Máximo Castillo and the Mexican Revolution

ISBN: 0807163880

Author: Vald

Condition: New

Máximo Castillo and the Mexican Revolution is the first English-language translation of the memoirs of General Máximo Castillo of Chihuahua, a pivotal figure in the civil war that consumed Mexico between 1910 and 1920. Born into rural poverty, Castillo experienced first-hand the repression of Porfirio Díazs autocratic regime. When the wealthy statesman and author Francisco I. Madero challenged Díaz for the Mexican presidency, campaigning on an idealistic platform of democratic reforms, Castillo joined the many Mexicans who supported Maderos candidacy. As the campaign progressed and political tensions escalated, liberal democrats, including Castillo, organized a widespread popular revolt against Díaz and his followers. Thereafter, Castillo quickly rose in the ranks, becoming the leader of a revolutionary faction in Chihuahua similar to the one headed by General Emiliano Zapata in the state of Morelos.Castillos role in the Mexican Revolution, in which he emerged as an influential leader who fought for land reform before being imprisoned and exiled, was largely forgotten by history until the discovery of his memoirs. A Spanish-language edition of Castillos writings, edited by Jesús Vargas Valdés and published in 2009, conveys the movements tenets, triumphs, and setbacks in the words of one of its most passionate leaders. Ana-Isabel Aliaga-Buchenaus translation of this critical work into English expands the reach of Castillos valuable, but often overlooked, perspective on the events of the Revolution.