Thread by @BromineTintin

#MexGuerrilla : Thread completed as we go along on the enormous history of guerrilla and insurgency movements in Mexico.

(Photo: TDR-EP members, 2000)
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The mandates of Adolfo Ruiz C. (l. photo) and Adolfo López-M. (r. photo) (1952 to 1964) were marked by trade union protests, demanding wage increases and trade union rights.
The Partido Revolucionario Institucional, very anti-communist, reacted strongly to the protests
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Indeed, the PRI (Partido Revolucionario Institucional) saw in them the actions of external communists
It was from this moment, and more precisely when Gustavo Díaz O. (photo) led the repression of the 1958 railway strike, that the army began to be used to counter protests
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The states of Sonora, Michoacán and Guerrero, among others, have been the centres of student protest movements since 1960. It was then that some students were inspired by socialist ideology, calling for more democracy within the country
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The Consejo Nacional de Huelga ( National Strike Council ) (CNH) was created in August 1968. The CNH called for the dissolution of the "granaderos", the release of political prisoners. They asked for a dialogue with the authorities
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In order to improve Mexico's international image, Luis Echeverría (photo) (PR. from 1970 to 1976, PRI member) granted asylum to thousands of exiles from LA (Brazil, Nicaragua, etc.). He thus supported the American guerrillas while leading the fight against his local opponents
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Luis E. played an important role in the Tlatelolco massacre (300+ students and civilians killed, 1968). In 1971, paramilitaries from "Los halcones" attacked demonstrators, causing strong disagreements. At that moment the so-called revolutionary left turned to armed struggle
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The 1970s saw a radicalisation of political activists, inspired by the Vietnamese, Algerian and Cuban situations
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Rubén Jaramillo (photo), former participant in the Mexican Revolution, was massacred in 1962 in Xochicalco (Morelos) by members of the PJF (Federal Judicial Police). He was a "campesino" (peasant) leader.

Then follows a first armed resistance located in the cities.
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However, these first armed groups are easily infiltrated and dismantled by the DFS (Dirección Federal de Seguridad, Fed. Security Directorate), an intelligence service created by former President Miguel Alemán V. (photo)
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The Grupo Popular Guerrillero (GPG) is the accelerator of armed struggle in Mexico. It has been taking action since 1964 in Chihuaha State. The GPG attacked the army in Madera in 1965 (photo), killing 6 soldiers and launching the Guerra sucia (Dirty War).
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When José López Portillo (photo) finished his term as president in 1982, some 40 revolutionary armed groups were dismantled.
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The vast majority of workers and peasants do not join guerrilla groups. The peasants remain affiliated to their farmers' organizations. As a result, guerrilla movements were isolated from social movements and organizations with a legal existence.
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The particularity of the Mexican guerrillas at that time was that they were not supported by American socialist regimes, not even Cuba, or by other countries around the world.
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Mexico received support from the United States, but the guerrilla movements, which were very varied at the time, did not completely disappear. In the 1990s, two major groups emerged, the EZLN (l. photo) and the EPR (r. photo).
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The governments of Gustavo Díaz O., Luis Echeverría and José López P. followed American security strategies. The objective was to nip the young guerrillas in the bud. This has been counterproductive and has increased the number of insurgents.
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Governments (PRI-affiliated presidents) then used the media to show the guerrillas as criminals and monsters. In this context, the media used terms such as "savage", "mentally ill" or "terrorist" to describe the insurgents.
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Arbitrary arrests were widespread, as were extrajudicial executions. The Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nación (National Sup. Court of Justice) therefore confirmed the violation of the rule of law.
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Like the insurgents, their families and friends have been targeted by the authorities. Peasant communities were terrorized and mistreated by the authorities, who were waging a war against the insurgents. The authorities have also voluntarily resorted to famine.
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Security forces used torture against the rebels. Secret prisons have also been set up. Although no official investigation has been conducted, it is estimated that about 3000 people disappeared during the Dirty War.
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Mexico was hit by an economic crisis in 1976, and López Portillo took office shortly after. It establishes a measure of slight democratic openness by facilitating the presence of the opposition in the Congreso de la Unión (Congress of the Union).
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When Miguel de la Madrid (photo) became President in 1982, it marked a major turning point in Mexico's history. In 1983, he dismantled the Investigation Division for the Prevention of Delinquency. He also cleaned up the ranks of the federal police.
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As of now, we will go into a little more detail.

(Photo: Zapatista women)
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In 1959, various groups of resistance united within the General Union of Mexican Workers and Peasants (UGOCM), under the patronage of Vicente-Lombardo Toledano's Popular Socialist Party (PPS) (photo)
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The mountains of the Sierra Madre brought forth the first Mexican guevarist armed group. More precisely, the genesis of the Grupo Popular Guerrillero (GPG) was inherently endemic
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At that time, the Mexican state was the only one to challenge the United States by refusing to join the Cuban boycott led by the Organización de los Estados Americanos (OAS). Especially because Cuba has refused to support the Mexican guerrillas
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The suffering of wage labour must have been a powerful incentive to claim more land. Labour conditions in the expanding lumber industry are the rule; accident rates are high in both sawmills and assembly plants
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In town, work was safer, although poorly paid and dangerous too. Conditions in the mines were even more dangerous, closely controlled and isolated
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The majority of urban migrant workers have remained caught up in a cycle of seasonal migration, with low wages, family separations and periodic deportations, failing to find a place for themselves
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The Sierra Madre Occidental is a densely forested mountain range and canyons that extends well to the north and south between the states of Chihuahua and Sonora (photos)
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The indigenous people rebelled repeatedly during the 17th century against Jesuit attempts to concentrate them there in the villages. Leaving with the expulsion of the Jesuits in 1767, they fled to the Sierra, preferring their ranches until the 20th century
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Settlers received land concessions and tax exemptions to encourage them to stay here in inhospitable territories. After independence, these pioneers fought American incursions, French intervention and reform wars without the help of a distant federal government
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In addition, the California gold rush has increased pressure on American tribes to cross the border and move south
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In 1884, the federal government began to survey the huge tracts of land that small farmers had used as a common good. The inspectors received up to one third of the land in payment; the rest was sold to investors, many of whom were foreigners
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The elite lock up the common goods, depriving small owners of firewood and grazing land. Landowners are also seeking to expand throughout the territory of military settlements
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In line with Porfirio's centralizing policy, local elected officials have been replaced by political "jefes", often local caciques. Attacks on the "municipio libre" were among the main causes of the numerous rural rebellions
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During the Indian Wars, mountain dwellers had embodied civilization in contrast to the wild Indians. Now, the ruling elite no longer needed them to fight and coveted their land
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During the 1960s, UGOCM (Un. Gen. de Obreros y Camp. de México) conducted land invasions and demonstrations with a high level of support; the federal agrarian authorities had ordered the state authorities to accede to some of the protesters' requests, the state were opposed
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The Gaytán family was a family of small farmers who had been deprived of their land. The father, Rosendo, had fought for Babícora. His sons Juan Antonio, Salvador and Salomón were active in the UGOCM.
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Salomón and Juan Antonio Gaytán lost their lives in the armed movement; a third brother, Salvador, participated in the GPG and the Movement of 23 September, fought in Guerrero with Lucio Cabañas (a socialist and revolutionary figure) and did not return to Chihuahua till 1992.
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The army helped landowners to reclaim the invaded land and mercenaries attacked campesinos in the mountains. Seven campesinos from Dolores, Guanajuato, were hanged from trees in an interrogation attempt, including José de la Luz Gaytán, 11 years old.
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