through the teachings of Teodoro Flores, a

mestizo ( , ; fem. , literally 'mixed person') is a term primarily used to denote people of mixed European and Indigenous ancestry in the former Spanish Empire. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also refer to people who are culturall ...

Nahua and father of the Flores Magón brothers, as well as the coexistence of other PLM members with indigenous groups during PLM's organizing and insurrection between 1905 and 1910, such as the Popoluca in

Veracruz Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...

, the Yaqui and Mayo in

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into Municipalities of Sonora, 72 ...

, and the Cocopah in

Baja California Baja California, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California, is a state in Mexico. It is the northwesternmost of the 32 federal entities of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1952, the area was known as the North Territory of B ...

. Fernando Palomares, a Mayo indigenous, was one of the most active members of the Liberal Party who took part in the Cananea strike and libertarian campaign of 1911 in

Mexicali Mexicali (; ) is the capital city of the States of Mexico, Mexican state of Baja California. The city, which is the seat of the Mexicali Municipality, has a population of 689,775, according to the 2010 census, while the Calexico–Mexicali, Cale ...

and

Tijuana Tijuana is the most populous city of the Mexican state of Baja California, located on the northwestern Pacific Coast of Mexico. Tijuana is the municipal seat of the Tijuana Municipality, the hub of the Tijuana metropolitan area and the most popu ...

Legacy

After the armed phase of

and the death of

in 1922, began the rescue of magonist thought, mainly by trade unionists in Mexico and the United States. Mexican governments considered the Flores Magón brothers precursors of the revolution. Both the insurrection of 1910 and the social rights enshrined in the

Mexican Constitution of 1917 The current Constitution of Mexico, formally the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States (), was drafted in Santiago de Querétaro, in the Querétaro, State of Querétaro, Mexico, by a Constituent assembly, constituent convention d ...

were due largely to the ''magonistas'', which since 1906 took up arms and drafted an economic and social program. However, although the demands that led to the revolution in theory were resolved in the Constitution and in the speeches of the revolutionary governments, there was no significant change in the lives of the most vulnerable populations. Also the ''magonistas'' goal was not to change the state administrators, but to abolish them. For this reason, surviving ''magonistas'' continued to spread anarchist propaganda. Librado Rivera was persecuted and imprisoned during the government of Plutarco Elías Calles and Enrique Flores Magón, who believed that "the Mexican social revolution is not yet over", were safe until the presidency of

Lázaro Cárdenas Lázaro Cárdenas del Río (; 21 May 1895 – 19 October 1970) was a Mexican army officer and politician who served as president of Mexico from 1934 to 1940. Previously, he served as a general in the Constitutional Army during the Mexican Revo ...

. The Mexican Anarchist Federation, founded in 1941 and active for about 40 years, edited the newspaper '' Regeneración'' and spread Magonist thought. In the 1980s, Magonism survived among some youth anarcho-punk groups. The ''Biblioteca Social Reconstruir'', founded in 1980 by the Spanish anarchist in exile Ricardo Mestre and located in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

, was a library where to find anarchist literature and works on Ricardo Flores Magón or copies of ''Regeneración''. In 1994, when the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) took up arms in

Chiapas Chiapas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas, is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. It comprises Municipalities of Chiapas, 124 municipalities and its capital and large ...

, claimed the ideas of the Flores Magón brothers. In 1997, indigenous organizations, social groups of libertarians and municipal councils of the state of

Oaxaca Oaxaca, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca, is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of the Mexico, United Mexican States. It is divided into municipalities of Oaxaca, 570 munici ...

, declared the "Citizen Year of Ricardo Flores Magón" from 21 November (1997) to 16 September 1998. In August 2000, driven by indigenous organizations in the State of Oaxaca and libertarian groups in

, the Magonistas Days (''Jornadas Magonistas'') were held to mark 100 years since the founding of the newspaper '' Regeneración''. Some organizations and youth groups taking part in the 2006 popular uprising in Oaxaca were influenced by anarchist ''magonistas'' ideals.

Literature

*Rubén Trejo: ''Magonismo: utopía y revolución, 1910–1913''. 2005, Cultura Libre – *M. Ballesteros, J. C. Beas, B. Maldonado: ''Magonismo y Movimiento Indígena en México''. 2003, Ce-Acatl AC

References

External links

An overview about the magonism

Ricardo Flores Magón Archive
{{MexicanRevolution Communism in Mexico Anarchism in Mexico Anarchist movements Anarchist schools of thought Anarcho-communism Eponymous political ideologies Politics of the Mexican Revolution Types of socialism Porfiriato