History

Mexico is the largest Spanish-speaking country in the world. Its history begins with the arrival of the first substantiated indigenous inhabitants 12,500 years ago (with potential settlement as early as 20,000 years ago), to the consolidation of a modern and independent nation in the twenty-first century.

Pre-Columbian Civilisations

Pre-Columbian history of Mexico is known through the work of archaeologists, in that very few written records of the original indigenous peoples that once inhabited the territory of today's Mexico has survived. The exceptional case of some documents of the mixtec and mexica cultures of the Post-Classic period were not, until recently, fully deciphered.

The indigenous peoples began to selectively breed corn plants around 8,000 BC. Evidence shows pottery works by 2300 BC and the beginning of intensive corn farming between 1800 and 1500 BC

Between 1800 and 300 BC, complex cultures began to form. Many matured into advanced pre-Columbian Mesoamerican civilisations such as the: Olmec, Izapa, Teotihuacan, Maya, Zapotec, Mixtec, Huastec, Tarascan, 'Toltec' and Mexica (Aztecs), which flourished for nearly 4,000 years before first contact with Europeans.

These indigenous civilisations are credited with many inventions in: building pyramid-temples, mathematics, astronomy, medicine, theology and the wheel. Without any draft animals to carry out labour, however, the wheel had limited applications and was primarily used for art and toys. Metallurgy focused on copper, gold and silver.

Archaic inscriptions on rocks and rock walls all over northern Mexico (especially in the state of Nuevo León) demonstrate an early propensity for counting in Mexico. These very early and ancient count-markings were associated with astronomical events and underscore the influence that astronomical activities had upon Mexican natives, even before they possessed urbanisation.

In fact, many of the later Mexican based civilisations would all carefully build their cities and ceremonial centres according to specific astronomical events. Astronomy and the notion of human observation of celestial events would become central factors in the development of religious systems, writing systems, fine arts and architecture. Pre-historic Mexican astronomers set in motion a tradition of obsessive observing, recording, and commemorating astronomical events that later become a hallmark of Mexican civilised achievements. Cities would be founded and built on astronomical principles, leaders would be appointed on celestial events, wars would be fought according to solar-calendars and a complex theology using astronomical metaphors would organise the daily lives of millions of people.

At different points in time, three Mexican cities (Teotihuacan, Tenochtitlan and Cholula) and several others blossomed as centres of commerce, ideas, ceremonies and theology. In turn, they radiated influence outwards onto nearby neighbouring cultures in central Mexico.

Major Civilisations

While many city-states, kingdoms and empires competed with one another for power and prestige, Mexico can be said to have had five major civilisations: The Olmec, Teotihuacan, the Toltec, the Aztec and the Maya. These civilisations (with the exception of the politically-fragmented Maya) extended their reach across Mexico, and beyond, like no others. They consolidated power and distributed influence in matters of trade, art, politics, technology and theology. Other regional power players made economic and political alliances with these five civilisations over the span of 3,000 years. Many made war with them. But almost all found themselves within these five spheres of influence.

The Olmec Civilisation

The earliest known Mexican civilisation is the Olmec. This civilisation established the cultural blueprint by which all succeeding indigenous civilisations would follow in Mexico and Central America. The roots of Olmec civilisation began around 2300 BC with the production of pottery in abundance, a major sign of urbanisation. The first signs of Olmec civilisation are in San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán, near the coast in south-east Veracruz. Widely known today for their colossal carved, stone heads, the Olmec influence extended across Mexico, into Central America, and along the Gulf of Mexico. They established new forms of government, pyramid-temples, writing, astronomy, art, mathematics, trade and religion. Their achievements would pave the way for the later Maya civilisation in the east, and the many civilisations to the west in central Mexico.

The Teotihuacan Civilisation

The decline of the Olmec resulted in a power vacuum in Mexico. Emerging from that vacuum was Teotihuacan, first settled in 300 BC. By AD 150, it had grown to become the first true metropolis of what is now called North America. Teotihuacan established a new economic and political order never before seen in Mexico. Its influence the stretched across Mexico into Central America, founding new dynasties in the Mayan cities of Tikal, Copan and Kaminaljuyú. Teotihuacan's influence over the Maya civilisation cannot be understated: it transformed political power, artistic depictions and the nature of economics. Within the city of Teotihuacan was a diverse and cosmopolitan population. Most of the regional ethnicities of Mexico were represented in the city, such as Zapotecs from the Oaxaca region. They lived in apartment communities where they worked their trades and contributed to the city's economic and cultural prowess. By AD 500, Teotihuacan had become the largest city in the world. Teotihuacan's economic pull impacted areas in northern Mexico as well. It was a city whose monumental architecture reflected a new era in Mexican civilisation, declining in political power about 650 BC, but lasting in cultural influence for the better part of a millennium, to around AD 950.

The Maya Civilisation

Contemporary with Teotihuacan's greatness was the greatness of the Maya civilisation. The period between 250 and 650 saw an intense flourishing of Maya civilised accomplishments. While the many Maya city-states never achieved political unity on the order of the central Mexican civilisations, they exerted a tremendous intellectual influence upon Mexico. The Maya built some of the most elaborate cities on the continent, and made innovations in mathematics, astronomy, and writing that became the pinnacle of Mexico's scientific achievements.

The Toltec Civilisation

Just as Teotihuacan had emerged from a power vacuum, so too did the Toltec civilisation, which took the reigns of cultural and political power in Mexico from about 700. Many of the Toltec peoples were comprised of northern desert peoples, often called Chichimeca in Mexico's Nahuatl language. They fused their proud desert heritage with the mighty civilised culture of Teotihuacan. This new heritage would give rise to a new empire in Mexico. The Toltec empire would reach as far south as Central America, and as far north as the Anasazi corn culture in the Southwestern United States. The Toltec established a prosperous turquoise trade route with the northern civilisation of Pueblo Bonito, in modern-day New Mexico. Toltec traders would trade prized bird feathers with Pueblo Bonito, while circulating all the finest wares that Mexico had to offer with their immediate neighbours. In the Mayan area of Chichen Itza, the Toltec civilisation spread and the Maya were once again powerfully influenced by central Mexicans. The Toltec political system was so influential that any serious Maya dynasty would later claim to be of Toltec descent. In fact, it was this prized Toltec lineage that would set the stage for Mexico's last great indigenous civilisation.

The Mexica (Aztec) Civilisation

With the decline of the Toltec civilisation came political fragmentation in the Valley of Mexico, and into this new game of political contenders for the Toltec throne stepped outsiders: the Mexica. They were a proud desert people, one of seven groups who formerly called themselves 'Azteca,' but changed their name after years of migrating. Newcomers to the Valley of Mexico, they were seen as crude and unrefined in the ways of the prestigious Nahua civilisations, such as the fallen Toltec empire.

Latecomers to Mexico's central plateau, the Mexica (or Aztecs as they were subsequently labelled by European anthropologists) thought of themselves as heirs to the prestigious civilisations that had preceded them, much as Charlemagne did with respect to the fallen Roman Empire.

In 1428, the Mexica-Aztecs led a war of liberation against their rulers from the city of Azcapotzalco, which had subjugated most of the Valley of Mexico's peoples. The revolt was successful, and the Mexica, through cunning political manoeuvres and ferocious fighting skills, managed to pull off a true 'rags-to-riches' story: they became the rulers of central Mexico as the head of the Triple Alliance.

This Alliance was composed of the city-states of Tenochtitlan, Texcoco and Tlacopan. At their peak, 300,000 Aztecs presided over a wealthy tribute-empire comprising around 10 million people, almost half of Mexico's then-estimated population of 24 million. This empire stretched from ocean to ocean, and extended into Central America.

By 1519, the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan, was the largest city in the world with a population of around 350,000 (although some estimates range as high as 500,000). By comparison, the population of London in 1519 was 80,000 people. Tenochtitlan is the site of modern-day Mexico City.

Allies of the Mexica (Aztecs)

In the formation of Triple Alliance empire, the Mexica established several ally states. Among them were Cholula (the site of an early massacre by Spaniards), Texcoco (the site of a major library, subsequently burned by the Spanish), Tlacopan, and Matatlan. Also, many of the kingdoms conquered by the Mexica provided soldiers for further imperial campaigns such as: Culhuacan, Xochimilco, Tepeacac, Amecameca, Coaixtlahuacan, Cuetlachtlan, Ahuilizipan. The Mexica war machine would become multi-ethnic, comprising soldiers from conquered areas, led by a large core of Mexica warriors and officers. This same strategy would later be employed by the Spaniards.

Legacy of the Mexica

The Mexica left a deep and durable stamp upon Mexican culture. Much of what is considered Mexican culture today derives from this Mexica civilisation: place-names, words, food, art, dress, symbols and even the name 'Mexican'.

For much of its history, the majority of Mexico's population lived an urban lifestyle: cities, towns and villages. Only a fraction of the population was tribal and wandering. Most people were permanently-settled, agriculturally-based, and identified with an urban identity, as opposed to a tribal identity. Mexico has long been an urban land, which was graphically reflected in the writings of the Spaniards who encountered them.

1519-1521: Spanish Conquest

In 1519, the native civilisations of Mexico were invaded by Spain, and two years later in 1521, the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan was conquered by an alliance between Spanish and Tlaxcaltecs (the main enemies of Aztecs). Francisco Hernández de Córdoba explored the shores of South Mexico in 1517, followed by Juan de Grijalva in 1518. The most important of the early Conquistadores was Hernán Cortés, who entered the country in 1519 from a native coastal town which he renamed 'Puerto de la Villa Rica de la Vera Cruz' (today's Veracruz).

Contrary to popular opinion, Spain did not conquer all of Mexico when Cortes conquered Tenochtitlan in 1521. It would take another two centuries after the Siege of Tenochtitlan before the Conquest of Mexico would be complete, as rebellions, attacks, and wars continued against the Spanish by other native peoples.

The Fall of the Aztec Empire

An important factor in the fall of Mexico-Tenochtitlan (Aztec Empire Capital) was the plagues and epidemics brought to the Americas by sick Spaniards and African slaves brought by the Spanish. Smallpox, flu, Bubonic plague, measles, syphilis and several other diseases took the lives of hundreds of thousands of Aztecs and other natives in a few weeks. These epidemics may have killed over half the approximate 8,000,000 natives who lived in Mexico in the course of a few years time. The Spaniards benefited greatly from this because the disruption in social structure left a power vacuum for them to exploit.

Religion also played its part in the downfall of the Aztecs. Their religious beliefs were based on a great fear that the universe would cease functioning without a constant offering of human sacrifice, and they sacrificed thousands of people on special occasions. This belief is thought to have been common throughout Nahuatl people. In order to acquire captives in time of peace, the Aztec resorted to a form of 'ritual warfare', or flower war. Tlaxcalteca and other Nahuatl nations were forced into such wars, and not particularly liking the idea of being a perpetual source of human sacrifices they willingly joined the Spaniard forces against the Aztecs. The small Spanish force, consisting of about 600 men schooled in European warfare and equipped with steel weapons and armour, was reinforced with thousands of indigenous Indian allies. Their use of ambush during indigenous ceremonies allowed the Spanish to avoid fighting the best native warriors in direct armed battle, such as during The Feast of Huitzilopochtli.

1521-1810: The Colonial Period

The Spanish defeat of the Mexica in 1521 marked the beginning of the 300 year-long colonial period of Mexico as New Spain. After the fall of Tenochtitlan, it would take decades of sporadic warfare to pacify the rest of Mesoamerica. Particularly fierce were the 'Chichimeca wars' in the north of Mexico (1576-1606).

During the colonial period, which lasted from 1521 to 1810, Mexico was known as 'Nueva España' or 'New Spain', whose claimed territories included today's Mexico, the Spanish Caribbean islands, Central America as far south as Costa Rica, an area comprising today's south-western United States and the Philippine Islands.

1810-1821: Mexican War of Independence

After Napoleon I invaded Spain in 1807 and put his brother on the Spanish throne, Mexican Conservatives and rich land-owners who supported Spain's Bourbon royal family objected to the comparatively liberal Napoleonic policies. Thus an unlikely alliance was formed in Mexico: liberales, or Liberals, who favoured a democratic Mexico, and conservadores, or Conservatives, who favoured Mexico ruled by a Bourbon monarch who would restore the old status quo. These two elements agreed only that Mexico must achieve independence and determine her own destiny.

Taking advantage of the fact that Spain was severely handicapped under the occupation of Napoleon's army, Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, a Catholic priest of Spanish descent and progressive ideas, declared Mexico's independence from Spain in the small town of Dolores on September 16, 1810. This act started the long war that eventually led to the official recognition of independence from Spain in 1821 and the creation of the First Mexican Empire. As with many early leaders in the movement for Mexican independence, Hidalgo was captured by opposing forces and executed.

Prominent figures in Mexico's war for independence were Father José María Morelos, Vicente Guerrero, and General Agustín de Iturbide. The war for independence lasted eleven years until the troops of the liberating army entered Mexico City in 1821. Thus, although independence from Spain was first proclaimed in 1810, it was not achieved until 1821, by the Treaty of Córdoba, which was signed on August 24 in Córdoba, Veracruz, by the Spanish viceroy Juan de O'Donojú and Agustín de Iturbide, ratifying the Plan de Iguala.

In 1821, Agustín de Iturbide, a former Spanish general who switched sides to fight for Mexican independence, proclaimed himself emperor - officially as a temporary measure until a member of European royalty could be persuaded to become monarch of Mexico. A revolt against Iturbide in 1823 established the United Mexican States. In 1824, 'Guadalupe Victoria' became the first president of the new country; his given name was actually Félix Fernández but he chose his new name for symbolic significance: Guadalupe to give thanks for the protection of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and Victoria, which means Victory.

1822-1846: After Independence

After independence, several Spanish possessions in Central America which also proclaimed their independence were incorporated into Mexico from 1822 to 1823, with the exception of Chiapas and several other Central American states. The mostly vacant northern claims of the Spanish were claimed by Mexico and almost totally ignored, since little wealth was being extracted from them and the fledgling governments had neither money nor inclination to develop them.

Soon after achieving its independence from Spain, the Mexican government, in an effort to populate some of its sparsely-settled northern land claims, awarded extensive land grants in a remote area of the state of Coahuila y Tejas to thousands of immigrant families from the United States, on the condition that the settlers convert to Catholicism and assume Mexican citizenship. It also forbade the importation of slaves, a condition that, like the others, was largely ignored.

First Republic

The government of the newly independent Mexico soon fell to rogue republican forces led by Antonio López de Santa Anna and others. The first Republic was formed with Guadalupe Victoria as its first president, followed in office by Vicente Guerrero who won the electoral vote but lost the popular vote. The Mexican constitution was at that time very similar to the US constitution; but was largely disregarded by the majority of the population. The conservative party saw the opportunity to control the government and led a revolution under the leadership of Gen. Anastasio Bustamante who became president from 1830 to early 1832. The federalists asked Gen. Antonio López de Santa Ana to overthrow Bustamante and he did, declaring General Manuel Gómez Pedraza (who won the electoral vote back in 1828) as the 'true' president. Elections took place, and Santa Ana took office on 1832.

In 1834, Santa Ana abrogated the federal constitution, causing insurgencies in the southern state of Yucatán and the northernmost portion of the northern state of Coahuila y Tejas. Both areas sought independence from the Mexican government. After negotiations and the presence of Santa Ana's army eventually brought Yucatán to again recognise Mexican sovereignty, Santa Ana's army turned to the northern rebellion. The inhabitants of Tejas, calling themselves Texans and led mainly by relatively recently-arrived English-speaking settlers, declared independence from Mexico at Washington-on-the-Brazos, giving birth to the Republic of Texas. Texan militias defeated the Mexican army and won independence in 1836, further reducing the claimed territory of the fledgling Mexican republic. In 1845, Texans voted to be annexed by the United States, and this was agreed to by Congress and signed into law by President John Tyler.

1846-1848: War with the United States

During the second quarter of the 19th century, many of the mostly unsettled territories in the north were lost to the United States. Mexico had a population of about 8,000,000 in 1846 of which about 60,000 lived in the northern territories - mostly in New Mexico (53,000) and California (7,000). After accepting Texas's application for statehood in 1846, the US government sent troops to Texas in order to secure the territory, ignoring Mexican demands for US withdrawal. Mexico saw this as a US intervention in internal affairs by supporting a 'rebel' province.

For the Mexicans, the original boundary between Texas and Tamaulipas was the Nueces River. For the American immigrants 'Texans', the boundary was the Rio Grande. Disagreements about boundaries made conflict inevitable. Mexican troops attacked and killed several American soldiers and captured a small American detachment between the Rio Grande (which the Republic of Texas and subsequently the US claimed as the southern border) and the Nueces River (which had been considered the historic southern border of the Mexican department of Tejas).

As a result, President James K. Polk requested a declaration of war, and the US Congress voted in favour on May 13, 1846. Mexico formally declared war on 23 May. This resulted in the Mexican-American War, which lasted from 1846 to 1848. Mexico was defeated by United States forces, which occupied Mexico City and many other parts of Mexico. The war was terminated with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hildalgo, where as a condition for peace, Mexico was obligated to sell the mostly vacant northern territories to the United States for $15 million. Over the next few decades, Americans settled these territories and petitioned for statehood forming the states of California, Nevada, Utah and most of Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado. Baja California was not included in the US purchases in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hildalgo.

In addition, mostly-vacant desert territory containing parts of present-day Arizona and New Mexico were sold to the United States in the transaction known as the Gadsden Purchase. This land was sold by the Presidente Santa Anna for personal profit and to pay off his army in 1853. The Americans had not realised when they were negotiating the treaty of Hidalgo when they accepted the Gila River boundary that a much easier railroad route to California lay slightly south of the Gila. The Southern Pacific Railroad, the second transcontinental railroad to California, was built through this purchased land in 1881.

The primary reason for Mexico's defeat was the problematic internal situation of Mexico, which led to a lack of unity and organisation for a successful defence. One of the very few commemorated groups of Mexicans in the US invasion of 1847 was a group of very young Military College cadets (now considered by some as Mexican national heroes). These cadets fought to the death defending their college in a battle against a detachment of American soldiers in the Battle of Chapultepec (September 13, 1847). Another group of revered combatants were the Batallón de San Patricio, a group of hundreds of mostly Irish-born, US Army deserters who fought battles under Mexican command until their overwhelming defeat at the Battle of Churubusco. Upon capture, many of these men were subsequently executed on orders by US generals at Chapultepec.

1855-1861: Struggle for Liberal Reforms

In 1855 Santa Anna, who had become dictator one more time, was overthrown by the liberals, in what was called the Revolution of Ayutla. The moderate liberal Ignacio Comonfort became president. The Moderados tried to find a middle ground between the nation's Liberals and Conservatives.

During Comonfort's presidency, a new Constitution was drafted. The Constitution of 1857 retained most of the Roman Catholic Church's Colonial era privileges and revenues, but, unlike the earlier constitution, did not mandate that the Catholic Church be the nation's exclusive religion. Such reforms were unacceptable to the leadership of the clergy and the Conservatives. Comonfort and members of his administration were excommunicated, and a revolt was then declared.

This led to the War of Reform, from December 1857 to January 1861. This civil war became increasingly bloody and polarized the nation's politics. Many of the Moderados came over to the side of the Liberales, convinced that the great political power of the Church needed to be curbed. For some time, the Liberals and Conservatives had their own governments, the Conservatives in Mexico City and the Liberals headquartered in Veracruz. The war ended with Liberal victory, and Liberal president Benito Juárez moved his administration to Mexico City.

1861-1867: French Intervention (The Maximilian Affair)

In the 1860s, the country again underwent a military occupation, this time by France, establishing the Habsburg Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian of Austria on the throne of Mexico as Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico, with support from the Roman Catholic clergy and conservative elements of the upper class as well as some indigenous communities. Although the French, then considered one of the most efficient armies of the world, suffered an initial defeat in the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862 (now commemorated as the Cinco de Mayo holiday) they eventually defeated the Mexican government forces led by the general Ignacio Zaragoza and set the couple upon the throne.

The Mexican monarchy set up its government in the Capital of Mexico City and used the National Palace as their government seat. The Emperor's consort, born a Belgian princess, was Empress Carlota of Mexico, a cousin of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. The Imperial couple chose as their home Chapultepec Castle, and later adopted two grandchildren of the first Mexican Emperor, Augustin I. The Imperial couple were interested in a Mexico for the Mexicans, and did not share the views of Napoleon III, who was interested in exploiting the rich mines in the north-west of the country.

Emperor Maximilian I favoured the establishment of a limited monarchy sharing powers with a democratically elected congress. This was too liberal to please Mexico's Conservatives, while the liberals refused to accept a monarch, leaving Maximilian with few enthusiastic allies within Mexico. In mid-1867, following repeated losses in battle to the Republican Army and ever decreasing support by Napoleon III, Maximilian was captured and executed by Juárez's soldiers, along with his last loyal generals, Mejia and Miramon in Querétaro.

1867-1910: Restoration of the Republic

In 1867, the republic was restored and Juárez was re-elected, continuing to implement his reforms. In 1871 he was elected a second time, much to the dismay of his opponents within the liberal party, who considered re-election to be something undemocratic. Juárez died one year later and was succeeded by Miguel Lerdo de Tejada.

In 1876 Lerdo was re-elected, defeating Porfirio Díaz. Díaz rebelled against the government with the proclamation of the Plan de Tuxtepec, in which he opposed re-election, in 1876. Díaz managed to overthrow Lerdo (who fled the country) and was named president.

Thus began a period of more than thirty years of relative prosperity and peace, known as the Porfiriato. During this period, the country's infrastructure improved greatly thanks to increased foreign investment. However, the period was also characterised by social inequality and discontent among the working classes.

1910-1921: The Mexican Revolution

In 1910, the 80-year-old Díaz decided to hold an election to serve another term as president. He thought he had long since eliminated any serious opposition in Mexico; however, Francisco I. Madero, an academic from a rich family, decided to run against him and quickly gathered popular support, despite Díaz's putting Madero in jail.

When the official election results were announced, it was declared that Díaz had won re-election almost unanimously, with Madero receiving only a few hundred votes in the entire country. This fraud was too blatant for the public to swallow, and riots broke out. Madero prepared a document known as the Plan de San Luis Potosí, in which he called the Mexican people to take their weapons and fight against the government of Díaz on November 20, 1910. Madero managed to flee to San Antonio, Texas, where he started to prepare his overthrow of the Díaz government.

The Federal Army was defeated by the revolutionary forces which were led by, amongst others, Emiliano Zapata in the South, Pancho Villa and Pascual Orozco in the North, and Venustiano Carranza. Porfirio Díaz resigned in 1911 for the 'sake of the peace of the nation' and went to exile in France, where he died in 1915.

The revolutionary leaders had many different objectives; revolutionary figures varied from liberals such as Madero to radicals such as Emiliano Zapata and Pancho Villa. As a consequence, it proved very difficult to reach agreement on how to organise the government that emanated from the triumphant revolutionary groups. The result of this was a struggle for the control of Mexico's government in a conflict that lasted more than twenty years. This period of struggle is usually referred to as part of the Mexican Revolution, although it might also be considered a civil war. Presidents Francisco I. Madero (1913), Venustiano Carranza (1920), and former revolutionary leaders Emiliano Zapata (1919) and Pancho Villa (1923) were assassinated during this time, amongst many others.

Following the resignation of Díaz and a brief reactionary interlude, Madero was elected President in 1911. He was ousted and killed in 1913 by Victoriano Huerta, a former General of Porfirio Díaz. Huerta's brutality soon lost him his domestic support, and his regime was actively opposed by the Wilson Administration. In 1915 he was overthrown by Venustiano Carranza, a former revolutionary general. Carranza promulgated a new Constitution on February 5, 1917, which still guides Mexico today. Carranza was assassinated in an internal feud of his former supporters over who would replace him as President.

In 1920, Álvaro Obregón, one of Carranza's former allies who plotted against him, became president. He accommodated all elements of Mexican society except the most reactionary clergy and landlords, and successfully catalyzed social liberalisation, particularly in curbing the role of the Catholic Church, improving education and taking steps toward instituting women's civil rights.

While the Mexican revolution and civil war may have subsided after 1920, armed conflicts did not cease. The most widespread conflict of this era was the battle between those favouring a secular society with separation of Church and State and those favouring supremacy of the Roman Catholic Church, which developed into an armed uprising by supporters of the Church that came to be called 'la Guerra Cristera.'

It is estimated that between 1910 and 1921 about 900,000 people died.

1926-1929: The Cristero War

Between 1926 and 1929 an armed conflict in the form of a popular uprising broke out against the anti-Catholic/anti-clerical Mexican government, set off specifically by the anti-clerical provisions of the Mexican Constitution of 1917. Discontent over the provisions had been simmering for years: Article 5 outlawed monastic religious orders, Article 24 forbade public worship outside of church buildings, while Article 27 restricted religious organisations' rights to own property. Finally, Article 130 took away basic civil rights of members of the clergy: priests and religious leaders were prevented from wearing their habits, were denied the right to vote, and were not permitted to comment on public affairs in the press.

The Cristero War was eventually resolved diplomatically, largely with the influence of the US Ambassador. The conflict claimed the lives of some 90,000: 56,882 on the federal side, 30,000 Cristeros, and numerous civilians who were killed in anticlerical raids after the war's end. As promised in the diplomatic resolution, the laws considered offensive to the Cristeros remained on the books, but no organised federal attempts to enforce them were put into action. Though they violate the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the anticlerical provisions of the Constitution remain in place today but are no longer enforced.

The Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI)

In 1929, the National Mexican Party (PNM) was formed by the serving president, General Plutarco Elías Calles. (It would later become the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) that ruled the country for the rest of the 20th century). The PNM succeeded in convincing most of the remaining revolutionary generals to dissolve their personal armies to create the Mexican Army, and so its foundation is considered by some the real end of the Mexican Revolution.

After it was founded in 1929, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) monopolised all the political branches. The PRI did not lose a senate seat until 1988 or a gubernatorial race until 1989.It wasn't until July 2, 2000, that Vicente Fox of the opposition 'Alliance for Change' coalition, headed by the National Action Party (PAN), was elected president. His victory ended the Institutional Revolutionary Party's 71-year hold on the presidency.

1935-1940: President Lázaro Cárdenas

President Lázaro Cárdenas came to power in 1935 and transformed Mexico. On April 1, 1936 he exiled Calles, the last general with dictatorial ambitions, thereby removing the army from power.

Cárdenas managed to unite the different forces in the PRI and set the rules that allowed his party to rule unchallenged for decades to come without internal fights. He nationalised the oil industry on March 18, 1938, the electricity industry, created the National Polytechnic Institute, granted asylum to Spanish expatriates fleeing the Spanish Civil War, started land reform and the distribution of free textbooks for children.

1940-1946: President Manuel Ávila Camacho

Manuel Ávila Camacho, Cárdenas's successor, presided over a 'bridge' between the revolutionary era and the era of machine politics under PRI that would last until 2000. Camacho, moving away from nationalistic autarchy, proposed to create a favourable climate for international investment, favoured nearly two generations ago by Madero. Camacho's regime froze wages, repressed strikes and persecuted dissidents with a law prohibiting the 'crime of social dissolution.'

The 1985 Earthquake

On September 19, 1985, an earthquake measuring approximately 8.0 on the Richter scale struck Michoacán and inflicted severe damage on Mexico City. Estimates of the number of dead range from 6,500 to 30,000.

1994-2000: President Ernesto Zedillo

In 1995, President Ernesto Zedillo faced an economic crisis. There were public demonstrations in Mexico City and constant military presence after the 1994 rising of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation in Chiapas. Zedillo also oversaw political and electoral reforms that reduced the PRI's hold on power. After the 1988 election, which was strongly disputed and arguably lost by the government party, the IFE (Instituto Federal Electoral - Federal Electoral Institute) was created in the early 1990s. It is run by ordinary citizens, overseeing that elections are conducted legally and fairly.

Accused many times of blatant fraud, the PRI's candidates continually held almost all public offices until the end of the 20th century. It was not until the 1980s that the PRI lost the first state governorship, an event that marked the beginning of the party's loss of hegemony. Through the electoral reforms started by president Carlos Salinas de Gortari and consolidated by President Ernesto Zedillo, by the mid 1990s, the PRI had lost its majority in Congress. In 2000, after seventy years, the PRI lost a presidential elections to a candidate of the National Action Party (PAN - Partido Acciòn Nacional), Vicente Fox.

2000-2006: President Vicente Fox Quesada

As a result of popular discontent, the presidential candidate of the National Action Party, (PAN) Vicente Fox Quesada won the federal election of July 2, 2000, but did not win a majority in the chambers of congress. The results of this election ended 71 years of PRI hegemony in the presidency. When Fox took office, it marked the first time in Mexico's history that an incumbent president had peacefully surrendered power to an elected opposition victor.

In 2006, Fox was succeeded by fellow PAN candidate, Felipe de Jesús Calderón Hinojosa.