Category: Americas

Fred Hampton: A Black American Martyr for Socialist Liberation

Published June 8, 2022 by Franchesca Johnson

Fred HAMPTON(1948-1969), known by most people exclusively for his assassination in 1969, was a revolutionary activist in the Black American struggle for liberation who utilized socialist ideas as a form of resistance against a racially and economically oppressive America. Born Fredrick Allen Hampton in Chicago, Illinois, he began his progressive activism at a young age. Through studying communist revolutionaries from around the world and providing for members of his community, Hampton developed an ideology rooted in combatting capitalism. Moreover, as he later became an influential leader of the Black Panther Party (BPP), he began to further value revolution and the strength of the masses.

In particular, in his book, I Am A Revolutionary: Fred Hampton Speaks, Hampton’s famous orations reveal this groundbreaking response to the racism in America. Knowing of the oppression of minorities in America, Hampton firmly believed in the necessity of an “international proletarian revolution” and “[fighting] capitalism with socialism.” Therefore, even though the police ended his life at the young age of 21, Hampton’s legacy reveals the actuality of socialist policies as a perceived solution to racial oppression in America.

FURTHER READING

Hampton, Fred. 2023. I Am a Revolutionary: Fred Hampton Speaks. Edited by Fred Hampton Jr. Pluto Press.

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Regeneración

Published May 1, 2022 by Amy Weitzman

Regeneración (1900–1918) was an inflammatory anti-capitalist newspaper founded by the Magón brothers in response to Mexico’s military dictatorship under Porfirio Díaz. It began more reformist than revolutionary to appeal to a wider crowd; however, it gradually grew revolutionary as the Mexican Revolution took off. The articles covered government corruption, violent repression, the institution of indigenous slavery, and specific officials’ injustices. Daily political cartoons were also a hallmark.

As the Liberal Party formed, Regeneración became an important outlet to voice political platforms and inform the people of government corruption. It primarily advocated against capitalism, clericalism, restriction of free speech and press, and occasionally the existence of authority as a whole. Many of its articles addressed the proletariat directly to call them to action or bring awareness to their situation. The newspaper met its end when Magón was finally convicted under the U.S. Espionage Act.

FURTHER READING

Magón Flores Ricardo, Chaz Bufe, and Mitchell Cowen Verter. Dreams of Freedom: A Ricardo Flores Magón Reader. Oakland, CA: AK Press, 2005.

‌Magón, Flores Ricardo. Regeneracion Newspaper. Huntington Library, San Marino, CA. https://californiarevealed.org/islandora/object/cavpp%3Anp-reg

Archivomagon.net. “Archivo Digital de Ricardo Flores Magón | Archivo Digital Del Trabajo Histórico de Ricardo Flores Magón,” 2021. http://archivomagon.net/.

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The Mexican Revolution

Published May 1, 2022 by Amy Weitzman

The Mexican Revolution (1910–1920) was a working class uprising aimed at overthrowing the military dictatorship under Porfirio Díaz. It successfully ousted Díaz but led to further political strife when moderate liberal Francisco Madero replaced him. The culmination of economic tension surrounding workers’ rights and agrarian reform led to its incitement. The revolution was both a political and social upheaval, and produced competing ideologies.

Mexican Insurrectionists in Juarez, 1911

Among the ideologies to emerge from the Mexican Revolution were the Progressive Constitutionalist Party and the Mexican Liberal Party (PLM). The Constitutionalist Party was largely composed of the middle class whose beliefs aimed to be non-partisan, such as nationalization of land. Moderate liberal Madero identified as a Constitutionalist. As a result of his Constitutionalist policies, which were too radical for conservatives and too conservative for radicals, Madero’s presidency did not last long. As an opposition party, the PLM demanded more representation of workers in government as well as greater land reform. Furthermore, they criticized Madero’s relationship with the Catholic Church. In the aftermath of the Mexican Revolution, these parties further polarized with the absence of a common enemy.

FURTHER READING

Ph.D, Chris Frazer. Competing Voices from the Mexican Revolution: Fighting Words. Santa Barbara, Calif: Greenwood, 2009.

Wasserman, Mark. The Mexican Revolution: A Brief History with Documents. (Bedford Cultural Editions Series) first edition, 2012.

Robert C. Overfelt, “Mexican Revolution,” Handbook of Texas Online, accessed June 02, 2022, https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/mexican-revolution.

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Ricardo Flores Magón

Published April 30, 2022 by Amy Weitzman

Ricardo Flores MAGÓN (1874–1922) was an indigenous Mexican anarchocommunist whose activism helped lead to the Mexican Revolution. He was born during the military dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz, the porfiriato, which greatly shaped his career. He and his two brothers founded Regeneración, a newspaper meant to unveil the injustices under the porfiriato. Magón independently authored countless articles and stories about anarchism as a solution to the ills of capitalism.

Magón’s writing often used fiction to illustrate anti-capitalist uprisings and ended with vehement calls to action. Not only did he support an uprising, but he more generally supported workers’ rights, elimination of private property, and anti-clericalism. He questioned the need for government entirely; however, he described his radically anarchocommunist works as liberal to gain wider approval. Magón’s popularity prompted the formation of a radical political party to oust the porfiriato—the Mexican Liberal Party (PLM). The PLM initiated several uprisings. Although Díaz was ousted and replaced with a liberal, Magón still expressed doubts. He believed that only the workers themselves could obtain workers’ rights.

FURTHER READING

“A world without borders” in New York, 2006

Magón Flores Ricardo, Chaz Bufe, and Mitchell Cowen Verter. Dreams of Freedom: A Ricardo Flores Magón Reader. Oakland, CA: AK Press, 2005.

Magon, Ricardo Flores. “Government?” The Anarchist Library, August 4, 2020. https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/ricardo-flores-magon-government.

Magon, Ricardo Flores. “Land and Liberty.” The Anarchist Library, June 14, 2018. https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/anarchist-communist-group-land-and-liberty.

Archivomagon.net. “Archivo Digital de Ricardo Flores Magón | Archivo Digital Del Trabajo Histórico de Ricardo Flores Magón,” 2021. http://archivomagon.net/.

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Indigenismo

Published April 30, 2022 by Amy Weitzman

Indigenismo (approx. 1930–1970) was a political and literary movement throughout Latin America, but particularly significant in Brazil, Mexico, and Peru. Indigenismo advocated for the preservation of indigenous rights and culture. Significantly, many thinkers associate it with socialism due to the poor economic conditions of indigenous communities. The movement critiqued the political systems and cultural deterioration that separate indigenous peoples from the nation-state as a whole.

The Mexican Revolution was one example of an event that lent itself to Indigenismo. A regime change meant an opportunity for reform, leading activists to call for indigenous inclusion. For example, Ricardo Flores Magón was a popular journalist and contributor to the political movement in Mexico. Meanwhile, in Peru, the movement built momentum due to rising modernization at the cost of indigenous livelihoods. José María Arguedas was a novelist and contributor to the literary movement in Peru. Both Magón and Arguedas wrote extensively in support of property rights for indigenous communities. It is still relevant to Latin America as indigenous communities continue to advocate for themselves.

FURTHER READING

Marentes, Luis A. “Latino Indigenismo in a Comparative Perspective.” Oxford Bibliographies Online Datasets, 2013. https://doi.org/10.1093/obo/9780199913701-0040.

Rodriguez-Peralta, Phyllis. “Ciro Alegria: Culmination of Indigenist-Regionalism in Peru.” Journal of Spanish Studies: Twentieth Century 7, no. 3 (1979): 337–52. http://www.jstor.org/stable/27740901.

Tarica, Estelle. “Indigenismo.” Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Latin American History, 2016. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780199366439.013.68.

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José María Arguedas

Published April 29, 2022 by Amy Weitzman

José María ARGUEDAS (1911–1969) was a Peruvian novelist from a Quechua family. During his time at Peru’s National Agrarian University, he wrote many novels in defense of indigenous Andean culture. He was a significant participant in the Indigenismo movement who also identified as socialist. His novels represent indigenous culture challenged by modernization and capitalism.

Arguedas frequently uses language to express how modernization distorts culture. He includes blends of Spanish, English, Quechua, Aymara, and profane vernacular. His use of language communicates not only the diversity of Peru, but also the degradation of native tongues and appropriation of Western language. His central themes of indigeneity in the face of both modernization and capitalism are found in his final novel, a work of magical realism, The Fox From Up Above and the Fox From Down Below. It features fictional characters whose interactions symbolize industrialization and the resilience of indigenous culture despite a defiled physical environment.

FURTHER READING

Arguedas José María, Julio Ortega, Christian Fernandez, and Frances Horning Barraclough. The Fox From Up Above and the Fox From Down Below. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2000.

Arguedas José María, and Frances Horning Barraclough. Deep Rivers. Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press, 2007.

Sandoval, Ciro A., and Sandra M. Boschetto-Sandoval. José María Arguedas: Reconsiderations for Latin American Cultural Studies. Athens, OH: Ohio University Center for International Studies, 1998.

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