Mexican history

Alex Aviña: Biden's Deployment of Troops to the Border is Historical Norm, not Exception

The historian of Mexico notes that the US-Mexico border was formed by an American military invasion, and has been in a militarized state since politicians have linked migration to national security concerns like drugs and terrorism. 

Mexican Miltary Surveilled Ayotzinapa Student Teachers for Years Before 43 Disappeared

Hackers released a trove of documents from the Mexican Defense Ministry. Among other revelations: the government was engaged in surveillance of students at a teachers' college in the state of Guerrero, long before 43 students disappeared in 2014. 

Is Globalization Changing Mexico's Relationship to Death?

by Humberto Beck

Post-revolutionary Mexico embraced cultural commemorations of the dead—Diá de los Muertos—to help conceal the violence of the regime's rise. Now, that "traditional" culture is again being transformed by global cultural appropriation and the escalating violence of global drug trafficking.

The Tradition of Overambitious Public Works in Mexico

Mexico's public works projects have often seen ambitious design outpace the will and capacity for maintaining them. 

Despite Setbacks and Elite Opposition, AMLO Remains Popular in Mexico

Understanding AMLO's popularity—he is by some measures the most domestically popular leader in the world—requires leaving the elite precincts of Mexico City, ignoring the statements of wealthy opponents, and visiting the impoverished regions of southern Mexico. 

Katherine Corcoran's Book Examines the Killing of Mexican Journalist Regina Martinez

While a book by the former AP Mexico City bureau chief shows the depth of corruption and political violence in Mexico, it also shows the integrity and courage of Mexican citizens and journalists who dare to demand better. 

Kelly Lytle Hernández on the Linked Histories of Mexico and the US

"Many Americans don’t know that the histories of the United States and Mexico are inseparably intertwined. But historian Kelly Lytle Hernández says you cannot fully understand one without the other."

There's More to Cinco De Mayo than Many Americans Know

by Ruben A. Arellano

American Cinco de Mayo celebrations emerged at a time when ethnic Mexicans who were made Mexican-American by the US conquest of their homes looked to Mexico's defeat of a French imperialist invasion in 1862 for inspiration at a time when the Confederacy threatened to expand into the southwest.

The Contradictions of AMLO and Mexico

by Humberto Beck and Patrick Iber

Mexico's first left-wing president in the era of competitive elections has followed through on populist promises to reduce inequality, but has increasingly personalized authority and equated loyalty to his regime with public service. 

Vicente 'Chente' Fernández, 'El Rey' of Ranchera Music, has Died at 81

"Fernandez became an important icon for Mexican immigrants to the U.S. and around the world – who found that his music transported them to the ranches and towns they'd reluctantly left behind in search of opportunity abroad."

The Last Emperor of Mexico (Review)

As the younger brother of the Austrian emperor, Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian was a perfect figurehead for Napoleon III of France's efforts to create a puppet regime in Mexico. Things didn't go the way he hoped. 

The Fantasy of Hispanic Heritage Month

by Frank P. Barajas

Conceived by a Congressman to honor the contributions of ethnic Mexicans to American society, Hispanic Heritage Month is based in a mythical Spanish past that obscures the indigenous history of the west and legitimates the succession of power from Iberian to Anglo elites. 

Colonial-Era Papers Stolen from Mexican National Archives Returned

"Thanks to a group of eagle-eyed scholars, a trove of stolen colonial-era documents has been returned to Mexico City."

The Last Good Neighbor: Mexico in the Global Sixties (Washington History Seminar, Mon. 9/27)

Eric Zolov addresses the Washington History Seminar to talk about his revisionist interpretation of Mexican history in the 1960s, when the government tried "to broaden Mexico's international relations and break free of economic subordination to Washington." Zoom, Monday, Sept. 27, 4:00 PM EDT. 

Americans Sought Safer Abortions in Mexico Before Roe, Too

by Lina-Maria Murillo

"No matter what antiabortion crusaders try, pregnant people will always find ways to have abortions — and networks that go beyond borders have long helped them navigate treatment options."

Drug Prohibition and the Political Roots of Cartel Violence in Mexico

by Benjamin T. Smith

Violence is not so much in the DNA of the drug trade as the DNA of drug prohibition. And until both American and Mexican police forces stop treating it like a war, the violence won’t stop.

Historian: Americans All Need To Study Mexico

NPR's Kelsey Snell speaks with Harvard history professor Gabriela Soto Laveaga about her recent op-ed titled, "Every American needs to take a history of Mexico class."

Every American Needs to Take a History of Mexico Class

by Gabriela Soto Laveaga

Understanding the history of the US-Mexico border from the perspective of Mexico deepens understanding not just of the relationship between nations, but of the complexity of history as opposed to simplistic nationalist myths. 

Pancho Villa, My Grandmother, and the Revolutionary History of the Border

by Carlos Sanchez

Conflicting family and neighborhood stories about the life of Pancho Villa – bandit or revolutionary? – showed the author how little of the complexity of the Mexican Revolution and the experiences of ethnic Mexican people made it into his school books in El Paso. Will new Texas laws push this knowledge back into the shadows? 

‘Lady of Guadalupe’ Avoids Tough Truths About the Catholic Church and Indigenous Genocide

by Rebecca Janzen

"Although it portrays the story of the Virgin of Guadalupe for a broad audience, ultimately this film sanitizes the real-life brutality of the Church toward Indigenous peoples in the 16th century."