Uninterrupted Dependency: Mexico’s Passive and Limited Revolution (1910–1920)

Abstract

In 1938, while analyzing the Mexican Revolution, Trotsky argued that the attainment of national independence required a rupture with relations of dependency, a process he considered to be conditioned by international factors. Although Gramsci did not focus directly on Mexico, he formulated a theoretical question similar to the one perceived by Trotsky. This article examines the Mexican Revolution from that perspective, exploring whether this historical process led to the overcoming of dependency relations and the achievement of national independence, a concept I refer to in this work as "relative geopolitical autonomy."

The proposed analysis is grounded in a theoretical framework derived from Gramsci’s work, whose continuity with Marx’s thought is fundamental. The text begins with the premise that the Porfirio Díaz regime failed to adapt the economic structure, which still retained precapitalist traits, to the complex capitalist superstructures, thereby preventing the formation of a historical bloc. This unfinished process was taken up by the emerging Mexican bourgeoisie but became complicated by the eruption of grassroots social movements, primarily led by landless peasants and, to a lesser extent, the industrial proletariat.

Consequently, it is argued that the Mexican Revolution had a passive and limited character. The notion of passive revolution is particularly applicable to its final phase, when the emerging bourgeoisie co-opted popular demands and neutralized them. At the same time, its scope was limited due to the decisive influence of international factors, especially the intervention of the United States. This passive nature of the revolution, in turn, contributed to the reproduction of dependency relations. The article concludes that the Cárdenas government, highlighted by Trotsky, represented the highest—though never full—degree of independence achieved by Mexico, a level that steadily declined in the subsequent decades.