The Mexican Revolution is without a doubt a corner stone in the nation’s history. It is, however, not just an immobile image located somewhere in the past—the mythification of events, groups, and protagonists placed the Revolution in the eternal realm of Mexican collective memory and loaded symbols with the idea of true democracy formed according to the people’s will. As the country is currently experiencing a political turn to the left—largely as a reaction to neoliberal reforms—an analysis of the Revolution’s impact on contemporary ideas—particularly about an anti-neoliberal government—for political actors is particularly relevant.
My dissertation examines the Sección XXII, the regional representation of the national teachers’ union’s leftist splinter group in Oaxaca, and the significance of the Mexican Revolution for the protest culture of social movements, exemplified by this group. That Oaxaca is one of the poorest Mexican states, therefore experiencing predominantly the ugly backside of the neoliberal coin, and that it is widely considered one of the most rebellious states, makes for a rather nourishing environment for political protest. My project analyzes the meaning of the Revolution in the collective and cultural Mexican memory, its influence on collective identity, and its utilization in the mobilization of the social movement. In this context, it also examines the parallels that could be drawn between the liberation from the authoritarian political system under Porfirio Diaz with its liberal economic policy in the early 20th century and the liberation of neoliberalism in the pursuit of true democracy one hundred years later.
In my presentation, I would like to address the teachers’ protest against neoliberalism that, while already vital in the founding process of the movement in 1979, has flared up again as a reaction to the passing of the Pacto por México in 2012 and the ensuing performance evaluations and changes to articles 3 and 73 of the revolutionary constitution. The explicitly leftist and revolutionary ideology and the indigenous heritage of the Oaxacan teachers provide a unique basis for this protest that intents to carry society away from neoliberalism and ‘back to the roots.’
