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Mexico's Post-Revolutionary Army

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The Mexican Revolution was fought to rid Mexico of militarism, and afterwards left the victorious Revolutionaries in disagreement of what part the military was to play in the new regime since army provided a bulk of Mexico’s political leadership (Rath 3-4). Nevertheless, the army was an intricate part of the revolution and the regime that came after it. With it also came the use of violence that was appeased as the years got further away from the Revolution, and at the same time, the new regime was using violence to instill a state-building mechanism. Post-Revolutionary Violence The Post-Revolution in Mexico saw conflicts, rebellions, and an effort to combat militarism while at the same time guaranteeing the power of the new and progressive …show more content…

The efforts of the Sonorans began by centralizing and institutionalizing the army (33). These efforts were achieved by shrinking the army from 100,000 in 1920 to 52,000 in 1934, reducing the budget allocated to them, and creating an institutional and legal framework for the army (26). The institution was created with the help of General Amaro who was secretary of war and was responsible for opening and expanding military schools that taught specialized military knowledge to career officers (22, 26). In further efforts to distance the army from politics, the Constitution of 1917 was enforced in requiring politicians to leave active military service before taking office (27). The new changes made to the army allowed the president to carry out his power across …show more content…

The army was strategically placed across the country and especially in areas of unrest to attempt to appease any future conflicts but also to protect economic and strategic interests (119). Most importantly, the army was used in the 1940s and 1950s to apply force and terror towards the population (116). Policing was embedded in the military to uphold public order and security (119). In 1959, soldiers were used in congruent to the police to disband a strike by the railway workers union (120). The 1950s had marked an effort by the government to develop civilian agencies to manage conflict, but the use of military intervention was still needed

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