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Mexican history



  • 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.



  • 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. 



  • 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. 



  • 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. 



  • 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."



  • 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?